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Scrotal Thermoregulatory Model and Assessment of the Impairment of Scrotal Temperature Control in Varicocele

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Abstract

Varicocele is defined as the pathological dilatation of the pampiniform plexus and scrotal veins with venous blood reflux. Varicocele may impair scrotal thermoregulation and spermatogenesis, even when present in asymptomatic forms. In this study, we use the control system theory to model scrotal thermoregulation in response to a standardized cold challenge in order to study the functional thermal impairment secondary to varicocele. The proposed model is based on a homeostatic negative feedback loop, characterized by four distinct parameters, which describe how the control mechanisms are activated and maintained. Thermal infrared images series from 49 young patients suffering from left varicocele and 17 healthy controls were processed. With respect to healthy controls, left varicocele patients presented higher basal scrotal temperature and faster recovery of the left hemiscrotum. The model indicated that varicocele alters local heat exchange processes among cutaneous layers and inner structures. The estimated model parameters help in the assessment of the scrotal thermoregulatory impairment secondary to the disease.

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Abbreviations

IR:

Infrared

PI:

Proportional and integral

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Acknowledgment

The authors are very grateful to Peter A. Mattei for his suggestions and revision of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ITAB—Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Fondazione “Università G. d’Annunzio”, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66013, Chieti, Italy

    Alessandro Mariotti, Luigi Di Carlo, Luigi Di Donato, Gian Luca Romani & Arcangelo Merla

  2. Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University “G. d’Annunzio”, Chieti-Pescara, Italy

    Alessandro Mariotti, Luigi Di Carlo, Luigi Di Donato, Antonio Raffaele Cotroneo, Gian Luca Romani & Arcangelo Merla

  3. DIIGA, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Giuseppe Orlando

  4. School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy

    Maria Letizia Corradini

  5. Urology Division, Chieti Hospital, Chieti, Italy

    Paolo Pompa

  6. Department of Bioimaging and Radiological Science, Cattolic University, Rome, Italy

    Roberto Iezzi

Authors
  1. Alessandro Mariotti
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  2. Luigi Di Carlo
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  3. Giuseppe Orlando
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  4. Maria Letizia Corradini
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  5. Luigi Di Donato
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  6. Paolo Pompa
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  7. Roberto Iezzi
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  8. Antonio Raffaele Cotroneo
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  9. Gian Luca Romani
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  10. Arcangelo Merla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arcangelo Merla.

Additional information

Associate Editor James Tunnell oversaw the review of this article.

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Mariotti, A., Di Carlo, L., Orlando, G. et al. Scrotal Thermoregulatory Model and Assessment of the Impairment of Scrotal Temperature Control in Varicocele. Ann Biomed Eng 39, 664–673 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-010-0191-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-010-0191-3

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