[Hemodynamic changes in varicoceles and their relation to fertility]

Hemodynamic changes in the vascular bed of the affected testis were studied in 45 sterile and 6 fertile patients with varicocele. The examination method used was modified abdominal angiography. The most frequently recorded change in the arterial bed was persistence of the contrast medium in the left internal testicular artery (5 patients). All these patients were from the group of sterile subjects. The most frequent finding in the venous bed was venous reflux from the left renal vein into the left internal testicular vein (45 sterile and 2 fertile patients). In some sterile patients pathologic opening or origin of the vessels was observed. The substantially higher rate of hemodynamic changes in sterile patients suggests their direct relationship to spermiogenesis.