Orchitis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Male reproductive anatomy

Male reproductive system

Orchitis

Definition:

Orchitis is an inflammation of one or both of the testicles, often caused by infection.

Alternative Names:
Epididymo-orchitis; Testis infection
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Orchitis may be caused by numerous bacterial and viral organisms. It is usually a consequence of epididymitis, which is inflammation of the epididymis (the tube which connects the vas deferens and the testicle).

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The most common viral cause of orchitis is mumps. Approximately 30 % of patients who have mumps will develop orchitis during the course of the illness. It is most common in boys past puberty, rare before the age of 10. It usually manifests 4 to 6 days after the onset of mumps. In one-third of boys who get orchitis caused by mumps, testicular atrophy (shrinking of the testicles) will result.

For the bacterial causes, please refer to the epididymitis article. Of note, brucellosis is a rare disease in which orchitis develops in 2 to 20% of men with the disease.

Orchitis may also occur in conjunction with infections of the prostate or epididymis and, like those conditions, may occur as a manifestation of sexually-transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea or chlamydia. The incidence of sexually-transmitted orchitis or epididymitis is higher in men 19 to 35 years old.

Risk factors for non-sexually-transmitted orchitis include: