Anatomy and Physiology (Structure and Function) of the Male Generative Organs
To get a clear idea of the sexual system of a man, it is necessary first to learn the structure and function of sexual organs; that is, to get a brief acquaintance with their anatomy and physiology.
This is just the very purpose of this book, to give to intelligent and self-conscious boys and men this necessary knowledge, to give them guidance and information, which they need on different occasions, to solve and clear up their many doubts and questions that come up in the intimate recesses of their minds and which arise on different experiences of sexual life.
The sexual system of a man consists of the penis, two testicles with two seminal ducts, two seminal vesicles, and one prostate gland. The penis is a composite structure, as it has a double function of sexual and urinary organ. It consists of three cavernous, erectile elastic bodies capped in front by a head part—two of them on the sides and one underneath. These bodies contain numerous spaces, collapsible in the time of quiescence, but in time of sexual excitement, in the state of erection, those spaces fill up with blood and render the penis turgid and hard. Underneath the side cavernous bodies, piercing thru the lower cavernous body, goes the urethral canal, which starts from the bladder and reaches the external opening. The urethra has a double function: it carries urine from the bladder out of the body and it serves as a carrier for natural sexual secretions. The testicles are the most important sexual glands, as they produce human living cells—embryos—so-called spermatozoa. The testicles, two in number, are pigeon egg sized bodies, suspended by the spermatic cord in a sac called the scrotum.
The natural seminal secretion, semen, or sperma, after its production in the testicle, is carried out thru a long seminal duct, which, when unraveled, measures about twenty feet long, but in a natural condition is twisted and folded on itself many hundred times, forming a bundle-like swelling in the back of the testicle—epididymis. This detail is good to remember, as epididymis plays a very important part in venereal diseases.
The seminal duct goes thru the spermatic cord a long way and passes thru the inguinal canal, located in the groin and enters the seminal vesicles, which are located in the rear of the base of the urinary bladder. The seminal vesicles are the reservoir tanks for the seminal fluid, which resemble small pouch pockets, where it is stored up and accumulated before it is ejected thru the ejaculatory duct into the deep part of the urethral canal and then carried outward, spontaneously in a wet dream or actively in sexual intercourse. The seminal vesicles also produce their own viscid fluid-secretion, which probably preserves the spermatozoa in time of storage.
The spermatic cord serves as a cable connecting the testicles with the rest of the body, and contains the seminal duct, nerves, and blood vessels that give vitality and blood supply to the testicles.
Last, but not least in importance among organs of the male sexual system, is the Prostatic Gland. The prostatic gland resembles in form a chestnut, and is located deep under the urinary bladder, right between the seminal vesicles. This gland is very rich in muscles, which surround the deep part of the urethral canal, where it starts from the bladder, and takes an active part in closing up and opening the bladder in time of urination. The Prostate Gland is also very rich in nerves, which connect it with almost every part of the body. For this reason, as will be seen in the chapter on sexual diseases, the healthy condition of the Prostate Gland is absolutely necessary for a normal and happy life. The Prostate Gland also produces a very important sexual secretion well familiar to all—a grayish white milky emulsion with characteristic sweetish odor and alkaline reaction. This secretion is very important, as it preserves and stimulates the vitality of the spermatozoa before they reach the female embryo ovum for the purpose of fertilization.
Thus it can be seen that the seminal secretion a man loses, either during a wet dream or in sexual intercourse, is not a simple, but a composite fluid, consisting of secretions of the testicles, prostatic gland, seminal vesicles, and also numerous mucous glands of the urethral canal.
The most important element of the seminal fluid is the secretion produced by the testicles and containing spermatozoa. Spermatozoa, or human embryos, are microscopically small living cells, which resemble very much in appearance tadpoles. They consist of a pear-like head, thread-like tapering neck and tail, and thousands of them can be seen in a drop of sperma under a microscope, as rapidly moving and swarming around little worms.
Let us consider now briefly the function of sexual organs. The structure and mutual adjustment of the parts in time of function clearly indicate that the main purpose and vital function intended by Nature for these organs is procreation and transmission of life. Every single organ of the sexual system is constructed and provided with wonderful creative power and natural appliances, all to one purpose—to preserve and to facilitate the transmission of the living spermatozoa to a meeting place of its mate of fertilization and conception—the female embryo—ovum. This is the reason why sexual organs are also called generative organs. This must also be the reason why Nature has timed the awakening of the sexual impulse with the period of the greatest development of all the faculties of the human body and mind, so as to render a man mature and prepared to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of husband and father. Unfortunately, under modern economic and social conditions the physical and mental maturity does not coincide with the economic and social readiness to take up the obligations of family life, and marriage is often forcibly deferred to many years after the physical age of maturity. This brings under discussion the most important practical question of sex continence.