Sonographic Appearance of Testicular Microlithiasis

Testicular microlithiasis: Association with male infertility

“…4,10,11 Two of our 5 patients with TM had a history of testicular maldescent; the remaining 3 patients had small scrotal varicoceles. Whether there is a causal relationship, common predisposing factor, or chance association between TM and these conditions is unclear.…”

Testicular Microlithiasis Associated with Seminoma: Gray-Scale and Color Doppler Ultrasound Findings

“…Unilateral TM has not been described [3,7], TM must be, and can easily be, differentiated from the more common focal, isolated or unilateral calcifications and strongly echogenic intratesticular areas which occur in a variety of conditions, both benign and malignant. The pathological correlates of these are either immature bone or cartilage formations in malignant teratoma, calcifica tions in mature teratoma or focal noncalcified scars in regressively altered germinal tumors [8]. Similar changes are found in tubular atrophy with fibrosis or in germinal neoplasms involving calcifications histologically defined as psammoma bodies [9], Psammoma bodies, generally confined to solitary microliths, are also found in normal, inflamed or atrophic testes [8].…”

“…The pathological correlates of these are either immature bone or cartilage formations in malignant teratoma, calcifica tions in mature teratoma or focal noncalcified scars in regressively altered germinal tumors [8]. Similar changes are found in tubular atrophy with fibrosis or in germinal neoplasms involving calcifications histologically defined as psammoma bodies [9], Psammoma bodies, generally confined to solitary microliths, are also found in normal, inflamed or atrophic testes [8].…”

“…Six cases of testicular tumor have been described in a scries of 14 patients with TM [8], TM per se may not be a causative factor in the development of malignancy, but its association with testicular maldescent and infertility [6], conditions which carry an increased risk for testicular neoplasm, may partly explain this coexistence. Despite many case reports and patient series linking intratesticu lar germ cell tumors with TM, further investigation is nec essary to show whether TM is an indirect indicator of a premalignant condition [10], Tumors of the testis are characteristically well-defined, predominantly hypoechoic lesions.…”

Testicular Microlithiasis in a 2-Year-Old Boy With Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum

“…6 Furthermore, TM also has characteristic sonographic findings of multiple hyperechoic nonshadowing foci. 7 Its pathogenesis is unclear. Suggested sources of TM are semineferous tubules as well as the layers outside these structures.…”