Ejaculatory ducts

**Ejaculatory ducts** (**Latin**ː *ductus ejaculatorius,* as plural: *ductus ejaculatorii*) are a pair of ducts (each male has two of them) in the body of man. They are a part of the human male anatomy and reproductive system and act like a  to move mature sperm (spermatozoa) closer to the urethra, out of the body. Females do not have ejaculatory ducts but they do have similar features in their anatomy called the urethral dorsal wall. Testosterone is required for them to develop, not  (as a fetus). They get closer to each other and both get smaller towards the end of the duct where they combine or  together. usually with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Doing so helps in the diagnosing and treatment of conditions. The size of the inside (luminal size) is a sign of dilation or obstruction of the ejaculatory ducts if they are wider than 2.3 mm.  

## Central zone 
The central zone, where the ejaculatory ducts and vas deferens are, is rarely affected by any disease.  The ejaculatory duct takes the sperm to the prostate where it is further taken through the body (prostate) to the membranous urethra.

The ejaculatory ducts walls to the prostate are smooth as to allow liquids to pass through them, like other urogenital vessels and the prostate. They are wider at the ends which show (giving the appearance of ducts)

## Conditions 
Obstructions and cysts can happen in the ejaculatory duct and make it not function as it could. These are some conditions which might happen with the organ (pathology). This may cause symptoms. Ejaculatory duct obstruction is the cause of cysts, as well as trauma, surgery, or it might be congenital. The conditions (both rare) mentioned are the ejaculatory duct:  

### Obstruction 
Although rare it is still thought to be undiagnosed. Obstruction of the ejaculatory duct is known as EDO (). Obstruction can cause lower sperm counts, "lazy sperm" (or "slow swimmers"), no sperm (e.g. during orgasm), and rarely, infertility. It may cause pain during ejaculation, or pain to get worse especially while ejaculating, or so is surgical sperm retrieval. The obstructions may be partial or complete. They can extend up towards the head when large, from above the verumontanum and upwards in the direction the prostatic base. Blood (serum) levels of testosterone and prolactin have been linked to the size of the seminal vesicles, where more testosterone/prolactin means they are on average bigger. However the volume of the prostate did not change.

## Anatomy 
The ejaculatory ducts are the ampulle of the vas deferens (ampullæ of ductus deferentes in Latin) connected (fused) to the duct of the seminal vesicle (the vesiculæ seminales), The urothelial membrane is where ejaculatory duct cysts form in the rare cares that they do. The seminiferous tubules are lined with an epithelium called seminiferous epithelium. The urothelial membrane is stratified, which means it is made up of multiple cells (in the intermediate layer it is 2 - 3 layers of cells when resting, and 5 - 7 layers with a full bladder, and goes back to its normal shape after in a healthy system) and is made up of 3 layers. It is also called the transitional epithelium. The name is because it can change shape easily. The stratified cells have their own nucleus. There are other types of membranes in other areas made of epithelial cells, some specialized (for example in the pancreas). The urothelial membrane goes from the bladder to where the ejaculatory ducts reach the prostate. Below the ejaculatory ducts the epithelium becomes intermittent epithelium, then columnar and stratified or pseudostratified. Other cells on top of the basement membrane (the epithelial layer) do have their own nucleus. The apical layer (top layer) has cells which often have two nuclei. 

## Related pages 
* Prostate 
* Skene's gland
* Vas deferens and seminiferous tubule

## References