Cryptorchidism is a common incidental finding in clinical practice, occurring in 1-10 per cent of dogs. Cryptorchidism is diagnosed when one or both testes are not present in the scrotum at puberty (around six months of age). Testes should descend into the scrotum by 8-16 weeks in puppies, although late testicular descent has been reported as late as 10 months of age. Both late testicular descent and undescended testicles are autosomal recessive heritable defects and, as such, these patients should not be used for breeding. At a minimum, the undescended testicle should be surgically removed as it is more likely to undergo neoplastic transformation or spermatic torsion; traditionally, both the retained and scrotal testicles are removed, particularlyin light of recent work which suggests increased risk of neoplasia in the 'normal' scrotal testicle also.
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