What does balls dropping mean

An undescended testicle or "testis" is when it fails to drop into the normal place in the scrotum. Your child's health care provider can find this during a routine exam. This issue is found in about 3 or 4 out of newborns and up to 21 out of premature newborns. Luckily, about half of these testicles will drop on their own during the first 3 months of life. But testicles won't drop on their own after 3 months of age.

Thus, about 1 or 2 out of boys with undescended testicles will need treatment. It's important not to confuse undescended testicles with "retractile" testicles.

After 6 months of age, a male child has a reflex that temporarily pulls the testicles up to protect them when he's cold or frightened. These testicles are in the scrotum at other times and don't need treatment. Only testicles that are truly undescended need treatment. A pediatric urologist can tell the difference with a physical exam. The testicles need to be 2 to 3 degrees cooler than normal body temperature to make sperm. The scrotum is many degrees cooler than body temperature, and so is the ideal place for the testicle.

Testicles that don't drop into the scrotum won't work normally. The longer the testicles are too warm, the lower chances are that the sperm in that testicle will mature normally.

This can be a cause of infertility, especially when both testicles are affected. See More See Less. The testicles or "testes" are 2 organs that hang in a pouch-like skin sac the scrotum below the penis. The testicles are where sperm and testosterone the male sex hormone are made. The scrotum keeps the testicles in a cooler setting than the body.

This is because sperm can't grow at body temperature. During childhood, sperm in the testicles go through a process that results in mature sperm at puberty. Normal testicles form early in a baby boy's growth. They form in the lower belly abdomen , but descend, or "drop," into the scrotum toward the end of pregnancy. Normal testicles attach themselves with stretchable tissue in the bottom of the scrotum.

This is controlled by the baby's normal hormones. In most children with this health issue, it's not known why the testicles fail to drop. It may be because the testicles aren't normal to start with.

The penis is an important part of your body that will change during puberty. Penises vary in size and appearance, but when an adult penis is erect they are mostly a similar size. Sometimes the foreskin — a fold of skin which covers the tip of the penis glans — is removed surgically at birth.

This operation is known as circumcision. Doctors rarely recommend circumcision, but for some boys it is performed due to cultural and religious beliefs. Sometimes boys are circumcised for medical reasons, but this is not common. Regardless, the penis works the same way with or without a foreskin.

For those with a foreskin, it is very important to keep the area beneath the foreskin clean. The foreskin should be pushed back daily and the glans gently washed. When the penis is stimulated, or a boy becomes sexually aroused, it grows from being small, limp and soft to larger, erect and hard. The penis does not contain any bones and is not made of muscle.

It becomes erect because the tissue inside it fills with blood under pressure. Penises vary in size and appearance. There is a large natural variation, but when they are erect, they are mostly a similar size. A thick whitish fluid is produced by the seminal vesicle and the prostate gland. This mixes with the sperm to form semen.

This is called ejaculation. During sexual excitement, but before orgasm or ejaculation, a small amount of clear fluid may be released from the penis.

Semen passes from the testicles through the spermatic cord before being ejaculated through the urethra — the same tube that urine passes through. It is impossible for urine and semen to become mixed because the flow of urine is automatically stopped when your penis is erect. During puberty, you can become sexually excited or aroused quite easily. Ejaculations can happen while you are asleep.

Wet dreams are completely normal. When you wake up after a wet dream, your sheets or pyjamas may feel slightly sticky. Sometimes you may remember the good feeling you had in the night, or you may remember nothing at all.

With help from the male hormone testosterone, the testicles begin to produce sperm. This movement of sperm is important for reproduction.

Sperm are so tiny that they can only be seen under a microscope. The testicles need to be kept cool for the sperm to develop normally. This is why they hang outside the body in a sac bag called the scrotum. It is quite normal for one testicle testis to be larger or to hang lower than the other. This is usually corrected after birth. However, even testicles that have moved down into the scrotum will sometimes pull back up into the body, for instance in cold water, or during sex.

This is quite normal. Was this helpful? Yes No Tell us more. Check all that apply. Wrong topic—not what I was looking for. It was hard to understand. It didn't answer any of my questions. I still don't know what to do next. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.

Patient Education. Puberty: Normal Growth and Development in Boys Your child has reached the stage of adolescence called puberty. How long does puberty last? Voice changes: Boys' voices get lower and deeper during puberty. Sexual changes and hair growth: At the start of puberty, the testicles increase in size, drop lower, and the scrotum darkens, becomes looser, and becomes dotted with small bumps.

Acne and body odor: Hormones that increase during puberty can cause acne on the face and body.