UNDESCENDED TESTES IN MAN AND RHESUS MONKEYS

Abstract

Cases of cryptorchidism present a difficult clinical problem. There have been two methods of relief. One is to wait for the testes to descend spontaneously. The other is to place the testes in the scrotum surgically. Recently a third possibility has presented itself; namely, the administration of the anterior pituitary-like principle from the urine of pregnancy. The practice of waiting to see whether the testes will descend naturally has obvious disadvantages. A recent article by Drake¹ reported thirty-five cases of undescended testes in boys between the ages of 9 and 19 years. Twenty-three of the thirty-five boys showed a spontaneous descent between the ages of 10 and 16 years. The greatest number descended at the time of puberty. In twelve boys the testes did not descend. Besides the possibility of complications to the undescended gland, such as trauma, pain, hernia, torsion of the cord, hydrocele and neurologic manifestations, there