The confusion concerning the management of the undescended testis is not rivaled by many other lesions. When such disparity of opinion exists, it is safe to conclude that either the data available are hopelessly muddled or the observers are not all talking about the same thing. The undescended testis should be a lesion which lends itself to thorough investigation from which definitive statements could be made concerning etiology, anatomy, and management. Instead, there are widely divergent views concerning causation; association with other lesions, such as hernia; medical versus surgical management; the indications for surgery; the type of operation needed; the age of election, and the results. My associates and I have been interested in undescended testes for seven years and know that such a short period of observation cannot be definitive in all aspects of the problem. However, there are some observations we are now able to make on the