Testicular Volume in Korean Boys / 대한소아내분비학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Measurement of testicular volume is useful for the evaluation of puberty and testicular development in boys. Four mililiter of testicular volume means Tanner stage 2, the beginning of puberty, and its ethnic differences were reported. However, there is no reference value for Korean children. We tried to establish the standard testicular volume for Korean boys. METHODS: The subjects were selected among the children who visited the out-patient clinic of Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital and Korea Cancer Center Hospital for the evaluation of growth from 2003 to 2008. Three hundred seventy two healthy Korean boys, 3 to 17 years of age, were included. We excluded the patients who were diagnosed as precocious puberty, delayed puberty, hypopituitarism, adrenal disorder and other endocrinologic disorder. The testicular volume was determined with Prader orchidometer. Clinical data were collected from patient's chart retrospectively. RESULTS: Right and left testicular volumes were 3.65 +/- 1.82 mL and 3.55 +/- 1.80 mL at 10 (10.0 - 10.9) year of age (n = 53), 6.17 +/- 3.60 mL and 6.13 +/- 3.69 mL at 11 (11.0 - 11.9) year of age (n = 52), respectively. There was no significant difference between right and left testicular volumes. CONCLUSION: The time when testicular volume reached 4 mL seemed to be not changed than previous Korean data. However, further study will be required to determine the secular trend of pubertal timing in Korean boys.