title: Varicocele anatomy during subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy in Chinese men.
abstract: Knowledge of subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy is of fundamental importance to ensure that varicocele is resolved and testicular function is preserved. Our study aimed to describe the number of veins, arteries and lymphatics in the subinguinal spermatic cord and to clarify their differences between two sides, between patients with different complaints and between varicoceles with different clinical grades. A total of 102 consecutive patients underwent 162 primary subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomies, during which the number of vessels with different diameters was recorded. A mean number of 12.9 internal spermatic veins, 0.9 external spermatic veins, 1.8 internal spermatic arteries and 2.9 lymphatics were identified per cord. 88.2% of the internal spermatic arteries were surrounded by a dense complex of adherent veins. The external spermatic vein or veins were found in 49.4% of the cases. The mean number of medium (1-3 mm in diameter) internal spermatic veins on the left was larger than that on the right (P < 0.001). The mean number of medium internal spermatic veins in grade III varicocele was larger than that in grade I or grade II (P < 0.015). There was no significant anatomical difference between the men presenting for infertility, chronic testicular pain and both the two complaints.
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: K-L
authors: KL
authors: Lv
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: J-T
authors: JT
authors: Zhuang
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: Z
authors: Z
authors: Wan
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: Y-D
authors: YD
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Gao
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: X-Z
authors: XZ
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: S-P
authors: SP
authors: Qiu
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: C-H
authors: CH
authors: Deng
authors: Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors: X-A
authors: XA
authors: Tu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007264:Inguinal Canal / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D013085:Spermatic Cord / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013737:Testis / Q000098:blood supply; D014646:Varicocele / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014680:Veins / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anatomy; Infertility; Microsurgery; Pain; varicocele