Testes

The testes are two glandular organs, which manufacture sperm and hormones. The average testicular volume is 20 cc in healthy young men but this decreases with advancing age. The testis is normally 4 to 5 cm long. The scrotum is a protective storage sac made up of seven different layers of tissue. The testes are suspended within the scrotum by the structures of the spermatic cord (including coverings, blood vessels and the vas deferens, the tube that drains sperm from the testis to the prostate).

Early on before birth, the testes are contained in the abdominal cavity, behind the peritoneum near the kidneys. Before birth they descend to pass through the abdominal wall just above the fold where the leg attaches to the abdomen (in the inguinal canal). During this migration the abdominal wall layers are pushed in front of the testes and eventually become the layers of the scrotum. The testes also drag their own blood supply and drainage tubes with them to become the spermatic cord.

Problems of the testes, spermatic cord and inguinal canal include: