What is testicular gubernaculum?
Caudally the genito-inguinal ligament, or ‘gubernaculum’, connects the lower pole of the gonad and epididymis to the future inguinal canal. The gubernaculum was so-named by John Hunter in the eighteenth century because he thought that it steered the testis to the scrotum.
What is the significance of the gubernaculum in the RAM?
Most likely, the gubernaculum, in conjunction with the processus vaginalis, serves to dilate the inguinal canal and thereby facilitate descent of the testis into the scrotum. In 1969, Gier and Marion proposed that intra-abdominal pressure may be responsible for testicular descent.
What is the role of Gubernaculum testis?
Embryologically the testes form caudal to the kidneys. A gelatinous tissue, the gubernaculum, pulls the testes through the abdomen, through the inguinal canal in the groin, and down into the scrotum. The pulling action occurs as the gubernaculum is stimulated first to grow and then to shrink.
What are the factors for descent of testis?
Eberth [1904] discusses several developmental factors for the descent of the testicles which are: (1) pressure upon the testicle by such developing viscera as the liver and the intestine; (2) shortening of the gubernaculum by contraction of its smooth muscle and by retrogressive shrinkage; (3) contraction of the …
What happens to gubernaculum in males?
As the scrotum and labia majora form in males and females respectively, the gubernaculum aids in the descent of the gonads (both testes and ovaries). The testes descend to a greater degree than the ovaries and ultimately pass through the inguinal canal into the scrotum. The mechanism of this movement is still debated.
What hormone stimulates the descent of the testes?
Each of the two phases of testis descent is regulated by a hormone secreted by Leydig cells: INSL3 regulates the transabdominal phase, whereas testosterone controls the inguinoscrotal phase [6]. Disrupted production of either hormone is responsible for a disorder called cryptorchidism, or undescended testis.
What is the fate of gubernaculum in males?
Do humans have gubernaculum?
This study of 178 male human fetuses and infants demonstrates that descent of the testis through the inguinal canal is a rapid process, with 75% of testes descending between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. The gubernaculum is a cylindrical, gelatinous structure attached cranially to the testis and epididymis.
What hormone is responsible for the descent of the testes?
What is a descent of testis?
Testicular descent occurs after the fourth month of fetal life. The testes are derived from the gonadal ridge medial to the mesonephric ridge of the intermediate cell mass.
