Section of Medical Pathophysiology and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Centre for Rare Diseases, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
Andrology. 2021 Sep;9(5):1306-1321. doi: 10.1111/andr.13056. Epub 2021 Jun 11.
Scrotal ultrasonography is an essential diagnostic tool in daily clinical practice. The availability of new-generation ultrasound machines characterized by clearly improved image quality, low health cost, and higher patient safety, represents only some characteristics of ultrasound investigation. The usefulness of scrotal ultrasonography is particularly evident in the period of life from infancy to puberty, during which males undergo important morphofunctional changes, and several pathological conditions may occur.
This pictorial review primarily aimed to investigate the aspects of ultrasonography related to the normal physiological development of the gonads from mini-puberty to pubertal onset. This study also aimed to provide an update on the use of ultrasonography in main andrological pathologies that may occur during this period. The conditions that are discussed in depth are: cryptorchidism, inguinoscrotal hernias, and hydrocele in the neonatal phase; acute scrotum, epididymo-orchitis, and testicular cancers in childhood; and hypogonadism, varicoceles, testicular microlithiasis, and oncohematological pathology in puberty.
We provided an ultrasound slant for all the above-mentioned pathologies while purposely avoiding excessive deepening of the pathogenetic, clinical, and therapeutic aspects. Studying the ultrasound aspects of the gonads also facilitates differential diagnosis between various conditions and represents a good aid in evaluating therapeutic success (e.g., in hypogonadism or postsurgical evaluation of varicoceles and cryptorchidism).
Scrotal ultrasonography is now globally recognized as the necessary completion of clinical-laboratory overview in gonads evaluation. This diagnostic procedure is even more indispensable in the infancy-childhood-puberty period for the evaluation of normal gonadal development as well as diagnosis of other possible diseases.
阴囊超声检查是日常临床实践中必不可少的诊断工具。新一代超声设备具有明显改善的图像质量、较低的健康成本和更高的患者安全性，这只是超声检查的部分特点。阴囊超声检查的实用性在从婴儿期到青春期的生命阶段尤为明显，在此期间男性经历了重要的形态功能变化，并且可能发生几种病理情况。
本影像学综述主要旨在研究从迷你青春期到青春期开始时，睾丸的超声相关正常生理发育方面。本研究还旨在提供关于在这一时期可能发生的主要男科疾病的超声应用的最新信息。深入讨论的情况包括：新生儿期的隐睾、腹股沟阴囊疝和鞘膜积液；儿童期的急性阴囊、附睾睾丸炎和睾丸癌；青春期的性腺功能减退症、精索静脉曲张、睾丸微石症和血液肿瘤学病理学。
我们为上述所有病理学提供了超声方面的内容，同时故意避免过度深入探讨发病机制、临床和治疗方面。研究睾丸的超声方面还有助于在各种情况下进行鉴别诊断，并在评估治疗成功方面（例如在性腺功能减退症或精索静脉曲张和隐睾的术后评估中）提供良好的辅助。
阴囊超声检查现在已被全球公认为评估睾丸的临床实验室检查的必要补充。在婴儿期-儿童期-青春期，对于评估正常睾丸发育以及诊断其他可能的疾病，该诊断程序甚至更加不可或缺。
