Why do children have small testicles?

Generally speaking, when the testicles are relatively small, parents should not worry too much. Usually, it is the parents' psychological factors that are at work. Generally speaking, children's testicles are normal. Because they are still very young and have not yet developed, they look very small or non-existent. It is recommended to observe and see if it is normal. If you are still worried, it is recommended to go to the hospital for a check-up to see what is going on.

Testicles are generally the same size. It won’t be one big and one small. If the sizes are different, then we need to actively check to determine the specific situation and the specific cause. The more common cases are pediatric hernia, pediatric testicular effusion and orchitis. In order to determine the specific situation, an ultrasound or puncture examination is required to determine the cause. If it is a hernia or fluid accumulation, surgical treatment should be considered for a complete cure. For this type of orchitis, active anti-inflammatory treatment will have a better effect. If neither is the case, then it is necessary to rule out the possibility of testicular atrophy.

Cryptorchidism, also known as incomplete testicular descent, refers to the testicles remaining anywhere along the normal descent path and not descending to the bottom of the scrotum. Cryptorchidism is a common disease in childhood, and the testicles may still descend after birth. However, for cryptorchid testicles that cannot descend, surgery must be performed promptly to move them back into the scrotum, otherwise it will affect testicular development and even cause cancer.

At 6-7 weeks of embryonic development, the primitive gonads of the male embryo differentiate into testicles, which are located in the posterior and superior part of the abdominal cavity, equivalent to the 12th thoracic vertebra. As the embryo grows to 6 months, the testicles are located at the internal ring of the inguinal canal. From the 7th month, the testicles begin to descend along the inguinal canal, and at 8-9 months, they descend to the bottom of the scrotum. The left testicle is the first to descend to the bottom of the scrotum, followed by the right testicle. As for why the testicles "anchor" midway, it is currently believed that there are two reasons: one is the anatomical structure, such as the spermatic cord or vas deferens is too short, retroperitoneal fibrous adhesions, inguinal canal is too narrow, the internal ring is too small or the testicular structure is abnormal, which will affect the normal descent of the testicles. The second is endocrine factors, such as insufficient maternal gonadotropin, dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testis axis, and insufficient secretion of luteinizing hormone, which lead to reduced testosterone production and also affect testicular descent.

Therefore, you don't need to worry too much about this situation. Wait for the baby to develop for a period of time and see how it is. If there are still various abnormal signs, it will not be too late to go to the hospital for treatment then. Remember not to use medicine blindly. Ensuring your child's health is the most important thing. It is also very important to ensure your child's eating habits.