Ectopic seminiferous tubules in the tunica albuginea of normal and dysgenetic testes

Abstract

The histological study of testes obtained from 453 autopsies and 245 biopsies revealed seminiferous tubules in the testicular tunica albuginea of 9 children. Affectation was always unilateral. Three of these testes were associated with müllerian structures and were dysgenetic, showing a thin, insufficiently collagenized tunica albuginea, similar to the ovarian stroma. The other 6 testes corresponded to: 4 normal children, 1 child with idiopathic male pseudohermaphroditism without Müllerian structures, and another with unilateral inguinal cryptorchidism. In these 6 testes the tunica albuginea was histologically normal. These results suggest that the presence of seminiferous tubules in the tunica albuginea is not sufficient to diagnose testicular dysgenesis. Such a diagnosis may only be indicated if the tunica albuginea also exhibits the other characteristic features of dysgenetic testes.