Dr. Perri Klass on family health. When you learn how to examine
the female reproductive system in medical school, you generally
work with a professional surrogate patient, and there is often a
humiliating moment when you try to palpate the ovaries only to
be told, in no uncertain terms, that you are way off-target. At
such a moment, the male reproductive system seems quite simple
and accessible. Yet simple it is not. Recent research suggests
that we should be paying closer attention to male development,
not just to help boys understand and care for a particularly
sensitive and vulnerable part of their anatomy — but also to
help answer larger questions about what is happening to boys and
their growth. As part of examining every baby boy, pediatricians
check for a relatively common condition known as cryptorchidism,
which means a hidden or secret testicle. Between 3 and 5 percent
of newborn boys have at least one testicle that fails to descend
into the scrotum, with a higher incidence in premature babies.
In ca