Disease relevance of Spermatic Cord

• Histological changes occurring in the contralateral testes of prepubertal rats subjected to various durations of unilateral spermatic cord torsion [1].
• The incidence of spermatic cord structures in inguinal hernia sacs from male children [2].

High impact information on Spermatic Cord

• To investigate the effect of R-FSH on spermatic steroid levels and the action of steroid- and LH-free SB on isolated Leydig cells, nine normospermic males were studied during spermatic cord surgery [3].
• Arterio-venous transfer of testosterone in the spermatic cord of man [4].
• We divided the children into group 1-83 with spermatic cord torsion a mean of 14.4 years old, group 2-27 with torsion of a testicular appendage a mean of 9.4 years old and group 3-5 with epididymo-orchitis a mean of 14.1 years old [5].
• A bupivacaine spermatic cord block resulted in temporary pain relief [6].
• Fifteen patients (65.2%) in Group 1 required an increase in inspired halothane concentration to block hemodynamic and/or ventilatory response during spermatic cord traction, as compared with 8 patients (29.6%) in Group 2 (P = 0.022) [7].

Chemical compound and disease context of Spermatic Cord

• Administration of erdosteine resulted in a significantly reduced histological damage associated with torsion of the spermatic cord compared with torsion/detorsion [8].
• Serum creatine kinase enzyme levels in the early diagnosis of spermatic cord torsion [9].

Anatomical context of Spermatic Cord

• Based on haemoglobin oxygen saturation and testosterone data, it was calculated that between 28 and 46% of the testicular arterial blood was bypassing the testis and was directly flowing through arterio-venous anastomoses towards the pampiniform plexus in the spermatic cord of conscious rams [10].
• Rabbits receiving a dietary cholesterol supplement of 0.5% develop atheromatous plaques in the systemic arteries, the pulmonary artery, the pulmonary veins and the venous cavities of the plexus pampiniformis in the funiculus spermaticus [11].
• The viscerosensory quality in the testicular intrinsic innervation is very likely mediated by the CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide)-positive fibers that run independently from the testicular vessels and end in the connective tissue of spermatic cord and tunica albuginea [12].
• It was concluded that lymphatic vessels of the mesofunicules and of the spermatic cords as well as venous and arterial vasculature of the mesofunicules create a recently unknown pathway for the increase of testosterone supply from the testes to the epididymes, vasa deferentia and accessory genital glands of rats [13].

Associations of Spermatic Cord with chemical compounds

• Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in two experiments in which a procarbazine bolus (400 mg kg-1 body mass) was administered with or without testicular circulatory isolation in the form of brief clamping of the spermatic cord and gubernaculum during drug administration [14].
• This highly coiled testicular artery within the bovine spermatic cord has a constant luminal diameter but a continuously decreasing mural thickness [15].
• Acetylcholine induced a powerful contraction of the spermatic cord placed in an organ bath containing Heller's solution [16].
• In groups 3 and 4, normothermic circulatory isolation of the left testis was induced by cross-clamping of the spermatic cord and gubernaculum immediately before doxorubicin administration [17].
• The clamp plus ring method, where each spermatic cord and the associated scrotal tissue were crushed separately for 1, 5 or 10 seconds with no overlap between the two crush lines, did not elicit lower cortisol responses than the ring-only method [18].

Gene context of Spermatic Cord

• Glandular inclusions in inguinal hernial sacs and spermatic cords. Müllerian-like remnants confused with functional reproductive structures [19].
• The contralateral increase, which was not seen in the hindpaw on the same side, did not occur when the neuronal connections to the testes were blocked by injection of local anesthetics into the spermatic cord, either on the NPY-injected side or on the contralateral side [20].
• IMPLICATIONS: In children undergoing orchidopexy, a caudal block with a larger volume of dilute bupivacaine is more effective than a smaller volume of the more concentrated solution in blocking the peritoneal response during spermatic cord traction, with no change in the quality of postoperative analgesia [7].
• Metastatic carcinoma from the digestive organs to the spermatic cord (SC) and/or the intrascrotal contents (ISC) is rare [21].
• Nevertheless, more investigations on the molecular mechanisms and the antioxidant status in testis are necessary to ascertain the contribution of ROS to the tissue damage produced by spermatic cord torsion in experimental animals and humans [22].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Spermatic Cord

• Injection of local anaesthetic into both spermatic cords marginally reduced the cortisol response to ring castration, but the response was virtually abolished by prior scrotal neck, or scrotal neck plus spermatic cords, or intra-testicular local anaesthetic injections [18].

References