ON THE FREQUENCY OF CRYPTORCHISM AND 
ITS RESULTS. 
BY N. SENN, M.D., Ph.D., LL.D. 
Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. V.; Chief Surgeon Sixth Army Corps. 
CHICAGO. ILL. 
Cryptorchism and incomplete descent of the testicle are 
congenital defects, the frequency of which has never been 
established by reliable and extensive statistics. Undescended 
testicle, partial and complete, is frequently seen in infants 
and children, but becomes more rare with the development of 
the body to manhood. The writer has recently had an oppor- 
tunity to make an accurate investigation into this subject by 
the examination of 9815 recruits for the Volunteer Service at 
Camp Tanner, Springfield, 111. The ages of the men varied 
from 16 to 51. The following is the result of the examination 
with reference to the incomplete descent of the testicle : 
Cryplorcliism.—Right side, 12; leftside, 22; both sides, 1. 
Incomplete descent of testicle.—Right side, 10; with hernia, 
1; left side, 11. 
Total number of incomplete descent of the testicle in 9815 
men, 59. Unilateral incomplete descent, the left side was 
affected 36 times, the right side 22. Out of 59 cases the 
defect was bilateral only once. In this case the inguinal canals 
were found completely obliterated, no trace of the testicle 
could be found. The man was in excellent health, married and 
father of several children. In only two instances was the 
incomplete descent of the organ complicated by a small hernia, 
in both cases on the right side. Both of these men were 
rejected. In all cases in which the testicle could be palpated 
the organ was found atrophic, seldom exceeding the size of a 
filbert or pigeon’s egg, soft and not tender to touch. The 
testicles were most frequently found just within or below the 
external inguinal ring; in the latter location it could be freely 
moved in all directions without causing any pain. None of the 
men thus afflicted complained of pain or even discomfort 
caused by the imperfectly developed and incompletely de- 
scended testicle. Recent scientific investigations appear to 
establish the fact that cryptorchism and incomplete descent of 
the testicle are attributed rather to an imperfect development 
of the organ than to a failure to reach its normal destination 
at the right time. The results of these researches as well as 
the deductions to be drawn from statistic material utilized in 
this paper seem to combine in teaching surgeons caution in 
undertaking early operations for cryptorchism for the purpose 
of transplanting the organ into its normal position and with a 
view of maintaining or increasing its functional activity. The 
congenital hernia which so constantly attends retarded descent 
of the testicle frequently disappears in the course of time 
without operative or truss pressure. 
Chickamauga, June 25, 1898.