The Abdomen 257 



The Testes and Scrotum 



CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS. 



The condition known as Cryptorchism is not uncommon. Its 

 recognition by the veterinary practitioner is important from a 

 medico-legal aspect. Sometimes a whole litter of puppies is affec- 

 ted. One or both glands may be involved (monorchism, cryptor- 

 chism) and they are most frequently retained within the abdominal 

 cavity, generally at the level of the internal ring. Less frequently 

 they traverse the inguinal canal and reach the position normally 

 occupied by the scrotum (ectopia), the latter being absolutely want- 

 ing. Normal descent of the testicle occurs somewhat later, and is 

 more liable to deflection on the right side than on the left. In a 

 true cr5rptorchid the development of the glands is always arrested, 

 the penis may be rudimentary, and sexual proclivity is lacking, 

 though some subjects exhibit a roving tendency. It is well known 

 that a retained testicle may grow to some extent at puberty, yet 

 neither then nor at any subsequent period does it reach its full 

 size and acquire its spermatozoa-producing powers, the tubules re- 

 maining atrophied. While incapable of producing spermatozoa, 

 the retained organ is capable of exerting that influence which the 

 normal testis exerts upon the development and growth of the body. 

 When one organ has fully descended and developed, the animal 

 is capable of procreation, but, on the other hand, when both have 

 failed to reach the scrotum it remains sterile, though it may yet 

 possess enough virility to copulate. 



Griifiths experimented on several dogs, both young and full- 

 grown, by replacing the testicle and cord in the abdominal cavity, 

 with the following results: (i) When replaced in young animals 

 it undergoes little change, growing somewhat, but not so much as 

 the undisturbed organ until the approach of puberty. (2) The 

 testicle of a full-grown animal, when replaced, soon dwindles to 

 two-thirds or one-third its natural size, and after a short time 

 presents precisely the same structure as that which is found in 

 the replaced testicle of the young animal. There is no trace of sper- 

 matogenesis in the degenerated epithelial cells, and no spermatozoa 

 in the interior of the atrophied tubules. 



Retained testes are prone to tumor formation. Leisering and 

 Sutton have seen tumors of retained testicles in monorchids. In 



18 



