Testicular Microlithiasis in 2 Children with Bilateral Cryptorchidism

Abstract

Testicular microlithiasis, associated with bilateral cryptorchidism, is studied in 2, 6-year-old children. In case 1 autopsy revealed that 60 per cent of the seminiferous tubules contained completely calcified microliths. Similar mineralized concretions also were found in different areas of the cerebrum and cerebellum. In the testicular biopsy obtained from case 2, 30 per cent of the seminiferous tubules contained microliths showing different degrees of calcification. The study of such calcifications supports the hypothesis that the mineralization process occurs according to the following stages: 1) accumulation of cellular debris in the tubular lumen, 2) deposit of concentric rings of glycoprotein material surrounding the central core and 3) calcification of the glycoprotein lamellar material. The presence of similar concretion in the nervous system as well as the lung in other reported cases suggests that microlithiasis could be a systemic disease.