{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T19:57:24Z","timestamp":1772740644289,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768262400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768262400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Kocaeli"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Virchows Arch"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The epididymis frequently exhibits a broad spectrum of non-neoplastic epithelial and stromal alterations that may mimic neoplastic or obstructive processes in orchiectomy specimens. Existing data are mostly derived from single-institution series. This multi-institutional study aimed to provide a comprehensive, contemporary, multi-institutional analysis of the prevalence, spectrum, and clinicopathological associations of epididymal morphological variations in a large orchiectomy cohort. This retrospective study included 1,528 orchiectomy specimens from multiple academic centers. All hematoxylin and eosin\u2013stained slides containing epididymal tissue were systematically reviewed using a standardized protocol. Morphological features assessed included atrophy, intranuclear inclusions, lipofuscin pigment, cribriform hyperplasia, Paneth cell\u2013like metaplasia, nuclear atypia, clear cell change, smooth-muscle proliferation, vascular and duct ectasia, myxoid change, calcification, hematoma, and inflammation. Associations with underlying testicular pathologies were analyzed statistically. 66% (1004\/1528) were performed for testicular neoplasms, which were predominantly germ cell tumors derived from germ cell neoplasia in situ (87.5%, 878\/1004). The most common epididymal alterations were lipofuscin pigment (49.9%, 762\/1528), intranuclear inclusions (40.3%, 616\/1528), atrophy (35.4%, 541\/1528), and duct ectasia (35.3%, 539\/1528). Non-tumoral cases more frequently exhibited atrophy (58.4%, 306\/524 vs. 23.4%, 235\/1004), duct ectasia (45.2%, 237\/524 vs. 30.1%, 302\/1004), inflammation (21.9%, 115\/524 vs. 2.7%, 27\/1004), and hematoma (5.9%, 31\/524 vs. 0.2%, 2\/1004) (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.0001 for all). Tumoral cases showed higher rates of cribriform hyperplasia (28.5%, 286\/1004 vs. 16.4%, 86\/524), Paneth cell\u2013like metaplasia (12.4%, 124\/1004 vs. 1.9%, 10\/524), nuclear atypia (21.9%, 220\/1004 vs. 17.2%, 90\/524), and clear cell change (21.7%, 218\/1004 vs. 14.3%, 75\/524) (all p\u2009\u2264\u20090.03). Several features, including atrophy, lipofuscin pigment, cribriform hyperplasia, clear cell change, and calcification, showed significant variation across tumor subtypes. Non-neoplastic epithelial and stromal alterations of the epididymis are common and histologically diverse, often co-occurring and varying by underlying testicular pathology. Awareness of these patterns is essential to avoid misinterpretation, especially in oncologic settings. This study provides the largest contemporary dataset to date, offering a robust histopathological framework for epididymal assessment in routine surgical pathology practice.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00428-025-04390-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T15:51:14Z","timestamp":1768319474000},"page":"585-593","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morphologic diversity of the epididymis in orchiectomy specimens: a multi-institutional study"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"488","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0537-3127","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Busra Yaprak","family":"Bayrak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ganime","family":"Coban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Murat","family":"Oktay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fatma Aksoy","family":"Khurami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deniz","family":"Baycelebi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rabia","family":"Aktemur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Melike Karaku\u015f","family":"Y\u0131lmaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fadime Eda Gokalp","family":"Sat\u0131c\u0131","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Merve Meryem","family":"Kiran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yazgi","family":"Koy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kemal","family":"K\u00f6semehmeto\u011flu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Juan Sigala","family":"Lozano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Asli","family":"Noyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taha Cumhan","family":"Savli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ne\u015fe","family":"Yeldir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yasemin Yuyucu","family":"Karabulut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Busra","family":"Ozbek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Levent","family":"Trabzonlu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mahmut","family":"Akgul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"4390_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"990","DOI":"10.1097\/00000478-199808000-00009","volume":"22","author":"VI Shah","year":"1998","unstructured":"Shah VI, Ro JY, Amin MB, Mullick S, Nazeer T, Ayala AG (1998) Histologic variations in the epididymis: findings in 167 orchiectomy specimens. 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