Synonyms
Undescended testes
Definition
A testicle is cryptorchid when it has stopped its descent and remains hidden in the abdominal cavity, or is located in the inguinal canal, or occupies a high position in the scrotum and during the physical examination cannot be mobilized to the scrotal fundus. The best diagnostic method is physical examination. In some cases, MRI is useful. The value of the ultrasonography is controversial.
Clinical Features
Incidence
Testicular descent is a process that is completed in the last months of pregnancy; however, 4–5% of newborns have incompletely descended testicles. This percentage is very high in premature children and reaches 100% in children of less than 900 gr. Most of these testes descend in the first three months of extrauterine life. At the age of 1 year, only 0.96–1.18% remain cryptorchid. After the first year, the spontaneous descent is exceptional. It is generally accepted that true cryptorchidism is present in 25% of patients with empty...
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References and Further Reading
Bergbrant, S., Omling, E., Björk, J., & Hagander, L. (2018). Cryptorchidism in Sweden: A nationwide study of prevalence, operative management, and complications. The Journal of Pediatrics, 194, 197–203.e.
De Miguel, M. P., Mariño, J. M., Gonzalez-Peramato, P., Nistal, M., & Regadera, J. (2001). Epididymal growth and differentiation are altered in human cryptorchidism. Journal of Andrology, 22, 212–225.
Favorito, L. A., Riberio, J.-J. H., & Sampaio, F. J. (2017). Relationship between undescended testis position and prevalence of testicular appendices, epididymal anomalies, and patency of processus vaginalis. BioMed Research International, 2017, 5926370.
Hadziselimovic, F., Zivkovic, D., Bica, D. T., & Emmons, L. R. (2005). The importance of mini-puberty for fertility in cryptorchidism. The Journal of Urology, 174, 1536–1539.
Nistal, M., Riestra, M. L., & Paniagua, R. (2000). Correlation between testicular biopsies (prepubertal and postpubertal) and spermiogram in cryptorchid men. Human Pathology, 31, 1022–1030.
Nistal, M., Castillo, M. C., Regadera, J., & García-Cabezas, M. A. (2003). Adenomatous hyperplasia of the rete testis. A review and report of new cases. Histology and Histopathology, 18, 741–752.
Nistal, M., Paniagua, R., Riestra, M. L., Reyes-Múgica, M., & Cajaiba, M. M. (2007). Bilateral prepubertal testicular biopsies predict significance of cryptorchidism-associated mixed testicular atrophy, and allow assessment of fertility. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 31, 1269–1276.
Nistal, M., Paniagua, R., González-Peramato, P., & Reyes-Múgica, M. (2016). Perspectives in pediatric pathology, chapter 14. Natural history of undescended testes. Pediatric and Developmental Pathology, 19, 183–201.
Nistal, M., Gonzalez-Peramato, P., & Serrano, A. (2017). Helpful data for evaluating an undescended testis in chilldhood. In Clues in the diagnosis of non-tumoral testicular pathology (pp. 83–91). Cham: Springer.
Wei, Y., Wang, Y., Tang, X., Liu, B., Shen, L., Long, C., Lin, T., He, D., Wu, S., & Wei, G. (2018). Efficacy and safety of human chorionic gonadotropin for treatment of cryptorchidism: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 54, 900–906.
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Nistal, M., González-Peramato, P. (2020). Cryptorchidism. In: Raspollini, M.R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (eds) Uropathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4797
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4797
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