Dartos fascia

Dartos
Dartos
	The scrotum. (Label for Dartos is at bottom left.)
	The scrotum. (Label for Dartos is at bottom left.)
Details
Origin	Subcutaneous tissue of scrotum, superficial to superficial fascia (Colles)
Insertion	Skin and midline raphé of scrotum
Artery	Artery of Duffy[citation needed]
Nerve	Genital branch of genitofemoral nerve
Actions	Corrugates the scrotum
Identifiers
Latin	Tunica dartos
TA98	A09.4.03.003
TA2	3695
FMA	18088
	Anatomical terms of muscle [edit on Wikidata]

The dartos fascia is a layer of connective tissue found in the penile shaft and scrotum.^[1]⁶⁶ In addition to being continuous with itself between the scrotum and the penis, it is also continuous with Colles fascia of the perineum and Scarpa's fascia of the abdomen.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The tone of this smooth muscle is responsible for the wrinkled (rugose) appearance of the scrotum.<ref name=Campbell10>sup>66

Sex differences

In males it is termed tunica dartos and lies beneath the skin of the scrotum. In older males the dartos muscle loses its tone, and tends to cause the scrotum to be smoother and to hang down farther.
In females, the same muscle fibers are less well developed and termed dartos muliebris, lying beneath the skin of the labia majora.
It receives innervation from postganglionic sympathetic nerve fibers arriving via the ilioinguinal nerve and the posterior scrotal nerve. (http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/gastrointestinal_system/inguinal_tables.html)

Function

The tunica dartos acts to regulate the temperature of the testicles, which promotes spermatogenesis. It does this by expanding or contracting to wrinkle the scrotal skin.

Contraction reduces the surface area available for heat loss, thus reducing heat loss and warming the testicles.

Conversely, expansion increases the surface area, promoting heat loss and thus cooling the testicles.

The dartos muscle works in conjunction with the cremaster muscle to elevate the testis but should not be confused with the cremasteric reflex.

Related terms

Some dartos-related terms:

dartoic (dar·to·ic) (dahr-to'ik) of the nature of a dartos; having a slow, involuntary contractility like that of the dartos.

dartoid (dar·toid) (dahr'toid) resembling the dartos.

Additional images

Transverse section through the left side of the scrotum and the left testis.
Dartos

References

^ Campbell-Walsh urology / editor-in-chief, Alan J. Wein ; [editors, Louis R. Kavoussi ... et al.] (10th ed. ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4160-6911-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |last= (help)

External links

Template:MuscleLoyola
. GPnotebook https://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=-711327667. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[Campbell10-1] Campbell-Walsh urology / editor-in-chief, Alan J. Wein ; [editors, Louis R. Kavoussi ... et al.] (10th ed. ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4160-6911-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |last= (help)

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