Spermatic cord

The spermatic cord (Latin spermatic cord ) is a bundle of management structures for the testicles, which is formed in mammals, which show a testicular descent into the scrotum. It extends from the internal inguinal ring ( deep inguinal ring ) up to the testicles head. He is surrounded by a serous membrane that abuts the outside connective tissue ( internal spermatic fascia ). The serosa forms, similar to abdominal organs, a short mesentery ( Mesofuniculus spermaticus ).

Anatomy

In the spermatic cord run:

• Testicular artery, testicular vein (testicular artery and vein )
• Vas deferens ( vas deferens )
• Nerve fibers of the sympathetic component of the vegetative nervous system ( testicular plexus, plexus ductus deferens ).

The testicles lift muscle (musculus cremaster ) applies to the spermatic cord. In addition to the spermatic cord run the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve, the nerve ilioinguinal, the cremasteric artery and vein and lymphatic vessels of the superficial inguinal lymph nodes ( Lnn. scrotales ).

The Case of the spermatic cord are descendants of the fascia and muscles of the abdominal wall. The layers from the outside to the inside are:

• Scrotal tunica dartos with
• External spermatic fascia, corresponds to the fascia abdominalis superficialis
• Cremasteric fascia, develops from the musculus obliquus internus abdominis and contains the musculus cremaster, the cremasteric artery and vein and the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve
• Internal spermatic fascia, corresponds to the transversalis fascia and contains the vas deferens, together with its accompanying vessels, the spermatic veins testiculares, the testicular artery and the autonomic plexuses.

Tendrils convolute and braided

Both testicular artery and vein balls above the testicle into each other and are closely intertwined. The Aufknäuelung the artery is called tendrils convolute, the ( pampiniform plexus, from Latin pampinus = the fresh shoot of the vine, the vine ) of the vein as tendrils braid. So a 2 m long piece arteries, for example, the Domestic Cattle on a spermatic cord section of about 13 cm length accommodated. This creates a very large contact area between vein and artery.

Vines and convolute mesh act as a heat exchanger according to the counterflow principle. The incoming arterial blood is cooled by coming from the testis of venous blood, the venous warmed again. This plays an important role in thermoregulation in the scrotum because the spermatogenesis can generate fertilizable sperm under the body temperature only a few degrees.

Bloodless sterilization

In animals with bag-shaped scrota (ruminants ), you can squeeze the spermatic cord through the wall of the scrotum and thus achieve a transfer of blood vessels and the vas deferens. The testis is thus cut off from its blood supply and dies, the animals are thus no longer capable of fertilization ( sterilization). Sometimes this is also referred to as a " bloodless castration ", but this is not exact, because castration is the removal of the testicles.