The Male Sexual Anatomy
Uploaded by lbmoores on Jan 09, 2000
In Greek art, the male human nude was used as a canon of human perfection. The sensuous male form in motion was considered the crowning achievement of Greek sculpture. Its asymmetrical balance, this motion while at rest, and the resulting harmony of opposites is the essence of male beauty. The following will discuss the male sexual anatomy, physiology, and overall sexual health. In examining the male sexual body, the anatomy encompasses both the external and the internal sex organs. The external sex organs consist of the penis and the scrotum. The internal sex organs consist of the testes, genital ducts, and the fluid producing glands. The systems of internal and external organs that are the male genitals are also referred to as the urogenital system.
The penis is the male organ that is responsible for the transmission of urine and semen from the body. It is an expanding flexible rod which, splits into an Y and is attached to the underside of the pubic bone. It consists of fibrous tissue, nerves, blood vessels, and three cylinders of erectile tissue. This tissue soaks up blood and expands when the brain signals certain arteries to begin pumping blood through, which produces an erection. The purpose of an erection in the reproductive process is to allow the penis to become firm enough to enter a vagina.
The scrotum is a loose sac of skin, fascia, and smooth muscle that encloses and supports the testes outside the body at an optimum temperature for the production of sperm. The scrotum is divided into two parts with each containing a testis. The testes produce sperm and the sex hormone testosterone. "In most men the left testis hangs somewhat lower than the right one, although the opposite may sometimes occur." (Byer 153) The epididymis is a coiled tube about 20ft long, which runs along the posterior side of the testis. It stores sperm and can retain them for up to six weeks, during which time the sperm become mature. The viability of the sperm in the testes is dependent upon the relative lower temperature of the testes in comparision to the body temperature. When the environmental temperature is low the testes move closer to the body by way of the spermatic cord and relaxes when the temperature is too high and moves away from the body. The spermatic cord is covered with skeletal muscle and it suspends the testes...