Monorchism (also monorchidism) is the state of having only one testicle within the scrotum.

Terminology

An individual having monorchism can be referred to as ''monorchid''.

Causes

This can be due to: * One testicle not descending into the scrotum during normal

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

nic or fetal development (3–4% of 'normal' live births), also known as undescended testis or cryptorchidism. In this case the testis is within the abdominal cavity, somewhere along the normal route of descent – most commonly, within the inguinal canal. Such a testis has an increased risk of malignancy. * One testicle may disappear during development (the so-called vanishing testis) due to some intrauterine insult. This is thought to be most likely vascular, such as testicular torsion. * One testicle may have been surgically removed through orchiectomy. * One testicle may be injured.

Notable cases

Due to testicular cancer

* Lance Armstrong, American bicyclist. * Ashley Gray, Ironman triathlete *

Frank Church Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an Americans, American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Idah ...

, late

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and a presidential aspirant in 1976. His monorchism was revealed publicly during the 1976 presidential campaign. * Tom Green, Canadian comedian-actor. * Richard Herring, English comedian and writer * John Kruk, former baseball player * Mark Latham, former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n politician. * Geoff Horsfield, English footballer. * Nenê, Brazilian basketball player. * Kevin Curtis, American football player. * Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party. *

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...

, English footballer and World Cup winner. * Jimmy White, English snooker player.

Due to injury

Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Duke of Touraine (c. 1369 – 17 August 1424), was a Scottish nobleman and warlord. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman" ( Old Scots: Loser), but this may be a reference to his great-uncle Sir ...

, magnate of the Kingdom of Scotland, and Peer of France. Lost in 1403, while fighting at the Battle of Shrewsbury (The previous year he had lost an eye at the Battle of Homildon Hill). * Troy Bayliss, world superbike champion in 2001, 2006 and 2008. In 2007 he lost a testicle during a race at Donington Park. * Brian Foster, American mixed martial artist. *

John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...

, American basketball player. * Paul Wood, English rugby league player who sustained a ruptured testicle during a match and subsequently had it removed. * Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice who injured a testicle during a fraternity event in university. *

Tom Lamping Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, United Kingdom, injured a testicle during a dog fight gone wrong. * Porvali Robert, Grandson of Seppo Porvali and nephew of Finnish author

Mikko Porvali Mikko Pietari Porvali (born 15 April 1980) is a Finnish author, historian, lawyer and a Detective Chief Inspector of the Finnish Police. Porvali has published several books on historical themes, mostly dealing with topics such as military history ...

, injured his testicle whilst downhill skiing in Ylläs.

Due to cryptorchidism

* Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China.

Unknown

Possible monorchism of Adolf Hitler The possibility that Adolf Hitler had only one testicle has been a fringe subject among historians and academics researching the Nazi leader. The rumor may be an urban myth, possibly originating from the contemporary British military song " Hitle ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, caudillo of Spain.

Monorchism in nonhuman animals

Although extremely rare, monorchism has been observed to be characteristic of some animal species, notably in beetles.

References

{{Male congenital malformations of genital organs, indeterminate sex and pseudohermaphroditism