BACKGROUND: The main purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of the Gubernaculum testis distal section as an experimental model of unilateral cryptorchidism in rats. METHOD: We used 36 rats Wistar-EPM-1, half of then was submitted to unilateral section of Gubernaculum testis to obtain unilateral criptorchidism (Group A). The other Group of eighteen animals was submitted to unilateral Sham-operation (Group B- control). The animals were distributed in three subgroups each: A-1, A-2,A-3, B-1,B-2 and B-3. The rats of the subgroups A-1 and B-1 were observed for 30 days. The rats of the subgroups A-2 and B-2 were re-operated in 50 days and the animals of the subgroups A-3 and B-3 after ninety days. RESUTS: Our data showed significant differences in the weight, position and morphological aspects between the two groups, especially in subgroup A-2 (50 days). There was retention of 88,9 % of the operated testis, without animal's deaths. It was observed altered cellular maturity, tubular size diminution and absence of spermatozoids in the tubular lumen in Group A and histological normality in Group B. CONCLUSION: This is a practical, simple and efficient model of cryptorchism in rats.
Testis; Cryptorchidism; Rats, Wistar; Models, animal
