Hydrocele

Hydrocele (Gr. hydor, 'water,' and kêlê, 'a swelling') is a dropsy of the tunica vaginalis, the serous membrane investing the testis. It occurs as a smooth, pear-shaped swelling, painless, but sometimes causing a slight uneasiness from its weight. The quantity of fluid in the sac may amount to 40 ounces. Hydrocele may occur as a result of acute inflammation, but it most commonly comes on without any apparent local cause. It is most frequently met with about or beyond the middle period of life, and generally in persons of feeble power, or with a tendency to gout; sometimes, however, it occurs in young children, either in the same form as in adults, or as what is termed congenital hydrocele. The treatment may be palliative or curative. The palliative treatment consists in the use of suspensory bandages, and tapping from time to time. Tapping seldom gives more than temporary relief, the swelling usually regaining its former bulk in three or four months. The curative treatment consists in setting up inflammation in the tunica vaginalis, by the injection of tincture of iodine, so as to obliterate the cavity, or by excision of the whole or part of the sac.