RT Journal Article
T1 Perineal raphe with special reference to its extension to the anus: a histological study using human fetuses
A1 Jin, Zhe-Wu
A1 Jin, Yu
A1 Li, Xiang Wu
A1 Murakami, Gen
A1 Rodríguez Vázquez, José Francisco
A1 Wilting, Joerg
AB The raphe of the human penis and scrotum is considered to develop secondarily after disappearance of the initial midline seam by fusion of the bilateral genital folds. However, the fetal development was still obscure. We examined histological sections of 30 fetuses (17 males and 13 females) at 10–15 weeks. In male fetuses, the scrotum was not yet clearly identified because of no descent of testis. The perineal raphe was thin and wavy at 10 weeks, and it was continuous with and took a direction same as the inferior wall of the closed penile urethra after physiological hypospadias. Depending on growth of the bulbospongiosus muscle and corpus spongiosus penis, the midline intermuscular septum obtained a connection to the subcutaneous wavy raphe and made the latter thick and straight at 12–15 weeks. Notably, the perineal raphe extended posteriorly to attach to the external anal sphincter. In female fetuses, an epithelial fusion occurred along a short distance at the posterior end of the vestibule. However, in front of the external anal sphincter, a large midline mesenchymal tissue from the urorectal septum did not contain a raphe-like structure. Moreover, since the bilateral bulbospongiosus muscles were separated widely by the vestibule, they did not provide a midline septum. Fetal development of the perineal raphe was accelerated by reinforcement from the muscular septum. In contrast, without such a muscular support, the female raphe could not maintain its growth even if the seed appeared at the posterior end of the vestibule.
PB Korean Association of Anatomists
SN 2093-3665
SN 2093-3673
YR 2016
FD 2016
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110169
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110169
LA eng
NO Jin ZW, Jin Y, Li XW, Murakami G, Rodríguez-Vázquez JF, Wilting J. Perineal raphe with special reference to its extension to the anus: a histological study using human fetuses. Anat Cell Biol. 2016 Jun;49(2):116-24. doi: 10.5115/acb.2016.49.2.116
NO National Natural Science Foundation (China)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 28 abr 2025