Scrotal thermography

An easily detectable, ipsilateral increase in scrotal infrared emission leading to a difference of at least 2.8°C (5°F) between abnormal and normal sides was recorded in 15 of 18 patients subsequently found to have an intrascrotal tumor, inflammation, or varicocele. It was impossible to distinguish between these disorders on the basis of thermographic findings. In four patients a significant increase in heat was found in the absence of positive physical findings. One had metastasizing seminoma, two had feminizing interstitial cell tumors, and one had varicocele that resulted in depressed spermatogenesis. Hydroceles tended to produce infrared emission equivalent to or less than that of the contralateral normal side.