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The penis is comprised
primarily of two cylinders of sponge-like vascular tissue (corpus cavernosa)
that fills with blood to create an erection.
Blood is pumped into the
penis under great pressure and a series of valves keep it in the penis to
maintain the erection. A third cylinder is the urethra, a tube that carries
the urine and the ejaculate. The knobby head of the penis is called the
glans. Blood flows to the penis by two very small arteries that come from
the aorta. These arteries are the same size as the arteries to your finger.
Important Parts of the Penis
Corpus
Cavernosa
The erectile tissue (corpora
cavernosa & corpus spongiosum) in the penis expands during sexual
stimulation. Penis enlargement exercises aim to increase the holding
capacity of this tissue allowing higher amounts of blood to be held by the
penis tissues during stimulation causing an increase in penis size.
The sexual stimulation can be
visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, or imaginative. During sexual
stimulation the arteries supplying the penis with blood dilate and large
amounts of blood rush into the erectile tissue. The blood is trapped because
the vessels draining the penis become compressed. The penis stays this way
until ejaculation or until the male is no longer stimulated.
Epididymis
The epididymis is a structure
which lies on and around each testicle. It functions in the transport,
storage and maturation of sperm cells originating from the testicle. When a
man complains of scrotal pain, acute or chronic epididymitis is far and away
that most common diagnosis.
Vas Deferens
The vas deferens are tubes
which carry the produced sperm to the prostate where it's activated by an
enzyme prior to ejaculation. These tubules are cut and tied during a
vasectomy.
Testicles
(Testes)
Testes are a large number of
tightly packed coiled tubes. This is where sperm is produced. Sperm
production takes about two months, but it's continuously produced. A typical
male produces several hundred million each day. This sperm production
process is called Spermatogenesis. The sperm that is not ejaculated is
broken down and reabsorbed.
Testes also contain cells that
secrete the male sex hormone testosterone. Spermatozoa are among the
smallest and most highly specialized cells in the body. All the
characteristics that a baby will inherit from it's father in fertilization
are in the material found in each sperm head.
The nucleus is covered by a
specialized enzyme coating that enable the sperm to break down the covering
of the egg and permit entry if contact occurs. Each sperm has a mid piece
and an elongated tail that helps the sperm swim in its competition to
fertilize the egg.
Scrotum
The scrotum is a pouch like
sac that hangs outside of the body cavity behind your penis. This location
provides the correct temperature for the sperm to produce.
Corona
The 'crown,' a ridge of flesh
demarcating where the head of the penis and the shaft join.
Cowper's
Glands
The Cowper's glands secrete a
small amount ofpre-ejaculate fluid prior to orgasm. This fluid neutralizes
the acidity within the urethra itself.
Cjaculatory
Ducts
The path through the seminal
glands which semen travels during ejaculation.
Foreskin
A roll of skin which covers
the head of the penis in uncircumsized men.
Frenulum
A thin strip of flesh on the
underside of the penis that connects the shaft to the head.
Glans
The glans is the head of the
penis. The glans in uncircumcised men is usually covered by the prepuce. The
glans is highly sensitive, as is the corona, the ridge of flesh that
connects the glans to the shaft of the penis.
Prostate
Gland
Prostate gland produces a
fluid that makes up the semen. The prostate gland also squeezes shut the
urethral duct to the bladder, thus preventing urine from mixing with the
semen and disturbing the pH balance required by sperm.
Seminal
Vesicles
The seminal vesicles produce
semen, a fluid that activates and protects the sperm after it has left the
penis during ejaculation
Smemga
A substance with the texture
of cheese secreted by glands on each side of the frenulum in uncircumsized
men.
Urethra
The opening at the tip of the
penis to allow the passage of both urine and semen.
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