Testicles
Testicles. The two testicles are normally carried in the scrotum—a double sac divided by a membrane. Each testicle is about the size and shape of the female ovary. Its main structure is a mass of tiny, coiled tubes in which the male reproductive cells, called sperm cells, are produced. The new sperm move off into other small tubes that cover one side of the testicle in a bundle. This bundle is called the epididymis. Then the sperm are carried to the prostate gland in a larger and longer tube—the vas deferens—which takes a roundabout course through the inside of the pelvis— about eighteen inches in all.
In performing a vasectomy for sterilization of the husband, a one- to two-inch section of each vas deferens is removed.
The vas from each testicle broadens out into a seed reservoir, or ampulla, just before it enters the prostate. Opening off these reservoirs are the seminal vesicles—large pouches on each side and behind the prostate. These fill with sperm and act both as storerooms and as a physical reminder of the need for sexual relief.
While in the storeroom, the sperm cells are joined by a lubricating prostatic secretion that helps them do their next job—swimming. Other similar secretions are added to make up the final seminal fluid, as the seed take the next step in their journey. During the sexual climax—the ejaculation—the fluid is forced from the storerooms through small tubes that meet in the ejaculatory duct, just before entering the base of the penis. The muscular contractions that take place in the prostate gland force the seminal fluid past the base of the penis, then through the urethral canal, and out the meatus (the outside opening of the urethra). This fluid, called semen, usually is projected forcefully enough to travel twelve to twenty-four inches after it leaves the penis. The contraction of the prostate gland provides much of the pleasant sensation of sexual climax.
Posted in Understanding the Basics
To Ed Wheat Sr. and Gladys Gibson Wheat, whose commitment, devotion, warmth, generosity, and integrity stood for fifty years as a beautiful picture of genuine agape love.