Cryptorchidism of testicular germ-cell tumors, and psychological problems when the boy is grown. Undescended testes are also more susceptible to testicular torsion (and subsequent infarction) and inguinal hernias. Without intervention, an undescended testicle will usually descend during the first year of life, but to reduce these risks, undescended testes can be brought into the scrotum in infancy by a surgical procedure called an orchiopexy. Although cryptorchidism nearly always refers to congenital absence or maldescent, a testis observed in the scrotum in early infancy can occasionally "reascend" (move back up) into the inguinal canal. A testis which can readily move or be
Gubernaculum Gubernaculum The paired gubernacula (from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω = pilot, steer, also called the caudal genital ligament) are embryonic structures which begin as undifferentiated mesenchyme attaching to the caudal end of the gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females). As the scrotum and labia majora form in males and females respectively, the gubernaculum aids in the descent of the gonads (both testes and ovaries). The testes descend to a greater degree than the ovaries and ultimately pass through the inguinal canal. The gubernaculum is present only during the development of the urinary and reproductive organs, being replaced by distinct