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Spermatic Granuloma

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 37 Accesses

Synonyms

Epididymal nodule; Epididymal sperm granuloma; Epididymis nodosa

Definition

It is a nodular tumorlike granulomatous lesion in the epididymis or the vas deferens.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Uncommon. It is related to infection, vasectomy, previous surgery, or trauma. It occurs in 20% of the patients following vasectomy.

  • Age

    Adult age

  • Sex

    Male

  • Site

    Epididymis or vas deferens

  • Treatment

    If correctly diagnosed, the treatment is conservative.

  • Outcome

    Benign outcome

Macroscopy

The nodule ranges 0.7–4 cm in greatest dimension and usually is firm, tender, solid or cystic, and discrete, yellow-white solitary nodule in the epididymis or vas deferens. Occasionally, there are small multiple nodules.

Microscopy

Histologic examination reveals a mixed inflammatory background comprising macrophages along with lymphocytes and neutrophils in a fluidy background containing many spermatozoa and sperm heads. Sperm heads are also noted within macrophages (Pérez-Guillermo et al. 1989; Kumar et al. 2004...

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References and Further Reading

  • Algaba, F., Mikuz, G., Boccon-Gibod, L., Trias, I., et al. (2007). Pseudoneoplastic lesions of the testis and paratesticular structures. Virchows Archiv, 451, 987–997.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, V., Gupta, N., Srinivasan, R., et al. (2004). Spermatic granuloma presenting as an epididymal nodule: Fine needle aspiration cytological findings and differential diagnosis. Indian Journal of Pathology & Microbiology, 47, 509–510.

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  • Pérez-Guillermo, M., Thor, A., & Löwhagen, T. (1989). Spermatic granuloma. Diagnosis by fine needle aspiration cytology. Acta Cytologica, 33, 1–5.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, S. S., & Morris, R. R. (1973). Spermatic granuloma: The complication of vasectomy. Fertility and Sterility, 24, 941–947.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Histopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Careggi, Florence, Italy

    Maria Rosaria Raspollini

  2. Pathology Service, Champalimaud Clinical Center, Lisbon, Portugal

    Antonio Lopez-Beltran

  3. Unit of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Surgery, Cordoba University Medical School, Cordoba, Spain

    Antonio Lopez-Beltran

Authors
  1. Maria Rosaria Raspollini
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  2. Antonio Lopez-Beltran
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Rosaria Raspollini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Cite this entry

Raspollini, M.R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (2019). Spermatic Granuloma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4948-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4948-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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