title: Inconstant ascending testis as a potential risk factor for spermatogenesis in infertile men with no history of cryptorchism.
abstract: The usual testicular location, either low or high in the scrotum, as well as testis ascent into suprascrotal position at least once a week from a usually scrotal position reported by the patient to occur spontaneously and regularly, were recorded in 85 fertile and 1014 infertile men, including 95 with a history of cryptorchism. The frequency of at least one testis being in a high scrotal location was similar in fertile (16.5%) and non-cryptorchid infertile (17%) men but higher in previously cryptorchid infertile men (27.2%), a difference probably due to cryptorchism. Testicular ascent was more frequent when scrotal location was high rather than low. An ascending testis was encountered more frequently in previously cryptorchid (30.4%) than in non-cryptorchid infertile men without any history of cryptorchism (18.3%) or in fertile men (11.8%). Moreover, in infertile men, spermatogenesis was more depressed in cases of testicular ascent than when both testes were never ascending, independently of a varicocele. Testis ascent could be a risk factor for spermatogenesis in infertile men without any history of maldescended testicle.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Stérilité Masculine, CHU La Grave, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mieusset
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bujan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Massat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mansat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pontonnier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003456:Cryptorchidism / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000002:abnormalities*