Histological changes occurring in the contralateral testes of prepubertal rats subjected to various durations of unilateral spermatic cord torsion.

Prepubertal rats were exposed to unilateral spermatic cord torsion for 0, 1, 3, 5, 9 or 12 hours duration. At the end of this time the damaged testes were either removed or untwisted and pexed into place. The animals were then allowed to mature to 77 days of age at which time the contralateral testes were examined for 12 histological parameters and scored according to the degree of pathology noted in each. Pathological changes in the contralateral testes were found to be dependent on the duration of spermatic cord torsion but were less severe in the orchiectomized group. Thus, removal of the damaged organ minimized the long-term damage to the contralateral testes. We also noted that specific histological parameters of the contralateral testes correlated well with fertility and that specific changes in the ipsilateral testes predicted contralateral pathology.