Embryology: development of urinary and genital systems
Human Anatomy · MBBS
Study notes
A newborn boy's scrotum is empty on one side. This is cryptorchidism — the testis failed to complete its descent from the abdomen through the inguinal canal into the scrotum. Testes must sit cooler than body temperature to make sperm; an undescended testis left in the abdomen risks infertility and has a higher cancer risk. Hormones or surgery (orchidopexy) bring it down, ideally before age 1–2.