What is varicocele?

➢ Common cause of male infertility ➢ Up to 20% of men and in 40% of infertile men ➢ Prominent dilation of the pampiniform plexus of veins posterior to the testis ➢ Asymptomatic ➢ Palpation with the feel of “a bag of worms ” ➢ The increased blood flow makes this lesion a radiant heat device that increases the temperature of testicular tubules, inhibiting normal spermatogenesis