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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Scrotal Cooling Increases Rectal Temperature in Man

Peter D. Vash^*, Thomas M. Engels, III, Fouad R. Kandeel and Frank Greenway^,1

^* Century City Hospital, Los Angeles, California 90067;
Covance, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee 37219;
Division of Endocrinology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010; and
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of scrotal cooling on rectal temperature in man. Pilot studies suggested that immersing the scrotum in a 30°C water bath increased rectal temperature, but immersing the scrotum in a 0°C water bath did not. Six healthy young men immersed their scrotums in a 35°C water bath for 11 min followed by 21 min at 30°C. Rectal temperature rose by 0.38 ± 0.04°C (P < 0.01) in response to the 30°C water bath. Repetition of the study by immersing the hands instead of the scrotum in the water bath had no effect on rectal temperature. The scrotum appears to play a role in human temperature regulation.

Key Words: male • reproduction • thermoregulation • scrotum • human