Springtime surgery / edited by D.M. Campbell.

Date:
1916
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Springtime surgery / edited by D.M. Campbell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Etiology.—The causes of cryptorchidy are various, and are not wholly understood. We meet with three groups of causes or conditions which are of interest: 1. Arrested development, or descent of the organ. 2. Aberration of the development of the organ —teratoma. 3. Pathologic conditions of the testes. In the first case, the testicle forms normally, and drops from its embryonic location into the peritoneal cavity, but fails to descend into the scrotum. It then retains its fetal character, is small, soft, flaccid and histologically shows the fetal spermatoblasts, but no spermatozoa. The gland is therefore without procreative function, but induces often a sexual mania. Its position varies, being located at any point on a line pass- ing from the embryonic seat, near the posterior end of the kidney, to and into the internal in- guinal ring. The second class, the teratoma, comprises a widely varying group of dermoid cysts, of al- most any dimensions and containing epidermal