Effect of division of genitofemoral nerve on testicular descent in the rat.

The gubernaculum, which has an important role to play in testicular descent, is richly supplied by the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve through its scrotal attachment. In neonatal rats the genitofemoral nerve overlying the psoas muscle was divided before inguinal descent would normally occur, and the effect of this procedure on subsequent testicular descent was observed. Denervation of the gubernaculum caused the testes to remain in the abdomen. The significance of this finding in the rat is that an intact genitofemoral nerve is an essential prerequisite for normal descent, perhaps by allowing the gubernaculum to evert.