Testicular Atrophy, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

This book describes Testicular Atrophy, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

I had seen a few male patients recently who had complained of smaller testicles including the patient with varicocele.
Some had been doing weight lifting exercises in gyms.
I have asked them about anabolic steroid usage but they denied it.
Some had previous injury to his testes.
Another had mumps when he was a child many years ago.
All these are possible causes of testicular atrophy.
Of course like everything else aging also plays a part.

Testicular Atrophy is a pathological disorder in which there is abnormal shrinkage of the testicles which are the 2 male reproductive glands located in the scrotum.

Abnormally small testicles are not included.

Testicular Atrophy is normally reserved for testicular organs that begin healthy, then start to wither and shrink without warning.

The testicles are healthy to begin with but slowly over time the testicles begin to shrink without any known cause.

The scrotum’s main function is to control the temperature around the testicles, which it performs by shrinking in reaction to cold temperatures and relaxing in reaction to warmer temperatures.

This can make it act like the testicles are larger or smaller than normal occasionally.

Testicular atrophy indicates shrinkage in the actual testicles, not the scrotum.

This can be caused by several reasons such as an injury, an underlying disorder or exposure to certain chemicals or radiation.

This disorder can be produced due to a range of reasons even though the most frequent reason is hormonal imbalance and recreational drug abuse.

This disorder can also be produced due to old age, any injury to the testicular area, or certain underlying medical disorders.

Patients who have this disorder have reduced libido and also may have infertility.

All of this atrophy depends on the degree of injury to the testicles and the cause of the disease.

Men with this testicular, however caused, are prone to experience a reduced sex drive and possibly also infertility.

Much depends on the extent of the injury and what caused it.

In testicular atrophy, the testes become smaller due to a loss of some of the germ cells and Leydig cells.

Germ cells form the sperm while Leydig cells secrete the hormone testosterone.

If the testes shrink, a person may have:
1. A lower sperm count,
2. Lower testosterone levels, or both, due to the loss of these cells.

Testicular atrophy differs from the shrinking that happens due to cold temperatures.

In cooler temperatures, the scrotal skin draw inwards or shrinks, pulling the testes closer to the body to maintain warmth.

In warmer temperatures, it relaxes, permitting the testes to push out to cool.

While the major symptom of testicular atrophy is shrinkage of one or both testicles, several other symptoms can accompany it depending on the age of the patient.

The most obvious symptom of testicular atrophy is the shrinkage of one or both testicles.

For people who have not gone through puberty, other symptoms of testicular atrophy are not developing secondary sexual characteristics such as:
1. Facial hair
2. Pubic hair
3. Larger penis size (penis may be small)

If the person has gone through puberty, other symptoms of testicular atrophy can be:
1. Decreased sex drive
2. Infertility
3. Reduced muscle mass
4. Absent or reduced facial and pubic hairs

Possible treatments may be:
1. Antibiotics for an infection
2. Lifestyle changes
3. Hormone therapy
4. Surgery, in cases of testicular torsion

Early treatment is essential for effectively reversing testicular atrophy.
In most cases, the testicle stays shrunken permanently

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Testicular Atrophy
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Scrotal Varicose Vein
Chapter 8 Testicular Torsion
Epilogue