Spermatic cord

Funiculus spermaticus · Provazec semenný

Reproductive system · male only

Looks like

The bundle that hangs each testis from the belly wall, running from the deep inguinal ring through the inguinal canal into the scrotum, wrapped in three thin layers.

What it does

Carries the vas deferens, the testicular artery, the pampiniform venous plexus, lymph vessels and nerves.

Keeping it well

A sudden painful twist of the cord (testicular torsion) strangles the testis — surgery within about six hours saves it. Swollen veins in it are a varicocele; an inguinal hernia runs alongside it.

Its parts

Vessels of the testis
Cremaster muscle