Anorchia is the absence of both testes at birth.
Vanishing testes - anorchia; Empty scrotum - anorchia; Scrotum - empty (anorchia)
The embryo develops early sex organs in the first several weeks of pregnancy. In some cases, early testes do not develop in males before 8 weeks into the pregnancy. These babies will be born with female sex organs.
In some cases, the testes disappear between 8 and 10 weeks. These babies will be born with ambiguous genitalia. This means the child will have parts of both male and female sex organs.
In some cases, the testes may disappear between 12 and 14 weeks. These babies will have normal penis and scrotum. However, they will not have any testes. This is known as congenital anorchia. It is also called the "vanishing testes syndrome."
The cause is unknown. Genetic factors may be involved in some cases.
This condition should not be confused with bilateral undescended testes, in which the testes are located in the abdomen or groin rather than the scrotum.
Symptoms may include:
Treatment includes:
The outlook is good with treatment.
Complications include:
Call your health care provider if a male child:
Achermann JC, Hughes IA. Pediatric disorders of sex development. In: Melmed S, Polonsky KS, Larsen PR, Kronenberg HM, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 23.
Ali O, Donohoue PA. Hypofunction of the testes. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St. Geme JW, Schor NF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 20th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 583.
Diamond DA, Yu RN. Disorders of sexual development: etiology, evaluation, and medical management. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 150.
There are no recent clinical trials available for this condition. Please check back because new trials are being conducted frequently.