What is "varicocele"?

What is "varicocele"?

Philip Werthman, FACS (Director, Center for Male Reproductive Medicine) gives expert video advice on: What causes infertility in men? and more...

A varicocele is very simple. It is varicose veins around the testicle. Just as many people as they get older get varicose veins around their legs, many can get varicose veins around the testicle. They are normally a series of several veins that take the blood from the testicle and return it to the body. These veins have one way valves in them so that when you sit up or stand up the blood does not run down with gravity toward the lowest area of the body.If these one way valves don't work then what you have essentially is a vein that is supposed to be a one way street that becomes a two way street. The blood then is allowed to pool around the testicle and can cause damage to the testicle and damage to the sperm production.