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Q:I have a 24-month-old Azteca colt that has dropped only one testicle so far. He had two normal-appearing testicles at birth, and both of them withdrew above the inguinal ring before he was a year old. This past winter, when he was about 20 months old, his left testicle dropped and appears normal, although rather large for his age. I would eventually like to use this colt as a breeding stallion. Is cryptorchidism hereditary?


A:Testicular descent is a very complex process, and causes for abnormal descent can be varied and are often difficult to document. According to the literature, and in my experience, testicular descent into the scrotum is generally complete at birth or within the first few days following birth. It is extremely uncommon for retained testes to descend into a scrotal position after a few months of age, but reports exist for testicular descent at 1 to 2 years old in rare instances. ... Read more...

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