Cryptorchidism Cryptorchidism Cryptorchidism is the absence of one or both testes from the scrotum. The word is from the Greek κρυπτός, "kryptos", meaning hidden, and ὄρχις, "orchis", meaning testicle. It is the most common birth defect of the male genital tract. About 3% of full-term and 30% of premature infant boys are born with at least one undescended testis. However, about 80% of cryptorchid testes descend by the first year of life (the majority within three months), making the true incidence of cryptorchidism around 1% overall. Cryptorchidism may develop after infancy, sometimes as late as young adulthood, but that is exceptional.
Users' Guides to the Medical Literature Guyatt introduced the term "evidence-based medicine" to stress the role of rigorous, systematic evidence from clinical research in conjunction with patients’ values and preferences in clinical decision-making. A group of academic physicians subsequently formed the international Evidence-based Medicine Working Group and published a 1992 article announcing the "new paradigm" of evidence-based medicine. The Evidence-based Medicine Working Group decided to build on the popular series in the "Canadian Medical Association Journal" by creating a more practical approach to applying the medical literature to clinical practice. Championed by Dr. Drummond Rennie, an editor of the "Journal of the American Medical Association", the