Use of infrared functional imaging to detect impaired thermoregulatory control in men with asymptomatic varicocele

Abstract

In normal men, testicular temperature is 3 to 4°C lower than core body temperature (1–3). Two thermoregulatory processes maintain this lower temperature: heat exchange with the environment through the scrotal skin and heat clearance by blood flow through the pampiniform plexus. Venous stasis associated with varicocele may increase the temperature of the affected testicle or pampiniform plexus. Thus, an abnormal temperature difference between the two hemiscrota may suggest the presence of varicocele (2–4).