RESUMO
Penoscrotal diseases and inguinal hernia are abnormalities that are often not diagnosed in childhood because most parents do not know the normal anatomy of this region. We designed a cross-sectional study in order to determine the prevalence of inguinal hernia and penoscrotal abnormalities in the elementary school boys in Zahedan city. We studied 3100 elementary-school boys, aged 7-12 years, who underwent clinical examination of the groin and genitalia in 2008. Abnormalities were detected in 167 children [5.38%]. The most frequent anomaly was indirect inguinal hernia, seen in 81 children [2.6%]. The other abnormalities were undescended testis in 39 boys [1.2%], hydrocele in 25 boys [0.8%], hypospadiasis in 11 boys [0.3%], epispadiasis in 1 boy [0.03%], varicoceles in 3 boys [0.09%] and micropenis in 7 boys [0.2%]. Since these abnormalities are most common disorder in children, education of the public and medical staff about these abnormalities and screening system are needed to improve the outcome