ABSTRACT
The raphe of the human penis and scrotum is considered to develop secondarily after disappearance of the initial midline seam by fusion of the bilateral genital folds. However, the fetal development was still obscure. We examined histological sections of 30 fetuses (17 males and 13 females) at 10-15 weeks. In male fetuses, the scrotum was not yet clearly identified because of no descent of testis. The perineal raphe was thin and wavy at 10 weeks, and it was continuous with and took a direction same as the inferior wall of the closed penile urethra after physiological hypospadias. Depending on growth of the bulbospongiosus muscle and corpus spongiosus penis, the midline intermuscular septum obtained a connection to the subcutaneous wavy raphe and made the latter thick and straight at 12-15 weeks. Notably, the perineal raphe extended posteriorly to attach to the external anal sphincter. In female fetuses, an epithelial fusion occurred along a short distance at the posterior end of the vestibule. However, in front of the external anal sphincter, a large midline mesenchymal tissue from the urorectal septum did not contain a raphe-like structure. Moreover, since the bilateral bulbospongiosus muscles were separated widely by the vestibule, they did not provide a midline septum. Fetal development of the perineal raphe was accelerated by reinforcement from the muscular septum. In contrast, without such a muscular support, the female raphe could not maintain its growth even if the seed appeared at the posterior end of the vestibule.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Anal Canal , Fetal Development , Fetus , Hypospadias , Muscles , Penis , Scrotum , Testis , UrethraABSTRACT
Introduction: the perineal groove is a very uncommon anorectal anomaly. It is the result of an unknown embryology anomaly. The perineal groove is a wet sulcus extending from de fourchette to the anus. It is a benign pathology and tends to resolve spontaneously. Objective: We report two cases of girls diagnosed with perineal groove and their follow up. Cases reports: The first case is an 18 days old baby girl, that during her first clinical examination there was found a painless lineal lesion in the perineum from the fourchette to the anus, which created a big anxiety in her family. She was cared at the Pediatric Gynecology Unit, with local lubrication, doing well with the epithelization of it. The second case is an 8 year-old girl who consulted because, when being a child, she was diagnosed with a perineal lesion, but she didn't receive any special treatment and now she feels some aches in the perineum. Conclusions: The perineal groove is a benign entity pretty unknown by general practitioners or pediatricians. It is important to be up to date with this condition to avoid alarming misinterpretations.
Introducción. El surco perineal es una malformación poco frecuente, de etiología desconocida, consiste en una ranura en la línea media del periné desde la horquilla vulvar al ano, es benigna y tiende a la resolución espontánea. Objetivos: Reportar el diagnóstico y evolución de dos pacientes con surco perineal. Casos clínicos: Caso 1. Recién nacida de 18 días que previo al alta de maternidad se pesquisó una lesión lineal no dolorosa desde la horquilla vulvar al ano, lo que generó gran inquietud en su familia. En Ginecología Infantil se confirmó el diagnóstico, se manejó con lubricación del área genital evolucionando a la epitelización del surco. Caso 2. Niña de 8 años consultó por que en controles de salud se diagnosticó una "fisura" entre la horquilla vulvar y el ano que no fue tratada y presentaba molestias inespecíficas en el periné. Se indicó resección quirúrgica, pero paciente evolucionó satisfactoriamente con lubricación de la zona. Conclusiones. El surco perineal es una entidad benigna que debe ser conocida por médicos de atención ambulatoria debido a la alarma que pueden generar sus diagnósticos diferenciales.