Male anat - Spermatic cord Flashcards
List the spermatic cord components
Muscles
Blood vessels
Lymphatics
Nerves
Connective tissue
Vas deferens ( aka ductus deferens)
The major 2 Functions of the spermatic cord
Connect the testes to blood, lymph and nerve supplies
Regulate testicular temperature
At what temperature is sperm produced?
Testes myst be maintained 4-6C below body temp for sperm to be produced
Cremaster muscle Lx and Fx
Sit on the outside of the parietal vaginal tunic
Skeletal muscle continuous with abdominal oblique
Not capable of sustained contrails
Fx - support of weight of testes
some role in raise/lower the testes
Critical role- promote blood flow
Example of cremaster muscle
Canine
One on the bottom has had the parietal vaginal tunic removed which includes the cremaster muscle
Cremaster muscle is pointed out as SC
Of a Tom which do not have a cremaster muscle, instead on the SC is the levator scroti muscle
The internal cremated muscle
sits inside the PVT
smooth muscle
Very very small but generally not mentioned as it very small
A- pampinifrom plexus - a intricate mesh of testicular veins that surrounds the testicular artery
then after it funnels to a singular vein which joins the caudal vena cava
B- testicular artery
C- Deferential artery
D- Cremasteric artery
The arteries are branches from the abdominal aorta
Allows “counter-current heat exchange to regulate testicualr temp
List and explain the nerves of the spermatic cord
1- genital branch the genitofemoral nerve
—> Lx = runs on the surface of cremaster muscle
2- Testicular sympathetic nerves
List and explain the lymphatic vessels of the spermatic cord
Drain to deep inguinal lymph node
Vas deferens Fx Stx Lx
Fx - transport of sperm from tail of epididymis to ejector duct
Stx - epithelium + inner circular smooth + outer longitudinal.
Lx - contained in spermatic cord
Describe the macroscopic structure of the inguinal canal
The inguinal canal is a tube that travels through from the testes to the peritoneal cavity
Anterior wall is the aponeurosis of the internal and external online muscle
Posterior wall is the transversalis fascia and conjoint tendon
Floor is the superior surface of the inguinal ligament
Roof is internal oblique and transverses abdominis
Deep (abdominal)
Superficial aka external (pre-scrotal)
Explain the relation between testis and the inguinal canal
Testes pass through the canal
In mature males the inguinal canal contain the proximal part of the spermatic cord
THERE ARE TWO INGUINAL CANALS on per testis
Issues with the inguinal canal
Vaginal tunic cavity is continuous with the inguinal canal
functions of the external cremaster muscle (muscle of the spermatic cord)
- Support weight of testes
- Raise/lower testes
- Promote blood flow
Inguinal canal - what is the function of this canal
allows the cord to enter the peritoneal cavity through the abdominal muscles
- two inguinal canals (one per testes)
Putting it all together - from where the sperm is produced to it travelling to the vas deferens (think about the process as a WHOLE)
The sperm are produced in the testes → then head up to the epididymis → once released by the epididymis they will travel through the vas deferens and will end up going through the spermatic cord
- In the spermatic cord we have support by the cremaster muscle as well as a lot of vasculature, and one we head through this we have to pass through the superficial inguinal ring and the deep inguinal ring as well, which is the end of the spermatic cord
- from here the vas deferens will continue on its way.
The sperm cord does NOT contain:
- epididymis
- cremaster muscle
- vas deferens
the epididymis
- the spermatic cord contains the vas deferens, the pampiniform plexus and the cremaster muscle
