Congenital (Inborn) Non-Venereal Diseases of Sexual Organs.
Among congenital non-venereal abnormal conditions possibly the most common is the long and tight prepuce, which in a good many cases gives rise to many nervous complaints and minor disorders. It is relieved usually by operation or circumcision, which has been adopted by the Jews and Mohammedans as a religious procedure. As to the sanitary advantages of circumcision, discussed so often, it must be admitted that while it is not necessary in all cases, in general it is undoubtedly a useful procedure. It does not lessen any chances of venereal infection, which can be seen from the fact that the Jews proportionately contract Gonorrhea as often as the Gentiles; but it does undoubtedly lessen the chances of infection with Chancre, soft or hard, and in cases where Chancre is contracted, the treatment in a circumcised case is a good deal easier than in the non-circumcised.
Another congenital abnormality of practical interest is an “undescended testicle.” It is not known commonly that the testicles are not formed in the scrotum, that they descend there before the birth of the child from the abdominal cavity. But in some cases the testicle does not descend until later years of childhood, or does not descend at all. In these cases the retention of the testicle takes place either in the abdominal cavity or in the groin (inguinal canal). In this location particularly it is likely to cause pain and distress, and it can even atrophy and dry up from pressure of the tissues, if not relieved by operation.