Mikrokosmographia a description of the body of man. Together vvith the controuersies thereto belonging. Collected and translated out of all the best authors of anatomy, especially out of Gasper Bauhinus and Andreas Laurentius. By Helkiah Crooke Doctor of Physicke, physitian to His Maiestie, and his Highnesse professor in anatomy and chyrurgerie. Published by the Kings Maiesties especiall direction and warrant according to the first integrity, as it was originally written by the author.

QVEST. III. The opinion of Phisitians concerning the true vse of the Testicles.

THere are some not vnlearned Physitians, who will not allow to the Testicles * 1.1 any power of procreating seede, but reserue that onely for the preparing ves∣sels and the Epididymis; because there appeare no passages by which the seed should passe from the bunching implications of the vesselles into the Testi∣cles: * 1.2 againe the Epididymis and the preparing and leading vessels may be se∣parated without rending from the Testicle: adde hereto that the Epididymis is often full of * 1.3 white seede, which is rarely found in the Testicle itselfe. They therefore say that the Te∣sticles were made to sucke away the serous humour and excrement of the seed and to con∣teyne it, for which reason their substance is glandulous.

Now Hippocrates assigneth this vse to Glandules to receiue the excrements of the parts, and therefore the Braine, the Heart, and the Liuer, haue their seuerall Emunctories. But * 1.4 for my owne part I see no reason why the excrement of the seede should rather passe into the substance of the Testicles then the seed itselfe, which is so houen and barmed as it were with spirits: besides, the body of the Testicles is rare and spongy, & hath many small pipes inserted into them out of the vessels; wherefore through these small and almost insensible passages, they sucke the seede by an ingenit faculty of their own; for if Aliment be brought vnto them to nourish them, and yet there are no conspicuous vessels disseminated through their substance, I see no reason but seed also may without manifest vessels be conueyed into them. Their bodies are indeed glandulous or resembling Glandules, but very Glandules * 1.5 they are not, as is sayed already. The third opinion concerning the vse of the Testicles is theirs who think, that they are ordayned for Pillowes to safe-gard and strengthen the ves∣sels. For say they where there is any notable partition of vesselles in the whole body, there Nature hath appoynted glandules as pillowes to secure them. So is the Pancreas placed vn∣der the diuision of the vena porta or Gate veine, many glandules are in the diuarications of the veines of the mesentery. The Thymus vnder the subclauian diuision, and vnder the axil∣lary and crurall veines notorious glandules or kernels are to bee found: in like manner the * 1.6 Testicles are appointed for the security of the spermaticall vessels. But the truth is that the onely ignorance of Anatomy brought in this old wiues fable. For the kernels or glandules which are placed at the diuisions of the vessels, do on euery side sustaine, establish and sup∣port them; but the Testicles are hung only at the ends of the vessels.

Wherefore the opinion of Hippocrates, Galen and almost of all the Phisitians is much more probable, who doe attribute to the testicles a power of their own to procreate seed, * 1.7 and the prime place in the worke of generation, because they haue a great power for alte∣ration of the habit, the temperament and the manners themselues. Moreouer those cre∣atures

who haue abstained long from the worke of generation, haue their Testicles swolue and distended with seede, which vppon the vse of the Female doe abate againe. Which * 1.8 thing also Aristotle himselfe hath left testimony of where he sayeth. That certaine Birds and Beastes at what time they vse to couple, haue their Testicles very great, but when that season is o∣uer, they become so small that it may be doubted whether they haue any Testicles at all or no: A∣gaine when the Testicles are refrigerated or ouer-cooled, then barrennes followeth. And truely if a man list to runne ouer all the concoctions in the body of a man, hee shall finde * 1.9 that there is onely a preparation in the vessels, but concoction and perfect elaboration to be in and from the particular substance of the part.

The Animall spirit as we shall declare hereafter, is prepared in the wonderfull implica∣tions and texture of the arteries, but his forme and proper difference it acquireth in the marrowy substance or ventricles of the braine. The Milke is prepared in the veines but groweth white in the glandules of the Breastes. Blood getteth a kinde of rudiment in the veines of the mesentery, but his rednesse and the forme of bloud it onely obteyneth in and by the Parenchyma or substance of the Liuer.

In the small and threddy veynes of the particular partes there is a preparation vnto the third concoction, but assimulation is onely made by and in the substance of the parts. So * 1.10 there is a delineation and preparation of seede in the spermaticke vessels, which are diuers∣ly implicated by a wonderful artifice of nature, that in those implications the spirits might be exactly mingled with the bloud, and therefore here an artery entreth into a veine, and a veine into an artery.

The seede thus prepared the Testicles draw for their nourishment, to which they giue forme, perfection, and foecundity, wherewith when they are satisfied, the remainder they expell into the leading vessels: these doe exonerate themselues into many small bladders, and into the Prostatae, and there it is reserued and kept in store for the necessary vse of Na∣ture in procreation.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The opinion of some Phy∣sitians.
• * 1.2

  Their reasons
• * 1.3

  What vse they assigne to the testicles
• * 1.4

  Answere to them.
• * 1.5

  Another opi∣nion
• * 1.6

  Which igno∣rance of Ana∣tomy hath brought forth
• * 1.7

  The true opi∣nion of almost all Physitians
• * 1.8

  Their reasons
• * 1.9

  Diuerse in∣stances.
• * 1.10

  The true course of the seede.