Gubernaculum Hunteri

GUBERNACULUM HUNTERI, g. testis (Latin gubernaculum - steering oar), the guiding ligament of the testicle - lig. genito-inguinale. According to recent studies, the gonads are laid down somewhat above the internal inguinal ring, corresponding to the level of the upper edge of the pelvis, and during development their displacement, or descent (descensus), takes place, which is more pronounced in the male (see Figure 1). This is linked to the regression of the Wolffian body (mesonephros), located above and lateral to the gonad primordia, and to the contraction of a connective tissue cord containing muscular elements (gubernaculum), which begins at the tail of the epididymis (derived from the primitive kidney) and ends initially in the abdominal wall, at the internal inguinal ring, and subsequently - with the formation of the so-called bursa inguinalis, processus vaginalis peritonaei, and

Figure 1. Position of the testicles in the abdominal cavity during the period of descent: 1 - kidney; 2 - epididymis; 3 - testicle; 4 - ductus deferens; 5 - gubernaculum testis; 6 - urinary bladder; 7 - colon sigmoideum.

glands, and with the contraction of the connective tissue cord with an admixture of muscular elements (gubernaculum), starting from the tail of the epididymis (derived from the primary kidney) and terminating first in the abdominal wall at the internal inguinal ring, and then with the formation of the so-called bursa inguinalis, processus vaginalis peritonaei, and

Various stages of the descent of the testicles

into the scrotum: 1 - testiculus; 2 and 4 - gubernaculum testis; 3 - canalis vaginalis of the scrotum - at the bottom of the latter (see Figure 2). Here, the remnants of the inguinal cone (conus inguinalis), which forms temporarily due to the invagination of the bursa inguinalis and gubernaculum, give rise to the scrotal ligament (lig. scrotale) between the lower end of the testicle and epididymis and the bottom of the scrotum.