A Case of Testicular Hypertrophy in Dog
Dr. Anusuya 2025-05-19
A Case of Testicular Hypertrophy in Dog
Case information
A stray dog was brought in our organization NAWRC.
- Sex – Male
- Breed – Local cross
- Age – 4 years (approx.)
- Colour – Brown and Black
- Weight – 16 Kg
Clinical Finding
- On physical examination
- Bright, alert, responsive (BAR).
- No signs of trauma or external wounds.
- Pain on palpation, no systemic sign.
- Unilateral enlargement of testicle (right).
Diagnosis and management
- On the basis of clinical finding, tentative diagnosis was made: (Testicular Hypertrophy).
- Castration was performed under general anaesthesia (GA).
- Case Discussion
- Hypertrophy in general refers to an increase in the size of the cells and, as a result an increase in the size of an organ.
- Hypertrophied organ has no new cells, just bigger cells.
- Causes
- Physiological hypertrophy – caused by increasing functional demand or specific hormone stimulation.
- Adaptive response
- Compensatory hypertrophy – results in an increased function of an organ or tissue.
- Gross finding
- Organ or tissue is larger and heavier than normal.
- Microscopic finding
- Increase in the size of cells, and there are fewer cells in each microscopic field.
Case overview
A four year old local cross breed male dog with right sided testicular hypertrophy and pain. No
systemic signs or behavioral changes were observed.
Possible causes of testicular hypertrophy
- Orchitis/Epididymitis
- Often bacterial, linked to urinary tract infection (UTI) or trauma.
- Testicular Neoplasia
- Typically painless, Sertoli or Leydig tumor.
- Testicular torsion
- Sudden, painful swelling due to twisted spermatic cord.
- Trauma or hematoma
- Internal swelling from injury or blunt force trauma.
Why Orchitis is the most probable cause in this case?
- Painful, unilateral swelling.
- No systemic illness or hormonal signs.
- Common in stray/un-neutered dogs.
- No rapid onset as in torsion.
- No observation of firm mass as in tumors during palpation.
