Morphologic differences between abdominal and inguinal testes in stallions

The most frequently occuring abnormality of the male genital system in mammals is the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum. The reasons for abdominal or inguinal retention of testes could be anatomic malformation, faulty development or hormone imbalance.Cryptorchidism has been associated with either greatly reduced or absent spermatogenesis (Kaueakami et al, 1984), and being a source of neoplasia. According to Stick (1980), germinal carcinoma cells have been believed to be the cause of teratomas in equine cryptorchid testicles. Neoplasia has been reported in descended testes of unilateral cryptorchid patients (Martin et al, 1981).No distinction has been made in relating the problem of cryptorchid testes to inguinal or abdominal retention. The purpose of this study is to record the morphological differences between inguinal and abdominal cryptorchid testes as an aid in diagnosis and prognosis.