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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jun 3.
Published in final edited form as: J Pediatr Urol. 2014 Apr 12;10(4):699–705. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2014.03.003

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Testicular descent in the human fetus vs. that in a rodent. In both species the process occurs in two separate phases: the transabdominal and inguinoscrotal stages. Migration of the gubernaculum is similar, except that in rodents the extracellular matrix in the gubernaculum regresses before migration begins at birth, while in humans this occurs after the gubernaculum reaches the scrotum, and the entire process is prenatal. Also in humans, the last step after descent is closure of the processus vaginalis (to prevent inguinal hernia), while in rodents the processus remains open and a fat pad on the epididymis, which plugs the inguinal canal, prevents herniation.