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Home  »  Anatomy of the Human Body  »  pages 429

Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 429

part of the pelvic fascia. It is perforated, about 2.5 cm. below the symphysis pubis, by the urethra, the aperture for which is circular and about 6 mm. in diameter by the arteries to the bulb and the ducts of the bulbourethral glands close to the urethral orifice; by the deep arteries of the penis, one on either side close to the pubic arch and about halfway along the attached margin of the fascia; by the dorsal arteries and nerves of the penis near the apex of the fascia. Its base is also perforated by the perineal vessels and nerves, while between its apex and the arcuate pubic ligament the deep dorsal vein of the penis passes upward into the pelvis.
  If the inferior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm be detached on either side, the following structures will be seen between it and the superior fascia: the deep dorsal vein of the penis; the membranous portion of the urethra; the Transversus perinæi profundus and Sphincter urethræ membranaceæ muscles; the bulbourethral glands and their ducts; the pudendal vessels and dorsal nerves of the penis; the arteries and nerves of the urethral bulb, and a plexus of veins.


FIG. 407– Coronal section of anterior part of pelvis, through the pubic arch. Seen from in front. (Diagrammatic.) (See enlarged image)
  The superior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm is continuous with the obturator fascia and stretches across the pubic arch. If the obturator fascia be traced medially after leaving the Obturator internus muscle, it will be found attached by some of its deeper or anterior fibers to the inner margin of the pubic arch, while its superficial or posterior fibers pass over this attachment to become continuous with the superior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm. Behind, this layer of the fascia is continuous with the inferior fascia and with the fascia of Colles; in front it is continuous with the fascial sheath of the prostate, and is fused with the inferior fascia to form the transverse ligament of the pelvis.
  The Transversus perinæi profundus arises from the inferior rami of the ischium and runs to the median line, where it interlaces in a tendinous raphé with its fellow of the opposite side. It lies in the same plane as the Sphincter urethræ membranaceæ; formerly the two muscles were described together as the Constrictor urethræ.
  The Sphincter urethræ membranaceæ surrounds the whole length of the membranous portion of the urethra, and is enclosed in the fasciæ of the urogenital diaphragm. Its external fibers arise from the junction of the inferior rami of the pubis