Youmaythinkthatyouhaveaprettygoodhandleonyourjunk. Hell,youhaderectionsinutero,youstud!Manyprouddadshave seenthempokingthroughthegrainyimageoftheobstetric ultrasound.What’snotsosurprisingisthatafterbirth,male infantsdiscovertheirpenisesandtesticlesthreemonthsearlier thanfemalebabiesfindtheirvaginas.Withyourgenitalsflopping aroundforsucheasyinspection,contemplationandentertainment forsomanyyears,it’skindofsurprisingthatmenaremuchmore ignorantoftheirbatandballsthanwomenareoftheirprivates.
“Men are completely clueless about what’s going on down there,” saysurologistDrHarryFisch.“ Menareindenial.Theyignore problemsbecausetheyareafraidortheywanttoappearinvincible. Well, menshouldpayattentiontotheirtesticles. Thetesticlesare theheadquartersforaman’shealth.”
Thinkofitthisway:youwouldn’toperateaheavy-dutyangle grinderwithoutfirstreadingtheusermanual,wouldyou? Menbenefitfrombecomingbetteracquaintedwiththeirown equipment. Themoreyouknowaboutyourbody,thehealthier itwilllikelybeandthemorepleasureyouwillderivefromit.
Now, turn your head and cough.
THE PARTS
We’ll pass over the penis for the moment and skip to the undercarriage, the twin testicles (or testes), where your genital tract begins. Each testicle contains millionsoftinyangel-hairspaghettiliketubesthataretightlycompressed in a strong casing. Each is a little bigger than a ping-pong ball, a little smaller than a hard-boiled egg. (Get to know how healthy testes should feel by learning the testicular cancer self-test on page 28.)
Your testicles hang beneath the big guy in a gnarly hacky-sack called the scrotum. They swing there away from the body for good reason: to keep cool. Optimal sperm production requires testes…
