Testicular structure

The male testicle is located in the scrotum, one on the upper and one on the lower, usually the left one is slightly lower than the right one. It is an organ that produces sperm and metabolizes male hormones. The male testicle is slightly flattened oval, with a smooth surface, divided into the front edge, upper and lower sides, and inner and outer sides. The outer edge is scattered, with blood vessels, nerves and lymphatic vessels entering and exiting the edge, and connected to the epididymal cyst and the ejaculatory duct. The upper part is covered by the epididymal cyst head and the lower part is scattered. The two sides are relatively convex and closely attached to the scrotal wall; the inner side is relatively flat and adheres to the scrotal septum. The testicle of an adult male weighs about 10~15g. The male testicles of newborns are relatively large. They grow and develop slowly before sexual maturity, and grow and develop rapidly during estrus. The male testicles of the elderly will gradually shrink.

The surface of the testis is covered with a serous membrane, the tunica vaginalis; its shallow layer is a strong white membrane. The white membrane thickens at the edge of the testis and enters the testis, forming the testicular septum. Many testicular septa extend from the septum, extending into the testicular body in a fan-shaped manner and connecting with the white membrane, dividing the testicular body into 100~200 testicular lobules. Each lobule contains 2~4 winding seminiferous tubules, from which sperm is produced. The connective tissue between the seminiferous tubules contains interstitial cells that metabolize male hormones. The seminiferous tubules converge into straight seminiferous tubules near the testicular septum, and then merge into the testicular septum to form the testicular rete. The testicular rete gives rise to 12 to 15 testicular efferent tubules, which pass through the upper end of the testicular margin and enter the epididymal cyst.

Shape and structure of epididymal cyst

The epididymal cyst is crescent-shaped and is composed of the male testicular efferent ductules and the convoluted epididymal duct, close to the upper and edge of the male testicle. The epididymal duct is about 6cm long. The epididymal cyst is divided into the upper swollen epididymal cyst head, the middle epididymal cyst body and the lower epididymal cyst tail. The epididymal cyst tail bends upward to become the ejaculatory duct. The epididymal cyst temporarily stores male sperm, metabolizes the nutrients of the epididymal cyst fluid to male sperm, and promotes the further improvement of male sperm.