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The Epididymis

The epididymis is a long coiled tube that both stores the spermatozoa and conducts them from the testicle to the ductus deferens. It is adherent to the attached border of the testis, overlapping part of the lateral surface.

Macroscopically it is divided into the relatively enlarged head and tail, which are separated by the slender body.

The head is attached to the testis by the efferent ducts of the testis and the visceral vaginal tunic. The body is only loosely separated from the visceral vaginal tunic and creates a pocket (epididymal sinus) of the vaginal tunic between the testis and the body of the epididymis. The tail of the epididymis is attached to the caudal testis by the proper ligament of the testis and to the ligament of the tail of the epididymis. Both liga­ments are within folds of the visceral tunic. The tail is continued as the ductus deferens, which passes through the inguinal canal within a fold of peritoneum detached from the mesorchium. The cremasteric (deferent) artery and vein lie alongside the ductus deferens.

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Source: Skerritt G.. King's Applied Anatomy of the Abdomen and Pelvis of Domestic Mammals. Wiley-Blackwell,2022. — 180 p.. 2022

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