Pelvic Organs Flashcards
What are the common pelvic structures between males and females?
Ureters, urinary bladder, and rectum
What are the male-specific pelvic organs?
Ductus deferens, seminal vesicles,
prostate, bulbourethral glands
What are the female-specific pelvic organs?
Uterus, ovaries, uterine tubes,
cervix, and vagina
What marks the transition from abdomen to pelvis?
pelvic brim
What is the floor of the pelvic cavity?
pelvic diaphragm
What pelvic structure is the biggest contributor to semen?
seminal vesicle
What is the function of the ductus deferens?
uses peristalsis to push semen from epididymis to the prostate
What pelvic structure is where sperm gain motility and mature?
epididymis
Where do the urinary and reproductive systems merge in males?
prostate
How many sperm per mL in semen?
100 million spermatozoa
How many mL per ejaculation?
2.5-3.5 mL
Where do the secretions that make semen come from?
seminal vesicles (60-70%), prostate (20%), bulbourethral glands, and glands in the urethral wall
What affect does a vasectomy have on the volume of ejaculate?
minor effect
What is the round ligament in females a remnant of?
gubernaculum from development
What path does the round ligament in females take?
goes upward from the uterus to the deep ring, to inguinal canal, and attaches to deep surface of labial majora
What type of innervation does the upper 1/3 of the vagina have?
visceral
What type of innervation does the outer 2/3 of the vagina have?
body wall
What type of muscle is the uterus made of?
smooth muscle
What is the lowest point in the pelvic sac in males that abscesses could form in?
rectovesical pouch
What are the organs beneath the peritoneum of the pelvis called?
subperitoneal
Where are the lowest points in the pelvic sac in females that abscesses could form in?
Vesicouterine pouch
Rectouterine pouch
What is a culdocentesis?
use a needle to sample fluid from the rectouterine pouch by going through the posterior fornix of the vagina
What are the three parts of the broad liagment of the uterus?
mesometrium
mesovarium
mesosalpinx
What ligament connects the ovary to the uterus?
ovarian ligament
What ligament does the ovarian vessels run in?
suspensory ligament of the ovary (S.l.o)
Which part of the broad ligament connects the s.l.o (suspensory ligament of the ovary) to the uterus?
mesometrium
Which part of the broad ligament connects the ovary to the other parts?
mesovarium
Which part of the broad ligament connects the ovary/s.l.o to the uterine tube?
mesosalpinx
What are the two important facts to know about the internal iliac artery?
- branching is extremely variable
- anastomoses between its branches (and across midline) are extensive
How do pain impulses run above the pelvic pain line?
alongside sympathetic pathways
How do pain impulses run below the pelvic pain line?
alongside parasympathetic pathways
How do all visceral afferents (not pain) run from the pelvic organs?
alongside parasympathetic pathways
What are some examples of organs beneath the pelvic pain line?
rectum, anus, seminal vesicles, prostate, vagina, etc.
What are the three organs that are split by the pelvic pain line?
bladder, uterus, sigmoid colon
What type of innervation contracts the external anal sphincters?
somatic motor (pudendal nerve S2-S4)
What type of innervation increases peristalsis of rectum and relaxes internal anal sphincters?
parasympathetics (pelvic splanchnic nerves S2-S4)
What type of innervation inhibits peristalsis of rectum and constricts the internal anal sphincter?
sympathetics (L1-L2)
