It passes medialward behind the spermatic cord, and expands into a somewhat fan-shaped band, lying behind the superior crus of the subcutaneous inguinal ring, and in front of the inguinal aponeurotic falx, and interlaces with the ligament of the other side of the linea alba.
42.
The testicles are held by the spermatic cord, which is a tubelike structure containing blood vessels, nerves, the vas deferens, and a muscle that helps to raise and lower the testicles in response to temperature changes and sexual arousal, in which the testicles are drawn closer to the body.
43.
Each crosses obliquely over the ureter and the lower part of the external iliac artery to reach the abdominal inguinal ring, through which it passes, and accompanies the other constituents of the spermatic cord along the inguinal canal to the scrotum, where it becomes tortuous, and divides into several branches.
44.
"' Inguinal orchiectomy "'( named from the Latin " inguin " for " groin, " and also called "'radical orchiectomy "'), is performed when an onset of testicular cancer is suspected, in order to prevent a possible spread of cancer from the spermatic cord into the lymph nodes near the kidneys.
45.
Paul was the first Ceylonese to deliver the Hunterian Oration at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on three occasions-" The Surgical Anatomy of the Spermatic Cord " ( 1950 ), " Congenital Abnormalities of the Midline Abdominal Wall " ( 1953 ) and " Haemorrhages from Head Injuries " ( 1955 ).
46.
The veins emerge from the back of the testis, and receive tributaries from the epididymis; they unite and form a convoluted plexus, called the pampiniform plexus, which constitutes the greater mass of the spermatic cord; the vessels composing this plexus are very numerous, and ascend along the cord, in front of the ductus deferens.
47.
It is loosely connected by areolar tissue to the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle, but in the midline it is more intimately adherent to the trunk; below and laterally, it blends with the fascia lata of the thigh a little below the inguinal ligament; medially and below, it is continued over the penis and spermatic cord to the scrotum, where it helps to form the dartos.
