If you want to see more scientifically accurate 3D medical images, subscribe to our channel: /nucleushealthvideose MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: If you're a man, you have a pair of egg-shaped glands called testicles. These are inside the scrotum, which is a pouch that hangs behind your penis. Your testicles make sperm cells and the hormone testosterone. Inside each testicle are coiled tubes called seminiferous tubules, where your body forms immature sperm cells known as germ cells, or spermatogonia. Through a series of stages, called spermatogenesis, the spermatogonia develop into mature sperm. Testicular cancer is a disease due to abnormal growth in one or both testicles. It usually starts in the germ cells when genetic damage or changes, called mutations, cause the cells to grow out of control. The cancerous germ cells clump together to form a tumor, which continues to grow. In most cases, these mutations occur in germ cells and are called germ cell tumors. Doctors classify germ cell tumors as seminomas or nonseminomas based on how the cells look under a microscope. Nonseminomas are generally more aggressive. They grow and spread quickly, while seminomas tend to grow more slowly. Symptoms of testicular cancer may include a painless lump in the testicle or testicular pain or swelling. If you have testicular cancer, your doctor may recommend surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of treatments, depending on the type and stage of the tumor. Your treatment will begin with removal of the cancerous testicle by radical inguinal orchiectomy. In this procedure, the surgeon will make an incision in your lower abdomen. Then, he or she will remove the testicle from the scrotum. Finally, the surgeon will close the incision with sutures or surgical staples. The pathologist will then examine the testicle to determine the type of cancer you have and to plan your treatment. If you have enlarged abdominal lymph nodes or if blood samples show cancer after your orchiectomy, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the cancer from progressing by killing cancer cells that may have spread through the lymph nodes to other parts of your body. If your tumor contains the more aggressive nonseminoma cells, your surgeon may perform a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection after you receive chemotherapy. During this procedure, your surgeon will insert laparoscopic instruments through small incisions in your abdomen. He or she will then remove the abdominal lymph nodes, including any cancer cells that may have spread to them. If you have a seminomatous tumor, your doctor may recommend radiation therapy, which uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells only in the treatment area. During this procedure, your doctor directs the external beam of radiation therapy at the retroperitoneal abdominal lymph nodes. The radiation beam will kill any cancer cells that have spread to them. ANH12067