What causes orchitis?

Men's testicles are reproductive organs, which contain sperms, which are important to both men and women. Only when sperms are healthy can they combine with eggs to form fertilized eggs and eventually give birth to healthy babies. However, many men do not have the awareness of protecting their testicles. So, in life, some men will suffer from orchitis. What is the cause of this?

Orchitis is usually caused by bacteria and viruses. The testicles themselves rarely have bacterial infections. Since the testicles have a rich supply of blood and lymph, they have a strong resistance to bacterial infections. Bacterial orchitis is mostly caused by inflammation of the adjacent epididymis, so it is also called epididymo-orchitis. Common pathogens are Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, etc. Viruses can directly invade the testicles, the most common of which is the mumps virus, which mainly invades the parotid glands of children. However, this virus also likes to invade the testicles, so viral orchitis often occurs shortly after the onset of mumps.

Orchitis is a common disease in men's medicine. It is clinically divided into two types: acute purulent orchitis and mumps orchitis. Acute purulent orchitis is the most common. There are many causes of orchitis, such as infection, trauma, and tumor.

1. Chronic nonspecific orchitis

Chronic orchitis is mostly caused by incomplete treatment of non-specific acute orchitis. It can also be caused by fungal, spirochetal, or parasitic infections, such as testicular syphilis. Patients with previous testicular trauma may develop granulomatous orchitis. Local or whole-body radioactive isotope phosphorus irradiation of the testicles can also cause orchitis and damage the testicular tissue.

2. Acute nonspecific orchitis

Acute non-specific orchitis often occurs in patients with urethritis, cystitis, prostatitis, after prostatectomy and with long-term indwelling catheters. The infection spreads to the epididymis through the lymph or vas deferens, causing epididymal orchitis. Common pathogens are E. coli, Proteus, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacteria can spread to the testicles through the bloodstream, causing simple orchitis. However, the testicles have rich blood supply and strong resistance to infection, so this situation is relatively rare.

3. Acute mumps orchitis

Mumps is the most common cause of orchitis. About 20% of mumps patients have orchitis, which is more common in late adolescence. The testicles are highly enlarged and purple-blue in color.