Testicular histology in fetuses with the prune belly syndrome and posterior urethral valves

Abstract

Intra-abdominal cryptorchidism and infertility are universal features of the prune belly syndrome but they usually are not seen with posterior urethral valves. To understand further the differences between these patients we reviewed testicular histology in 5 fetuses from each of 3 groups: prune belly syndrome, posterior urethral valves and normals. Spermatogonia were noted in all but the numbers were significantly reduced in those with the prune belly syndrome and posterior urethral valves compared to normals: 8.6 and 13.4 versus 31.2 per 10 high power fields, respectively. The fetuses with the prune belly syndrome also had marked Leydig cell hyperplasia in contrast to the other groups. These findings suggest that the testicular pathological condition in patients with the prune belly syndrome is caused by more than mechanical cryptorchidism.