Testis & paratestis
Development
Sertoli cell only
Author: Turki Al-Hussain, M.D.
Last author update: 1 September 2012
Last staff update: 24 November 2023
Copyright: 2002-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Sertoli cell only
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Etiology | Germ cell aplasia and focal spermatogenesis | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Differential diagnosisCite this page: Al-Hussain T. Sertoli cell only. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/testisgermcellaplasia.html. Accessed April 25th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Also known as Sertoli cell only syndrome
- First derscribed by Del Castillo et al. (1947)
Etiology
- Causes: idiopathic, gonadotropin deficiency, cryptorchidism, orchitis, prostate cancer hormonal therapy, radiation, Klinefelter syndrome (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2010;134:1197)
Germ cell aplasia and focal spermatogenesis
- 2 populations of tubules; one population with small tubules exhibiting germ cell aplasia, other population has reduced spermatogenesis
- Usually very low sperm count
- Some prefer the term "hypospermatogenesis" for this setting (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2010;134:1197)
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Tubules are reduced in diameter and lined only by Sertoli cells
- Sertoli cells are perpendicular to basement membrane; may resemble palm trees waving in a breeze
- Cells have nuclear indentations and prominent nucleoli
- Charcot-Bottcher crystals sometimes seen as thin eosinophilic lines in various directions
- 4 types of Sertoli cells have been identified
- Normal adult mature cells
- Immature cells
- Dysgenetic cells
- Involuting cells (Histopathology 1990;16:173)
Microscopic (histologic) images
Contributed by Asmaa Gaber Abdou, M.D.
Sertoli cell only and Leydig cell hyperplasia
Differential diagnosis
