A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; furthermore:
- Inspection and palpation of abdomen (belly), inguinal region (groin region), etc. (tenderness?, tapping pain?, release pain?, coughing pain?, guarding pain?, hernial orifices?, kidney bearing tapping pain?)
- Inspection and palpation of the genitals (penis and scrotum; assessment of pubes hair (pubic hair), penis (penis length: in flaccid state between 7-10 cm; presence of: Indurations (tissue hardening), abnormalities (e.g. hypospadias), phimosis/foreskin stenosis?)) and palpation of:
- Inguinal canal
- Scrotum (scrotum); [normally formed/hypoplastic; empty testicular compartment; if testis present → differential diagnosis (distinguish whether):
- Gleithoden or
- Pendulum testis; in pendulum testis, the testis remains in the scrotum until the cremasteric reflex is triggered, and only then does the testis disappear upward]
Note: To prevent the cremasteric reflex (testicle lifting reflex), the examination should take place in a warm, calm atmosphere:
- Infants lying down with legs drawn up.
- Older children ideally first standing, then cross-legged (eliminating the cremasteric reflex) and finally lying down.
- Digital rectal examination (DRU): examination of the rectum (rectum) and adjacent organs with the finger by palpation (assessment of prostate size, shape and consistency).
- Health check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
Note: Are there other morphologic abnormalities associated with undescended testis? These include, in addition to general dysmorphic signs (deviations from the norm caused by a. In addition to general dysmorphic signs (deviations from the norm caused by a growth disorder in the embryonic or fetal period), these include other serious abnormalities in genital development, malformations of the internal organs (heart, abdomen, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys), cerebral malformations, disorders of skeletal development, etc. In case of other abnormalities, human genetic diagnosis is required.