5 Original Publications 8 Abbreviations 9 Introduction 10 Review of the Literature 11 1. Germ cells 11 1.1 Inner cell mass and embryonic stem cells 11 1.2 Factors essential for maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal 11 1.3 Development and migration of germ cells 14 2. Gonadal development 16 2.1 Ovarian differ entiation 17 2.2 Testicular differentiation 18 3. GATA transcription factors in ...

Testicular cancer represents 1% to 1.5% of neoplasias in males and 5% of urologic tumors in general. The incidence of bilateral testicular tumors is 1-5%. Approximately one third of the cases are diagnosed as synchronous, while the other two thirds are diagnosed as metachronous tumors. Additionally, 5% of all patients diagnosed with testicular cancer may have contralateral intratubular germ cel...

Defining normal and malignant germ cell development is crucial for understanding the biology and behavior of germ cell tumors. Germ cell tumors show significant similarities with immature germ cells. Furthermore, treatment sensitivity of germ cell tumors reflects the intrinsic characteristics of the cell of origin, and their derivatives. The aim of this thesis was to identify factors involved i...

Testicular tumors are relatively rare and comprise 1% of all male cancers worldwide with peak prevalence in the age group 15-35 years. lesions have a varied histomorphological spectrum largely categorized as non-neoplastic neoplastic lesions. To study incidence testicular lesions, to including well determine age-wise distribution, laterality clinical presentation The present is an observational...