Undescended Testicle

Undescended Testicle

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

Undescended testes are suspected when one or both of the testes can't be felt when the scrotum is examined. The scrotum may appear flat and small. Some undescended testes will descend during the first few months of life, and the diagnosis can be made with confidence by re-examination at six months of age. Sometimes an undescended testicle is confused with a retractile testicle, which is a "normally" descended testicle that is pulled out of the scrotum by an overactive cremasteric muscle reflex, an automatic reflex that occurs when skin on the front inner thigh is stroked. This commonly occurs in boys between the ages of 2 and 7. Treatment isn't required for retractile testes because boys usually outgrow it by puberty.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated May 8, 2007