ABSTRACT
The study of cryptorchidism began with the anatomic descriptions of fetal testes in the abdominal position first described by Baron Albrecht von Haller and John Hunter in the 18th century. Von Haller in his work Opuscula Pathologica, published in 1755, accurately described the abdominal position of the fetal testis and stimulated Hunter to identify the neurovascular supply, cremaster muscles, and gubernaculum of the abdominally positioned fetal testes. From observations on post-mortem dissections, Hunter observed that the testes descend around the eighth month and determined that the descent of the testes was guided by the gubernaculum. Hunter went on to further state that failure of testicular descent may be intrinsic to the testis itself and that after a period of observation, undescended testes should be treated (1).
