The effect of transection of the main vascular and nervous supply of the testis on the development of spermatogenic epithelium in the pig

Abstract

The treatment of cryptorchidism in boys by the orchiopexy procedure is variably successful due to several technical problems. In order to study some of these problems a series of experiments in the male pig were undertaken. Experimental simulations of the orchiopexy procedure in the inguinal canal in male pigs with normally descended testes gave rise to damage of the spermatogenic epithelium. Cooling experiments of abdominal testes in adult, naturally cryptorchid pigs indicate that the arrest of spermatogenesis in abdominal testes is not due to an inborn defect but is caused by maintenance of the testes at the abdominal temperature. Evaluation of the data of the interventions with the testicular artery, vein, and nerve, either separately or in combination in the abdomen, showed that there was no effect on the spermatogenic epithelium in any one of the five experimental groups. These experiments confirm that in cryptorchid boys transection of the testicular artery and vein in the abdomen may be indicated if a tension-free fixation of the testis in the scrotum is not achievable, provided that alternate routes are able to take over the main blood supply to the testis.