A developmental disorder of male infants in which the testes fail to descend normally into the scrotum (see testis, undescended).
An undescended testis (see TESTICLE). The testes normally descend into the scrotum during the seventh month of gestation; until then, the testis is an abdominal organ. If the testes do not descend before the ?rst year of life, they usually remain undescended until puberty – and even then, descent is not achieved in some instances. Fertility is impaired when one testis is affected and is usually absent in the bilateral cases. The incidence of undescended testis in full-term children at birth is 3·5 per cent, falling to less than 2 per cent at one month and 0·7 per cent at one year. Because of the high risk of infertility, undescended testes should be brought down as early as possible and at the latest by the age of two. Sometimes medical treatment with HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPHIN is helpful but frequently surgical interference is necessary. This is the operation of orchidopexy.
(cryptorchism) n. the condition in which the testes fail to descend into the scrotum and are retained within the abdomen or inguinal canal. The operation of *orchidopexy is necessary to bring the testes into the scrotum, ideally before the age of two years, in order to allow subsequent normal development; it is thought that the higher temperature in the abdomen interferes with sperm production. —cryptorchid adj., n.
When testes do not descend into the scrotum, normally in young children (CRYPTORCHIDISM), an operation is performed to correct this. This is called surgical orchidopexy. The main reason is probably cosmetic; however, a testis which has descended is less likely to become cancerous than one which has not. It is less likely that treatment improves future fertility.... orchidopexy
An individual in whom both ovarian (see OVARIES) and testicular (see TESTICLE) tissue is present. Hermaphrodites may have a testis on one side and an ovary on the other; or an ovotestis on one side and an ovary or testis on the other; or there may be an ovotestis on both sides. Both gonads are usually intra-abdominal. The true hermaphrodite usually has a UTERUS and at least one Fallopian tube (see FALLOPIAN TUBES) on the side of the ovary, and on the side of the testis there is usually a VAS DEFERENS. Most true hermaphrodites are raised as males, but external virilisation is not usually complete. Even when signi?cant phallic development is present, HYPOSPADIAS and CRYPTORCHIDISM are common. At puberty, GYNAECOMASTIA develops and MENSTRUATION is common, as ovarian function is usually more nearly normal than testicular function. The condition is rare. A more common condition is pseudohermaphroditism: these are individuals who possess the gonads of only one sex but whose external genitalia may be ambiguous. The cause is a hormonal imbalance and can usually be corrected by hormone treatment.... hermaphrodite
(aspermia) n. the complete absence of sperm from the seminal fluid. This is due either to profound impairment of sperm formation (*spermatogenesis) due to damage to the testes (e.g. caused by *cryptorchidism, mumps *orchitis, or radio- or chemotherapy) or – more commonly – to obstruction of the genital tract (e.g. resulting from vasectomy, gonorrhoea, or Chlamydia infection). A biopsy of the testis is necessary in order to differentiate these two causes of azoospermia; if a blockage is present it may be possible to relieve it surgically (see epididymovasostomy).... azoospermia
n. apparent absence of the testes. This is quite common in young boys, who retract their testes into the groin due to involuntary or reflex contraction of the cremasteric muscle of the suspensory cord (also known as retractile testes). The condition is only important in that it needs to be distinguished from true failure of descent of the testes into the scrotum, which requires early surgical treatment (see cryptorchidism).... pseudocryptorchidism
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