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   Construction Site This article is work in progress and not yet part of the free encyclopedia IntactiWiki.    {{Infobox muscle |bodystyle = float:right; valign:top; | Name title = Dartosmuscle | Latin titlestyle = Tunica dartos | Image image = [[Image:Gray1143.png|175px]] | Caption imagestyle = |caption = The [[scrotum]]. (Label for Dartos is at bottom left.) | Image2 image2 = [[Image:Gray1144.png|175px]] | Caption2 caption2 = The [[scrotum]]. (Label for Dartos is at bottom left.) |headerstyle = background:#d2d2d2; |labelstyle = background:#d2d2d2; |datastyle = |header1 = Name |data2 = Dartos | header3 = Latin |data4 = Tunica dartos |header5 = Origin |data6 = Subcutaneous tissue of [[scrotum]], superficial to superficial fascia (Colles) | header7 = Insertion |data8 = [[Skin ]] and midline raphé of [[scrotum]] | header9 = Blood |data10 = [[Artery of Duffy]]{{Citation needed |dateheader11 =April 2011}}Nerve | Nerve data12 = [[Genital branch of genitofemoral nerve]] | header13 = Action |data14 = Corrugates the scrotum | header15 = Antagonist |data16 = |belowstyle = background:#d2d2d2; |below =

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>{{vcite book REFbook |last=Campbell |first= |year=author |title=Campbell -Walsh Urology | chapterurl= |work= | editor=Alan J. Wein, editor |edition= |volume= |chapter= |pages= | titlelocation=Campbell-Walsh Urology Philadelphia | publisher=Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders | date= | isbn=978-1-4160-6911-9 | pagesquote= |accessdate= |note= }}</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 females, the same muscle fibers are less well developed and termed ''dartos muliebris,'' lying beneath the skin of the [[vulva|labia majora]]. It receives innervation from postganglionic sympathetic nerve fibers arriving via the [[ilioinguinal nerve]] and the [[posterior scrotal nerves|posterior scrotal nerve]].

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 [[testicle]]stesticles, which promotes [[spermatogenesis]]. It does this by expanding or contracting to wrinkle the [[scrotal skin]].

* Contraction reduces the [[area|surface area]] available for heat loss, thus reducing [[heat]] loss and warming the testicles.

The dartos muscle works in conjunction with the [[cremaster muscle]] to elevate the [[testis]] but should not be confused with the [[cremasteric reflex]].

The dartos fascia keeps the [[foreskin ]] close to the [[glans penis ]] throughout life. <ref>{{REFjournal |last=Lakshmanan |init=S |last2=Prakash |init2=S |title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function |journal=Indian J Surg |date=1980 |volume=44 |issue= |pages=134-137 |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 |init=PM |last2=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=364-367 |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}}</ref>

: 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 |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/resources/etymology/Abdominal_wall.htm |title=Etymology of Abdominal Wall and Inguinal Terms |trans-title= |language= |last=Catlin |first=B |publisher= |website=Darmouth |date=2008 |accessdate=2019-10-01 |format= |quote=}}</ref>

== References =={{SEEALSO}}* [[Foreskin]]* [[Penis]]* [[Preputial sac]] {{ReflistREF}}

[[Categoryde:Mammal reproductive system]][[Category:Human reproduction]][[Category:FasciaDartos]]