Identifying Reproductive Organs - Human Anatomy and Physiology

The broad ligament connects the utuerus to the abdominal wall. It is comprised of several smaller structures as well, including the ovarian ligament, round ligament, and suspensory ligament. The ovarian ligament connects the ovary to uterus, the round ligament connects the uterus to the labia majora, and the suspensory ligament connects the ovary to the abdominal wall.

The gubernaculum connects the testes to scrotum (in males).

The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ in the pelvic cavity that is also referred to as the womb. The wall of the uterus consists of the inner endometrium, which is shed during menstruation, the muscular middle myometrium, and the outer perimetrium. The uterus is supported in the pelvic cavity by several ligaments: two broad, two round, and two uterosacral.

The bladder, also located in the pelvic cavity, has three layers: inner mucous membrane, middle detrusor muscle, and outer visceral peritoneum. The bladder is also supported by numerous ligaments. The prostate is composed of muscle and glandular tissue. The prostate is enclosed in a fibrous capsule containing smooth muscle. The prostate surrounds the neck of the bladder in the male. The vagina, also referred to as the birth canal, is a tube lined with rugae. The adjacent connective tissue permits stretching. The scrotum is a pouch in males containing the testes. The scrotum consists of skin, fascia, and muscle.

The shaft of the penis contains erectile vascular bodies. The glans is the head of the penis through which the urethal meatus expels urine and semen.

The testicles are covered by a membrane, the tunica vaginalis. The testicles are contained within the scrotum, which is composed of skin, fascia, and muscle. The vulva is the term used to describe the external female genitalia. The vulva includes the mons pubis, labia, and clitoris, which is an erectile body capped by a glans.

The vesicouterine pouch is present only in female anatomy. It is located anterior to the rectouterine pouch and lies between the bladder and the uterus, whereas the rectouterine pouch is formed between the uterus and the rectum.

In males, the pouch formed is the rectovesical pouch, located between the bladder and the rectum.

The erectile bodies consist of the corpus spongiosum and two corpora cavernosa (plural form). The tunica albuginea encloses a corpus cavernosum, but it is not itself an erectile body. The prostate lies posterioinferior to the male bladder and superior to the penis; it is not part of the penis.

The deep transverse perineal muscle, dorsal artery and nerve, urethra, and vagina would all be contents of the deep perineal pouch, which would be exposed after removing the perineal membrane.

The penile urethra is distal to the perineal pouch. The cremaster muscle is located in the testes, distal to the perineal pouch. The internal urethral sphincter is internal in the bladder.

The contents of the spermatic cord include the following: ductus deferens, blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves. These features are bundled together to connect the testes to the abdominal cavity. The spermatic cord is sensitive to torsion, in which the testes rotate within its sac and block bloody supply. This can lead to testicular damage within a couple of hours.

The ovarian ligament connects the uterus to the ovary. It is different from the suspensory ligament of the ovary, which binds the ovary to the pelvis. There is no ligament connecting the ovary to the urinary bladder or the kidneys. Adherences between the ovary and these organs would be pathological.

The uterus is located in the pelvis and is positioned posterior (dorsal) to the bladder and anterior (rostral) to the rectum. The uterus can be divided into four segements: the fundus, corpus, cervix, and internal os. The human uterus is approximately 7.5 cm long and 4.5 cm in width. It is pear shaped.

The spermatic cord is formed by the vas deferens and surrounding tissue, it runs from the deep inguinal ring to each testicle. The spermatic cord contains the testicular artery, deferential artery, the cremasteric artery, the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve, and the testicular nerves. The spermatic cord also contains the ductus (aka vas) deferens, the pampiniform plexus, and lympathic vessels. The spermatic cord is covered by the tunica vaginalis, which is a remnant of the process vaginalis (an embryonic developmental extension of the peritoneum that passed through the transversalis fascia).

The ureter is not part of the spermatic cord.

Normal fertilization occurs in the ampulla of the fallopian tube (the wider region). The ovaries produce oocytes (eggs), one of which is released per month to be fertilized. If the egg is fertilized, it then travels to and embeds in the uterus, where it develops as a fetus. The vagina receives the penis and semen during sexual intercourse and later provides a passage for delivery of an infant.

The prostate gland and bulbourethral glands are glands of the male reproductive system which contribute secretions to seminal fluid. The ductus, or vas, deferens is a duct of the male reproductive system which opens into the urethra. The vestibule, however, is a part of the female reproductive system. It is an entrance of the vagina between the labia minora and has the hymen at the vaginal orifice.