portant section of the channel. In it are situated nerves of urinary desire and sexual sensibility. A diseased condition of these nerves may produce, among characteristic results, increased desire to urinate, derangement of the procreative function, such as impotence, and other disturbances.
The prostatic urethra also contains the openings of the two ejaculatory ducts and prostatic ducts. There are fifteen or twenty of the latter on each side. On account of the extremely complex nature of this section of the urethra, the seriousness of gonorrheal infection of these parts, when the disease becomes deep-seated, is readily apparent. When the gonorrheal germs—gonococci—become lodged in these tissues, they are extremely difficult to eradicate, and it requires the most expert attention and prolonged, careful treatment to effect a complete cure.
The Seminal Vesicles. The seminal vesicles are a pair of lobular pouches situated below the base of the bladder. They serve as reservoirs for the seminal secretion, and also contribute a secretion of their own to increase its bulk.
The vesicles, which vary in size in different individuals, are really coiled tubes, with numerous compartments. Each vesicle has a duct which joins with the vas deferens to form the ejaculatory duct. The ejaculatory ducts are about three quarters of an inch in length, extending upward from the base of the prostate.
The Seminal Fluid. The seminal secretion, or semen, is a whitish, albuminous fluid of characteristic odor. It contains a number of elements, the most important of which are the spermatozoa. These are small, pollywog-shaped bodies, about 1/500 of an inch in length, with triangular, flattened heads and whip-like tails, upon which they depend for their power to propel themselves. When alive and healthy, they are continually in rapid motion. They can be seen only with
