Prostatic utricle

Infobox Anatomy
Name = PAGENAME
Latin = utriculus prostaticus, utriculus masculinus, vagina masculina, sinus pocularis
GraySubject = 256
GrayPage = 1234


Caption = Vesiculae seminales and ampullæ of ductus deferentes, seen from the front.


Caption2 = The male urethra laid open on its anterior (upper) surface.
Precursor = Müllerian duct
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DorlandsPre = u_04
DorlandsSuf = 12841383
The prostatic utricle (Latin for "pouch of the prostate") is a small indentation located in the prostatic urethra, at the apex of the urethral crest, on the seminal colliculus, laterally flanked by openings of the ejaculatory ducts. It is also known as the vagina masculina.

It is often described as "blind," meaning that it is a duct that does not lead to any other structures.

It can sometimes be enlarged.cite journal |author=Meisheri IV, Motiwale SS, Sawant VV |title=Surgical management of enlarged prostatic utricle |journal=Pediatr. Surg. Int. |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=199–203 |year=2000 |pmid=10786981 |doi=] cite journal |author=Lopatina OA, Berry TT, Spottswood SE |title=Giant prostatic utricle (utriculus masculinis): diagnostic imaging and surgical implications |journal=Pediatr Radiol |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=156–9 |year=2004 |pmid=12961046 |doi=10.1007/s00247-003-1048-9]

Embryology

It may serve no function. However, in "A Practical treatise on sexual disorders of the male and female" 3rd ed. By Robert William Taylor, it states "in coitus it so contracts that it draws upon the openings of the ejaculatory ducts, and thus renders them so patulous that the semen readily passes through." [R. W. Taylor. A practical treatise on sexual disorders of the male and female. New York and Philadelphia, 1897; 3rd edition, 1905. P. 48]

It is important primarily because it is the male homologue of the female uterus and vagina, usually described as derived from the Müllerian ducts, though this is occasionally disputed.cite journal |author=Shapiro E, Huang H, McFadden DE, "et al" |title=The prostatic utricle is not a Müllerian duct remnant: immunohistochemical evidence for a distinct urogenital sinus origin |journal=J. Urol. |volume=172 |issue=4 Pt 2 |pages=1753–6; discussion 1756 |year=2004 |pmid=15371806 |doi=] (See List of homologues of the human reproductive system for more details.) The paramesonephric (Mullerian) duct obliterates in the male, forming the prostatic utricle and in the female becomes the fallopian tube and uterus.

References

External links

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*—"The Male Pelvis: The Prostate Gland"
* (NormanAnatomyFig|malebladder)
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