Orchitis & Testicular Cancer Essay

Orchitis and cancer of the testes are both alterations in the male reproductive system – the testes, but they are different in etiology, pathophysiology and clinical manifestations.

Orchitis is an “acute inflammation of the testes” (McCance & Huether, 2015, p.824). It is rare and usually, occur in conjunction with epididymitis (which is an acute inflammation of the epididymis). Its etiology can arise from viral infections, autoimmune disorders or it could be a complication of a previous urinary tract infection like cystitis, urethritis or prostatitis, other causes may include spread of granulomatous infection (Kreiger, 1984). The most common cause of orchitis is mumps and “usually affects post-pubertal males” (McCance & Huether, 2015, p. 825). Orchitis arises as a result of infectious spread from the bladder, urethra or prostate to the testes through lymphatic vessels or ductus deferens (Shulyak & Banyra, 2012).Orchitis & Testicular Cancer Essay It can also be caused by the urethra, vas deferens, and epididymis (McCance & Huether, 2015). These infectious organisms activate pro-inflammatory materials like cytokines and tumor necrosis factor that carry out inflammatory processes leading to acute inflammation of the testes. Clinical manifestations of orchitis are due to the inflammation, and they include fever which could go as high as 40 degrees, pain which could radiate to the groin, edema, bilateral or unilateral erythema and leukocytosis (McCance & Huether, 2015). Bilateral orchitis does not affect hormonal function but may cause sterility of the patient.