Definition
The term rete testis dysgenesis refers to the presence of a rete testis with infantile characteristics in the adult, absence of development of the rete testis cavities, and persistence of a cubic epithelium instead of the squamous epithelium of the adult. It is associated in many cases with a ductal, pseudoglandular, or papillary proliferation of this epithelium.
Clinical Features
It is a histological finding in the study of undescended testes, and in some testes with germ cell tumors.
Incidence
Frequent in the undescended testes removed in the adult (Nistal et al. 1997).
Age
It is a lesion preferably of adults although congenital forms are also observed.
Sex
Male.
Site
Both testes. No predilection of laterality.
Treatment
No treatment.
Outcome
It is a benign process that probably has its beginning in fetal life due to its association with undescended testes or germ cell tumors, so it should be included among the histological lesions of the testes with testicular dysgenesis...
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References and Further Reading
Nistal, M., & Paniagua, R. (1988). Adenomatous hyperplasia of the rete testis. The Journal of Pathology, 154, 343–346.
Nistal, M., & Jiménez-Heffernan, J. A. (1997) Rete testis dysgenesis. A characteristic lesion of undescended testes. Arch Pathol Lab Med, 121, 1259–64.
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., Gonzalez-Peramato, P., & Serrano, A. (2017). Rete testis dysgenesis as a marker of undescended testis. In Clues in the diagnosis of non-tumoral testicular pathology (pp. 253–260). Cham: Springer.
Paluru, S., Ulbright, T. M., Amin, M., Montironi, R., & Epstein, J. I. (2018). The morphologic spectrum of sertoliform cystadenoma of the rete testis: A series of 15 cases. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 42, 141–149.
Roosen-Runge, E. C., & Holstein, A. F. (1978). The human rete testis. Cell and Tissue Research, 189, 409–433.
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Nistal, M., González-Peramato, P. (2020). Rete Testis Dysgenesis. In: Raspollini, M.R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (eds) Uropathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4929
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4929
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