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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Dissection and Explant Culture of Murine Allantois for the In Vitro Analysis of Allantoic Attachment
Published on: January 13, 2018
Cranial attachment of the gubernaculum associated with undescended testes
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Medical Center, National Okayama Hospital, Okayama, Japan.
Abstract:
Elongated epididymis is an abnormality encountered most frequently in patients who have an undescended testis (or testes). To clarify the implication of this anomaly in testicular descent, the anatomic configuration of paratesticular structures, especially the site of cranial attachment of the gubernaculum in relation to the configuration of the vas deferens, was evaluated in 54 undescended testes of 44 patients. Undescended testes were associated with an elongated epididymis in 42.5% of cases. Of these, the cranial gubernaculum was attached solely to the vas deferens in 73.9%. In this group, the cranial gubernaculum was attached to the most descended part of the loop of the vas deferens. No patient with a nonelongated epididymis had a gubernaculum attached solely to the vas deferens. These results suggest that the abnormal attachment of the cranial gubernaculum in the embryological stage might affect the mode of descent of adjacent paratesticular structures.
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