Changes

|data8 = [[Skin ]] and midline raphé of [[scrotum]]

|data10 = [[Artery of Duffy]]{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

|data12 = [[Genital branch of genitofemoral nerve]]

The '''dartos fascia''' or simply '''dartos''' is a layer of connective tissue found in the [[shaft skin|skin of the penile shaft]], [[foreskin]], and [[scrotum]].<ref name=Campbell10>{{REFbook

}}</ref> The penile portion is referred to as the '''superficial fascia of penis''' or the '''subcutaneous tissue of penis''',<ref>[http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/Public/EntryPage/TA98%20Tree/Entity%20TA98%20EN/09.4.01.027%20Entity%20TA98%20EN.htm Terminologica Anatomica 98]</ref> while the scrotal part is the dartos proper. In addition to being continuous with itself between the [[scrotum ]] and the [[penis]], it is also continuous with Colles fascia of the perineum and Scarpa's fascia of the abdomen.<ref name=Campbell10 />

It lies just below the [[skin]], which places it just superficial to the external spermatic fascia in the scrotum and to Buck's fascia in the penile shaft.

In the [[scrotum]], it consists mostly of smooth muscle.<ref>Gray's 16th Edition</ref> The tone of this smooth muscle is responsible for the wrinkled (rugose) appearance of the scrotum.<ref name=Campbell10 />

In the [[penis]], the loose attachment of the dartos fascia to [[Buck's fascia ]] is responsible for the high degree of mobility of the [[penile skin ]] over the underlying tissue.<ref name=Campbell10 /> It is also responsible for carrying the blood supply of the [[penile skin]], a longitudinally-coursing anastomotic network of vessels that arise from the external pudendal vessels.<ref name=Campbell10 />

In the [[scrotum]], the tunica dartos acts to regulate the temperature of the testicles, which promotes spermatogenesis. It does this by expanding or contracting to wrinkle the [[scrotal skin]].

The dartos fascia keeps the [[foreskin ]] close to the [[glans penis ]] throughout life.<ref>{{REFjournal | last=Lakshmanan | firstinit=S | coauthorslast2=Prakash |init2=S | title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function | journal=Indian J Surg | date=1980 | volume=44 | issue= | pages=134-7137 | url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/lakshmanan/ | quote=The normal tone of the muscle arranged in this fashion and supplemented by elastic tissue offers a legitimate explanation for the close fit of the prepuce through the ages. | pubmedID= | pubmedCID= | DOI= | accessdate=2019-09-29}}</ref> In infancy, the dartos fascia operates as a one-way check valve at the tip of the [[foreskin]], allowing [[urine ]] to pass out, but prohibiting the entry of foreign matter and pathogens.<ref><!--{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998 |quote=The sphincter action of the preputial orifice functions like a one way valve, blocking the entry of contaminants while allowing the passage of [[urine]].}}-->{{REFjournal | last=Fleiss | firstinit=PM | coauthorslast2=Hodges |init2=FM, |last3=Van Howe |init3=RS |author3-link=Robert S. Van Howe | title=Immunological functions of the human prepuce | journal=Sex Trans Inf | date=1998-10 | volume=74 | issue=5 | pages=364-7367 | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1758142/pdf/v074p00364.pdf | quote="The sphincter action of the preputial orifice functions like a one way valve, blocking the entry of contaminants and pathogens while allowing the passage of [[urine]]." | pubmedID=10195034 | pubmedCID= | DOI= | accessdate=2019-10-01

: Derived from the Greek δέρνω/derno (beat, flog) and/or δέρμα/derma ([[skin]]), meaning "that which is skinned or flayed", possibly due to its appearance.<ref>{{REFweb