A hydrocele (Br English: hydrocoele) denotes a pathological accumulation of serous fluid in a body

cavity.


Communicating hydrocele, caused by the failure of the processus vaginalisclosure.
A hydrocele testis is the accumulation of fluids around a testicle, and is fairly common.
[citation needed]
It
is caused by fluid secreted from a remnant piece of peritoneum wrapped around the testicle, called
the tunica vaginalis. It can be the result of cancer, trauma (such as ahernia), or orchitis, and can also
occur in infants undergoing peritoneal dialysis. A hydrocele is not a cancer. It may be
treated surgically. Hydroceles are usually painless as are testicular tumors. A common method of
diagnosing a hydrocele is by attempting to shine a strong light (transillumination) through the
enlarged scrotum. A hydrocele will usually pass light, while a tumor will not (except in the case of a
malignancy with reactive hydrocele). A related region in females that can have a hydrocele is
the canal of Nuck.
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A hydrocele can also be the result of a plugged inguinal lymphatic system caused by repeated,
chronic infection of Wuchereria bancrofti orBrugia malayi, two mosquito-
borne parasites of Africa and Southeast Asia, respectively. As such, the condition would be a part of
more diffuse sequelae commonly referred to as elephantiasis, which also affects the lymphatic
system in other parts of the body.