[The persistent müllerian duct syndrome with transverse testicular ectopia. A hypothesis on the role of müllerian inhibiting factor in the process of testicular migration].

The authors report a rare case of persistent mullerian duct syndrome (PMDS) with transverse testicular ectopia and inguinal hernia in a 2-year-old child with family history for this syndrome. At operation the observation of a very long and thin gubernaculum and extreme mobility of both testes and uterus, which are located in the same hernial sac, allowed the Authors to propose a hypothesis to explain the role of MIF (Mullerian Inhibiting Factor) in testicular descent. Patients with PMDS present a normal outgrowth and migration phases of the gubernaculum but lack of the gubernacular regression phase. These data suggest an important function of the MIF in this phase of testicular descent.