Unidade de Pesquisa Urogenital, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Int Braz J Urol. 2024 Nov-Dec;50(6):764-771. doi: 10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2024.9916.
Although nerves and vessels of the penis play important role in erection, there are few studies on their development in human fetus. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to analyze, quantitatively, in the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum, the development of the nerves and vessels in the fetal penis at different gestational ages.
Fifty-six fresh, macroscopically normal human fetuses aged from 13 to 36 weeks post-conception (WPC) were used. Gestational age was determined by the foot length criterion. Penises were immediately fixed in 10% formalin, and routinely processed for paraffin embedding, after which tissue sections from the mid-shaft were obtained. We used immunohistochemical staining to analyze the nerves and vessels in the corpus cavernous and in the corpus spongiosum. These elements were identified and quantified as percentage by using the Image-J software.
The quantitative analysis showed that the percentage of nerves varied from 3.03% to 20.35% in the corpora cavernosa and from 1.89% to 23.88% in the corpus spongiosum. The linear regression analysis indicated that nerves growth (incidence) in the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum correlated significantly and positively with fetal age (r2=0.9421, p<0.0001) and (r2=0.9312, p<0.0001), respectively, during the whole fetal period studied. Also, the quantitative analysis showed that the percentage of vessels varies from 2.96% to 12.86% in the corpora cavernosa and from 3.62% to 14.85% in the corpus spongiosum. The linear regression analysis indicated that vessels growth (appearance) in the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum correlated significantly and positively with fetal age (r2=0.8722, p<0.0001) and (r2=0.8218, p<0.0001), respectively, during the whole fetal period studied. In addition, the linear regression analysis demonstrated a more intense growth rate of nerves in the corpus spongiosum during the 2nd trimester of gestation, when compared with nerves in the corpora cavernosa. In addition, the linear regression analysis demonstrated a more intense growth rate of vessels in the corpus spongiosum when compared with the corpora cavernosa, during the whole fetal period studied.
In the fetal period, the human penis undergoes major developmental changes, notably in the content and distribution of nerves and vessels. We found strong correlation between nerves and vessels growth (amount) with fetal age, both in the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum. There is significant greater proportional number of nerves than vessels during the whole fetal period studied. Also, nerves and vessels grow in a more intense rate than that of the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum areas.
尽管阴茎的神经和血管在勃起中起着重要作用，但关于它们在人类胎儿中的发育的研究很少。因此，本研究的目的是定量分析不同胎龄的阴茎海绵体和阴茎海绵体中的神经和血管的发育情况。
使用 56 个 13 至 36 周胎龄（WPC）的新鲜、大体正常的人胎。胎龄通过足长标准确定。阴茎在固定于 10％福尔马林中，然后常规进行石蜡包埋，然后从中间轴获得组织切片。我们使用免疫组织化学染色来分析海绵体和海绵体中的神经和血管。使用 Image-J 软件将这些元素识别并定量为百分比。
定量分析显示，在海绵体中，神经的百分比从 3.03％到 20.35％不等，在海绵体中从 1.89％到 23.88％不等。线性回归分析表明，在整个研究的胎儿期内，海绵体和海绵体中的神经生长（发生率）与胎儿年龄呈显著正相关（r2 = 0.9421，p <0.0001）和（r2 = 0.9312，p <0.0001）。此外，定量分析显示，在海绵体中，血管的百分比从 2.96％到 12.86％不等，在海绵体中从 3.62％到 14.85％不等。线性回归分析表明，在整个研究的胎儿期内，海绵体和海绵体中的血管生长（出现）与胎儿年龄呈显著正相关（r2 = 0.8722，p <0.0001）和（r2 = 0.8218，p <0.0001）。此外，线性回归分析表明，在妊娠中期，海绵体中的神经生长速度比海绵体中的神经生长速度更快。此外，在整个研究的胎儿期内，与海绵体相比，海绵体中的血管生长速度更快。
在胎儿期，阴茎经历了重大的发育变化，尤其是神经和血管的含量和分布。我们发现，在海绵体和海绵体中，神经和血管的生长（数量）与胎儿年龄之间存在很强的相关性。在整个研究的胎儿期，神经的数量明显大于血管的数量。此外，神经和血管的生长速度比海绵体和海绵体的生长速度更快。
