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Bulbourethral gland



Bulbourethral gland
Male Anatomy
The deeper branches of the internal pudendal artery. (Bulbourethral gland labeled at center left.)
Latin glandulæ bulbourethrales
Gray's subject #264 1253
Artery Artery of the urethral bulb
Precursor Urogenital sinus
MeSH Bulbourethral+Glands

A bulbourethral gland (or Cowper's gland) is one of two small exocrine glands present in the reproductive system of human males. They are homologous to Bartholin's glands in females.

Contents

Location

Bulbourethral glands are located posterior and lateral to the membranous portion of the urethra at the base of the penis, between the two layers of the fascia of the urogenital diaphragm, in the deep perineal pouch.

They are enclosed by the transverse fibers of the sphincter urethrae membranaceae muscle.

Structure

The bulbourethral glands are compound tubuloalveolar glands, each approximately the size of a pea. They are composed of several lobules held together by a fibrous covering. Each lobule consists of a number of acini, lined by columnar epithelial cells, opening into a duct which joins with the ducts of other lobules to form a single excretory duct. This duct is approximately 2.5 cm long and opens into the urethra at the base of the penis. The glands gradually diminish in size with advancing age.[1]

Function

During sexual arousal each gland produces a clear, viscous secretion known as pre-ejaculate. This fluid helps to lubricate the urethra for spermatozoa to pass through, and to help flush out any residual urine or foreign matter. It is possible for this fluid to pick up sperm, remaining in the urethral bulb from previous ejaculations, and carry them out prior to the next ejaculation.

References

  1. ^ Gray's Anatomy, 38th edn, p 1861

Additional images

See also

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bulbourethral_gland". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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