The midwives book, or, The whole art of midwifry discovered.: Directing childbearing women how to behave themselves in their conception, breeding, bearing, and nursing of children in six books, viz. ... / By Mrs. Jane Sharp practitioner in the art of midwifry above thirty years.

CHAP. VI.

The Vessels for seed.

THe Vessels for Seed are such as you call kernels in your meat, we call them here forestanders; they are two little stones seated at the root of the Yard, a little above the sphy∣aster of the the bladder, they are wrapt up with a skin that covers them, they seem to be round, but they are flat behind, and before, they are loose and spongy as kernels usually are, and white, and hard, in some persons more or less, they having a quick feeling to stir up delight in Copulation; they have some small pipes which open into the common pipes through which the Seed passeth into the Yard: these kernels or forestanders being pressed by the lower muscles of the Yard, besides the oyly fat substance they defend the urinary passage by, they also defend the Vessels that carry the seed to them, lest by much standing and stretching of the Yard the carriers of seed should be hurt; they have another use also, for lying between the bladder and the right gut, they serve for cushions for the vessels to rest upon, to keep them from violent pressing, and this is the cause why those that are costive and

cannot easily go to stool, when they strain to do their business, they press those kernels and sometimes void some Seed, and also must needs make some water, more or less when they go to stool. These kernels compass the vessels that carry the seed, and through the midst of these passeth the water or Urine pipe, or com∣mon passage both for seed and Urine, or con∣duit of the Yard. At the mouth of this con∣duit where the carrying vessels meet with it, there is a thin skin that keeps the vessels for seed that are like a spunge in nature, that they shed not forth the seed against mens will. But this skin is full of holes, which open by the violent heat and motion in Copulation, and so the seed finds its way out, for it is a thin spirit, and the rather by reason of motion, and passes like Quicksilver through a piece of leather; there are no more holes to be seen in this skin than in a piece of leather, unless it be seen in some persons after death, who were in their lifetime troubled with a great running of the Reins as it is called, but properly an in∣voluntary shedding of the Seed, because these holes are become so great, that the subtile seed cannot be kept back by it; the reins are to part the Urine from the blood, and to send that to the bladder by the conduits of Urine, but not to send forth seed or to provide it,

that is the work of the stones as I said. Yet by communication of parts, if the reins be much offended, the seminary parts cannot perform their office as they should, but an involuntary shedding of Seed will follow, untill such time as the reins be strengthened and cured. I shall give onely one observation and so conclude this Chapter: And that is a warning to all that cut for the stone in the bladder, of what age soever they be who are cut; oftentimes in drawing forth the stone they so rend and tear the seed vessels, that such persons are never able to beget Children, they may hatch the Cuckows Eggs, and keep other mens if they please, but they shall never get any themselves; these kernels are a hard and spungy substance near as great as a Walnut.