Retained testes in man and in the dog / by Joseph Griffiths.

  • Griffiths, Joseph, 1863-1945.
Date:
[1894]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Retained testes in man and in the dog / by Joseph Griffiths. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    specimens were removed from persons (monorchids) in whom the opposite testis was fully descended and natural, the fifth was from a man (cryptorchid) in whom the condition was sym- metrical, both organs being situated just outside the external abdominal ring. Example I.—A specimen (1065) in the Pathological Museum of the University of Cambridge, the description of which in the cata- logue is as follows :— “ Right testicle situated at the external ring. It [testis] is small though plump, and the epididymis is disproportionately large. There is a sac of a congenital hernia, from which a blue glass rod has been passed into the tunica vaginalis. The left testicle is of natural size, and occupied the natural position in the scrotum. On microscopical examination, after the specimen has been some months in spirit, large cells, like sperm-cells, are found in the epididymis on both sides, but spermatozoa in the left only.” The body of the right testis measures 3 cm. in length by l-8 cm. in breadth; whereas that of the left, which was fully descended into the scrotum, measures 4-5 cm. in length by 3 cm. in breadth. A section of the right testis shows the seminal tubules to the eye, as in a normal organ, but they are more distinct, and, therefore, more easily seen, the inter-tubular connective tissue being relatively increased. Under the microscope the seminal tubules in this right testis are found to be reduced to at least one-half their natural size, and the inter-tubular connective tissue is relatively increased. This inter- tubular connective tissue is composed, in the main, of spindle-shaped connective tissue cells, with but little intervening fibrous matrix; and in it there are hardly any traces of the peculiar interstitial cells frequently found in the normal and full-grown organ. The seminal tubules are, in addition to being reduced in size, altered in their structure. The tunica propria is much thickened, and, as seen in transverse section, forms a sort of collar round the tubule. This tunic is composed, as in the natural condition, of two or more layers of flattened connective tissue cells, with but little intervening fibrous matrix, the thickening seen in the specimen being mainly due to the formation on the side next the lumen of a layer of newly-formed, almost transparent, fibrous tissue, with only one or two flattened cells embedded in the matrix. This layer of tissue I have often found, and always in the same position, in other cases of atrophy. The epithelial cells in the seminal tubules are greatly reduced in numbers, and in the majority of instances the cells form only a single layer which lines the thickened and altered tunic and which encloses a small central lumen. The cells differ from the normal, inasmuch as they are of columnar shape, with a broad base and narrow free extremity which projects into the interior of the tubule and bounds the central lumen when present. In each of these cells a round or ovoid nucleus