The dartos is a layer of smooth muscular fiber. In males it is termed tunica dartos and lies beneath the skin of the scrotum. In females, the same muscle fibers are less well developed and termed dartos mulierbris, lying beneath the skin of the labia majora. A muscle fiber (American usage) or muscle fibre (British usage) is a single cell of a muscle. ... Model of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system; which is composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ... The scrotum (human variant shown) is a thin extension of the abdomen that contains the testes and helps regulate their temperature. ... Appearance of the vulva The external genital organs of the female are collectively known as the vulva (also sometimes called the pudenda). ...
The tunica dartos acts to regulate the temperature of the testicles in order to promote 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 cremasteric muscle to raise the testis but should not be confused with the cremasteric reflex. Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... Human male anatomy The testicles, known medically as testes (singular testis), are the male generative glands in animals. ... Spermatogenesis refers to the creation, or genesis, of sperm cells, which occurs in the male gonads or testes. ... This article explains the meaning of area as a physical quantity. ... A red-hot iron rod cooling after being worked by a blacksmith. ... Human male anatomy The testicles, known medically as testes (singular testis), are the male generative glands in animals. ... Cremasteric Reflex is a reflex in males only. ...
In older males the dartos muscle loses its tone, and tends to cause the scrotum to be smoother and to hang down further.
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.
Like the scrotal dartos, of which it is a direct prolongation, the peripenic muscle is composed of unstriped fibers which form an incomplete investment of the penis from its base to the extremity of the prepuce.
5) remarks that the dartos fibers at the end of the prepuce are circularly arranged, forming a kind of sphincter.
These are prolongations of the dartos sheet and form the "peripenic muscle." The fibers of this muscle possess the power of altering the preputial orifice to a certain extent, and hence a consideration of the latent powers of the muscle in causing varying degrees of phimosis is important.
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