Ebook: Temperature and Environmental Effects on the Testis

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. Machiavelli: The Prince (1513) These are the Proceedings of a Conference on Temperature and Environmental Factors and the Testis which took place at New York University School of Medicine, December 8th and 9th, 1989. There is good reason to believe that this was the first of its kind to address, exclusively, the implications of temperature for this highly thermosensitive organ and its precious genetic cargo. The organizers of the Conference hoped to stimulate interest in this area which, paradoxically, has a considerable literature but which has received scant attention and sometimes outright opposition from clinicians expert in male infertility. There have been studies of the relationship of temperature to reproduction starting in the mid-18th Century with observations of the relationship of water temperature to spawning of fish. There is also a vast literature on the deleterious effects of externally applied heat upon spermatogenesis but little study of the possibility that intrinsic heat may be an important etiologic factor in subfertile semen. Today, fertility research has largely ignored this in favor of research in areas which have not produced successes, in terms of live births, comparable to what can be obtained by varicocelectomy (when appropriate) or scrotal hypothermia: viz. 1. Concentration upon the endocrine aspects of testicular function and its relation to spermatogenesis.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Views of Testicular Function from Antiquity to the Present....Pages 1-6
Front Matter....Pages 7-7
Thermoregulation of the Scrotum and Testis: Studies in Animals and Significance for Man....Pages 9-17
Effects of Elevated Temperature on the Epididymis and Testis: Experimental Studies....Pages 19-32
Effects of Temperature on the Biochemistry of the Testis....Pages 33-47
Epidemiologic Aspects of the Relationship Between Temperature and Male Reproduction....Pages 49-56
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Seasonal Patterns of Births and Conception Throughout the World....Pages 59-72
Temperature and the Seasonality of Births....Pages 73-88
Seasonal Variation in Human Semen Quality....Pages 89-96
Front Matter....Pages 97-97
Theoretical and Practical Considerations in Scrotal Temperature Measurement....Pages 99-110
Non-Invasive Scrotal Thermometry....Pages 111-114
Deep Body Intrascrotal Thermometer: Theory and Methodology....Pages 115-119
Front Matter....Pages 121-121
A Theoretical Model for Testis Thermoregulation....Pages 123-135
The Multi-Level Compartmentation of the Simulation Models of the Counter-Current Heat Exchange (CCHE) Mechanism of the Testis....Pages 137-151
The Physiology of Testicular Thermoregulation in the Light of New Anatomical and Pathological Aspects....Pages 153-172
Effect of Local Heating on Scrotal Temperature....Pages 173-177
Is Testicular Function in Immature Rats Increased Rather Than Decreased by a Moderate Increase in Temperature?....Pages 179-182
The Effect of Intermittent Scrotal Hyperthermia on the Sprague-Dawley Rat Testicle....Pages 183-185
Human Scrotal Temperature During Heat Exposure Associated with Passive Leg Heating....Pages 187-191
Effect of Medullary Lesions on Scrotal Thermoregulation: A Preliminary Study....Pages 193-195
Front Matter....Pages 197-197
Intrinsic Testicular Temperature Elevation and Subfertile Semen....Pages 199-202

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Views of Testicular Function from Antiquity to the Present....Pages 1-6
Front Matter....Pages 7-7
Thermoregulation of the Scrotum and Testis: Studies in Animals and Significance for Man....Pages 9-17
Effects of Elevated Temperature on the Epididymis and Testis: Experimental Studies....Pages 19-32
Effects of Temperature on the Biochemistry of the Testis....Pages 33-47
Epidemiologic Aspects of the Relationship Between Temperature and Male Reproduction....Pages 49-56
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Seasonal Patterns of Births and Conception Throughout the World....Pages 59-72
Temperature and the Seasonality of Births....Pages 73-88
Seasonal Variation in Human Semen Quality....Pages 89-96
Front Matter....Pages 97-97
Theoretical and Practical Considerations in Scrotal Temperature Measurement....Pages 99-110
Non-Invasive Scrotal Thermometry....Pages 111-114
Deep Body Intrascrotal Thermometer: Theory and Methodology....Pages 115-119
Front Matter....Pages 121-121
A Theoretical Model for Testis Thermoregulation....Pages 123-135
The Multi-Level Compartmentation of the Simulation Models of the Counter-Current Heat Exchange (CCHE) Mechanism of the Testis....Pages 137-151
The Physiology of Testicular Thermoregulation in the Light of New Anatomical and Pathological Aspects....Pages 153-172
Effect of Local Heating on Scrotal Temperature....Pages 173-177
Is Testicular Function in Immature Rats Increased Rather Than Decreased by a Moderate Increase in Temperature?....Pages 179-182
The Effect of Intermittent Scrotal Hyperthermia on the Sprague-Dawley Rat Testicle....Pages 183-185
Human Scrotal Temperature During Heat Exposure Associated with Passive Leg Heating....Pages 187-191
Effect of Medullary Lesions on Scrotal Thermoregulation: A Preliminary Study....Pages 193-195
Front Matter....Pages 197-197
Intrinsic Testicular Temperature Elevation and Subfertile Semen....Pages 199-202
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