The pressure from the transducer is usually light, but it may cause some discomfort if a person has an injury or swelling in the area.
The medical professional will move the transducer back and forth over the scrotum to take images of the testicles. The gel may feel cold on the skin, though sometimes it is warmed up beforehand.
The gel also allows the transducer to be moved smoothly over the skin to get clear images. The doctor will apply a water-based gel to the scrotum to ensure that there is good contact between the skin and the transducer. A small, hand-held machine called a transducer is used to take the images. During the procedure, they may be required to move onto one side of their body.Ī testicular ultrasound is performed outside the body. The procedure usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes.īefore the examination, a person is asked to lie face up on a table. Before they begin, they should explain what will happen during the examination. This can be a radiologist, urologist, or sonographer. The examination will be carried out by a medical professional who specializes in testicular ultrasound. Share on Pinterest The ultrasound process will be explained before the procedure begins. The operation is typically straightforward and involves a surgeon moving the testicles down so that they sit in the correct position in the body. If the testicles do not descend by the time a boy is 6 months old, it is crucial to consult a specialist. This usually happens before birth, but can take up to 6 months after birth to occur. Undescended testicles are a common condition affecting young males.ĭuring fetal development, the testicles should naturally move downwards from inside the abdomen to finally sit outside the body in the scrotum. Potential problems include infection, injury, previous surgery, or illness. Problems affecting the testicles can sometimes cause male infertility. Inflammation of the epididymis can cause fluid to build up around the testicle, resulting in a lump or a swelling.Įpididymitis is usually caused by an infection. A person should see their doctor immediately if they have severe testicle pain with no apparent cause.Įpididymitis is an inflammation of the epididymis, which is the tightly coiled tube behind the testicle that stores and transports sperm. Often, surgery is required to prevent further damage to the testicle. If testicular torsion is not treated immediately, the blood supply can get cut off, causing the tissue of the testicle to die. It occurs when the spermatic cord, which supplies blood to the testicle, becomes twisted. Testicular torsion is a serious, very painful condition that requires emergency medical attention. Here, we review the current literature on the effects of IR at both high- and low-dose on the mRNA translation machinery.Share on Pinterest An ultrasound may help to diagnose testicular torsion, and to determine what treatment is required. Understanding the mechanisms controlling protein synthesis in response to varying doses of IR could provide novel insights into how this stress-mediated cellular adaptation is regulated and potentially uncover novel targets for radiosensitization or radioprotection. Nonetheless, under these conditions, certain mRNAs encoding specific proteins are translationally favoured to produce the factors essential to repair the cell or send it down the path of no return through programmed cell death. In response to environmental stimuli, regulation of mRNA translation allows for precise and rapid changes to the cellular proteome, and unsurprisingly high-dose of IR was shown to trigger a severe reprogramming of global protein synthesis allowing the cell to conserve energy by preventing the synthesis of unneeded proteins. One often overlooked target of IR is mRNA translation, a highly regulated cellular process that consumes more than 40% of the cell's energy. Thus, uncovering long-sought molecular mechanisms and tissue responses that are targeted by IR could lead to more informed policymaking and propose new therapeutic avenues for a variety of pathologies. The resulting uncertainty has led to the entrenchment of conservative radioprotection policies around the world. Although the impacts of high-doses of IR on mammalian cells and systems have been broadly explored, there are still challenges in accurately quantifying biological responses to IR, especially in the low-dose range to which most individuals are exposed in their lifetime. Ionizing radiation (IR) is a constant feature of our environment and one that can dramatically affect organismal health and development.