Utricular configuration in hypospadias and intersex.

To evaluate the incidence and significance of an enlarged prostatic utricle in hypospadiac patients without underlying intersex 44 patients with the meatus located in the perineum, penoscrotal junction or proximal two-thirds of the penis were evaluated with cystourethroscopy immediately before the operation. There was an abnormally enlarged utricle in 57 per cent of the perineal, 10 per cent of the penoscrotal and none of the penile hypospadias and intersex revealed a high incidence of enlarged utricle or the presence of a vagina masculinus. Utricular enlargement in itself doses not indicate intersexuality but careful cystoscopic examination of its vault needs to be undertaken, searching for a cervix. An enlarged utricle can be a manifestation of delayed mullerian duct regression or decreased androgenic stimulation of the urogenital sinus.