EPIDIDYMIS
The sperm-making tubules in each testis converge like streams at the mouth of a river to form the head of the epididymis. In this case, the river is proportionally huge and tortuous. Each twisting, winding epididymis (one on each side), though only a millimeter wide, could be uncoiled to reach a length of fifteen to twenty feet. The epididymis is the “greenhouse” where sperm mature and are stored until orgasm, when two-thirds of ejaculated sperm are rocketed from the tail of the epididymis during a series of powerful muscle contractions. The epididymis hugs the testis, clinging to one side of it before twisting yet again and heading upward at its tail end to join still another tube called the vas deferens.
There is an almost immediate change in topography as the epididymis melts into the vas deferens. This mighty tube (again, one on each side; together they are called the vasa deferentia), is a hard, muscular cord, about eighteen inches long and three millimeters in diameter. Its characteristic thickness—due to its sheath of muscles, designed to pump sperm to the prostatic segment of the urethra—means the vas deferens can easily be felt through the scrotum and even the spermatic cord. The vas deferens winds its way to a space between the bladder and rectum, then heads downward to the base of the prostate, where it meets with the duct of the seminal vesicle to form the ejaculatory duct. It is from the vas deferens that the vasectomy, a form of male contraception, gets its name: When the vas deferens is cut, sperm cannot exit the penis through ejaculation and instead are reabsorbed into the body.
*10\201\8*
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.