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Light micrograph of a section through a penis, showing the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. The central lumen carries the urine. It is covered in stratified squamous epithelial cells, which are flat and scale-like in structure. Surrounding this is a supporting layer of connective tissue, the lamina propria, which is rich in elastin fibers. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE SOURCE/BIOPHOTO ASSOC.)