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Anatomy of the Scrotum and Testicles

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Urogenital Trauma: A Practical Guide

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Abstract

The two labioscrotal swellings appear lateral to the genital tubercle during the 4th week of gestation and migrate caudally and medially in the 9th–11th weeks of gestation merging at the 12th week of gestation to form the scrotum [1, 2].

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Gubernaculum” is a Latin word that means “steering wheel,” “helm,” or “rudder.” It was so-named by the British Surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793) in 1762 because he thought this structure directed the descending course of the testis to the scrotum. He was the younger brother of the Anatomist, William Hunter [6].

  2. 2.

    Pampiniform comes from the Latin word “pampinus,” tendril, and “forma,” form or shape.

  3. 3.

    Marsupials are mammals found in Australasia, Wallacia, and the Americas. They comprise a handful of species such as kangaroos, koalas, opossums, bandicoots, wallabies, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. They do not develop a well-defined anatomical placenta but have a functional single layer of trophoblasts that produces hormones and a yolk sac. They do not have an umbilical cord, and the placentation period is shorter than for eutherians. However, this is compensated by a physiologically sophisticated and extended lactation allowing them “to exchange the umbilical cord for the teat” [32].

  4. 4.

    Eutherians or placental mammals is a group of mammals comprising nearly 4000 species, including humans, monkeys, rodents, bats, elephants, whales, shrews, armadillos, dogs, cats, sheep, cattle, horses, and so on.

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  1. Department of Urology, The Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman

    Said Abdallah AL-Mamari

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AL-Mamari, S.A. (2023). Anatomy of the Scrotum and Testicles. In: Urogenital Trauma: A Practical Guide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6171-9_42

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6171-9_42

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