Scrotum

The scrotum is a sac like structure suspended behind the base of the penis. It functions to support and protect the testes and to regulate their position. Muscles within the subcutaneous layers of the scrotum allow the scrotum to contract or expand according to environmental conditions (heat and cold), which position the testes so that an even temperature is maintained which is necessary for production and storage of sperm. The scrotum is also divided into two compartments by a fibrous septum. This septum, the median septum serves to compartmentalise the testes so that injury or infection will only affect one or the other, not both. The pudendal nerve, the ilioinguinal nerve and the posterior cutaneous nerve, all of which are primarily sensory nerves, innervate the scrotum