Testicular migration chronology: do the right and the left testes migrate at the same time? Analysis of 164 human fetuses.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if the right and the left testes migrate at the same time during the human fetal period.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

We studied 164 human fetuses (328 testes) ranging in age from 12 to 35 weeks post-conception. The fetuses were carefully dissected with the aid of a stereoscopic lens at ×16/25. The abdomen and pelvis were opened to identify and expose the urogenital organs. Testicular position was classified as: (a) Abdominal, when the testis was proximal to the internal ring; (b) Inguinal, when it was found between the internal and external inguinal rings); and (c) Scrotal, when it was inside the scrotum.

RESULTS

The testes were abdominal in 71% of the cases, inguinal in 9.41%, and scrotal in 19.81%. There was asymmetry in testicular migration in nine cases (5.5%). In three of these nine cases, one testis was situated in the abdomen and the other in the inguinal canal; in another three one testis was situated in the abdomen and the other in the scrotum, and in the remaining three, one testis was in the inguinal canal and the other in the scrotum. In five of the nine cases of asymmetry, the right testis completed the migration first, but this was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Asymmetry in testicular migration is a rare event, accounting for <6% of the cases. The right testis seems to complete migration first.