Anatomy & Terms

Anatomy and Terms

VAS:

The tube that transports sperm from the testes.

VASECTOMY:

Removal of a small portion of the vas

TESTES:

The egg shaped glands in the scrotum that make sperm and male hormones

EPIDIDYMIS:

Small gland, outside the testes, where sperm matures before entering the vas.

PROSTATE:

The gland that makes the seminal fluid. When mixed with sperm from the testes makes semen.

ANATOMY

Sperm is produced in the testes. From there, sperm travels into a small gland that is located just outside the testes called the epididymis. It is here that the sperm stays as long as six weeks to mature. The tubes of the epididymis join together at the very end of the epididymis to form one common tube called the ‘vas’ or ‘vas deferens’. It is the vas that transports the sperm into the body where it enters the prostate gland. The prostate gland is responsible for making the seminal fluid that carries the sperm. The sperm from the testes plus the seminal fluid from the prostate join together to make semen. The semen is then ejaculated through the penis.