What is the normal size of testicles?

Because the testicles play an important role in the male body in storing and producing semen, men are very concerned about the size of their testicles. As men enter puberty, the secretion of male hormones in the body causes the testicles to grow larger and larger, until they stop growing after a period of time and are completely fixed. The size of each man's testicles is actually different. What is the normal size of a man's testicles?

The importance of testicles to men is self-evident. In fact, if there are no obvious symptoms such as pain, few people pay attention to whether their testicles are normal. The long axis of the testicles of healthy adults is about 3.5 to 4 cm. Normal testicles should be able to fit into the arc of the OK gesture. It is not a big deal if they are a little loose or a little tight.

However, if the testicles are atrophied, it may be the cause of infertility. If they cannot be inserted at all, it may be a testicular disease. It is best to see a urologist for examination. It is said that this test method is very encouraging, because few people usually measure the size of their testicles. When they hear about such a simple and easy method, they can't help but find a deserted place to "measure" it.

The male reproductive glands of humans and animals are organs that produce sperm and secrete male hormones. Humans have one testicle on each side, which is an oval solid body covered with a smooth and tough white membrane. The white membrane penetrates deep into the testicle and divides the testicle into many cone-shaped lobules. The lobules are filled with tortuous seminiferous tubules, where sperm is produced. The stratified epithelium in the seminiferous tubules is composed of spermatogenic cells and supporting cells. The interstitial cells between the seminiferous tubules can secrete male hormones. The spermatogenic function of the testicle begins in puberty (average age 15), gradually declines in old age, and even stops completely.

In clinical practice, there are often cases where adult males have smaller testicles than normal people. Many male patients are worried about this, fearing that their small testicles will affect their fertility. In fact, small testicles cannot be generalized. There are physiological and pathological reasons. Among them, physiological small testicles usually do not affect fertility as long as they can produce sufficient and normal sperm.

Will small testicles affect fertility?

There are many reasons for pathological small testicles, the most common of which are chronic wasting diseases, endocrine disorders such as thyroid and pituitary dysfunction, persistent high fever, taking large amounts of female hormones, viral orchitis or testicular syphilis. All of the above diseases will cause male testicles to shrink and become smaller than normal.

Pathological testicular atrophy and shrinkage may also be due to the spermatogonia or spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubules being easily damaged. When these two types of cells atrophy, they cannot produce sperm. Or when they are damaged, they cannot produce normal sperm, and the testicles will atrophy and shrink.

Patients with pathological testicular atrophy and shrinkage often experience infertility; however, interstitial cells that secrete male hormones are generally not affected, so it usually does not affect the development of male reproductive organ characteristics, such as beards, lower voices, prominent Adam's apples, and well-developed muscles. From a clinical point of view, severe testicular atrophy leading to infertility is relatively rare. Whether testicular atrophy will cause fertility disorders can only be determined through semen examination. If the number of sperm in a man's semen per milliliter is less than 20 million to 60 million, and the activity function is handsome and the morphology is not abnormal, it is necessary to consider whether there is infertility.