8 SPRING-TIME SURGERY 



Etiology. — ^The causes of cryptorchidy are 

 various, and are not wholly understood. We 

 meet with three groups of causes or conditions 

 which are of interest : 



1. Arrested development, or descent of the 

 organ. 



2. Aberration of the development of the organ 

 — ^teratoma. 



3. Pathologic conditions of the testes. 



In the first case, the testicle forms normally, 

 and drops from its embryonic location into the 

 peritoneal cavity, but fails to descend into the 

 scrotum. It then retains its fetal character, is 

 small, soft, flaccid and histologically shows the 

 fetal spermatoblasts, but no spermatozoa. The 

 gland is therefore without procreative function, 

 but induces often a sexual mania. Its position 

 varies, being located at any point on a line pass- 

 ing from the embryonic seat, near the posterior 

 end of the kidney, to and into the internal in- 

 guinal ring. 



The second class, the teratoma, comprises a 

 widely varying group of dermoid cysts, of al- 

 most any dimensions and containing epidermal 



