The spermatic cord is the bundle of structures that runs from the lower abdomen down into the scrotum and connects each testicle to the rest of the body, with the vas deferens running through it.
There are two spermatic cords, one for each testicle. Each cord contains:
- The vas deferens (the muscular tube the surgeon targets in a vasectomy).
- The testicular artery, which supplies blood to the testicle.
- The pampiniform plexus, a network of veins that drains the testicle and helps regulate its temperature.
- Lymphatic vessels.
- Nerves, including the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve and ilioinguinal nerve fibers.
- A small artery to the vas deferens itself and a thin muscle (the cremaster) that pulls the testicle upward when cold or threatened.
All of these structures are wrapped in connective-tissue sheaths and travel together through the inguinal canal, a short tunnel in the lower abdominal wall. You can feel the cord through the skin above each testicle as a firm, cord-like structure roughly the diameter of a pencil.
For a vasectomy, the spermatic cord matters because the surgeon has to isolate just the vas deferens from the rest of the cord. The vas is the firmest structure in the bundle and feels distinctly different from the surrounding vessels and nerves under the fingertips, which is what makes a no-scalpel approach possible: the surgeon palpates and stabilizes the vas through the skin, makes a small puncture, and brings the vas through that opening while leaving the rest of the cord untouched.
When this matters
For someone having or recovering from a vasectomy:
- The artery and veins running alongside the vas mean precise technique matters. Damage to the cord’s vessels can cause bleeding into the scrotum (a hematocele), one of the more common avoidable complications.
- The nerves running through the cord are part of why poor technique can lead to chronic pain. Microsurgical denervation of the spermatic cord is one of the treatments offered for post-vasectomy pain syndrome (PVPS), specifically because it targets the cord’s nerve supply.
- After the procedure, you may feel a tender thickening in the cord for a few weeks. That is normal healing.
- An experienced surgeon can identify and isolate the vas within the cord by feel in well under a minute. A surgeon’s volume matters; ask how many vasectomies they perform per year.
Related terms
Sources
- American Urological Association Vasectomy Guideline
- Cleveland Clinic: Vasectomy
- Mayo Clinic: Vasectomy
Editorial and informational. Not medical advice. Read the full disclaimer.
