Hypogonadism is a clinical syndrome, which results from the failure of the testes to produce physiologic levels of testosterone and a normal number of spermatozoa due to defects at one or more levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
Primary hypogonadism results from malfunction at the level of the testes due to a genetic cause, injury, inflammation, or infection. Hypothalamic and/or pituitary failure leads to secondary hypogonadism, most often as a result of genetic defects, neoplasm, or infiltrative disorders. The signs and symptoms of hypogonadism depend on the age of onset, severity of androgen deficiency, and underlying cause of androgen deficiency.
The Urologic clinics of North America. 2016 May [Epub]
Anna Ross, Shalender Bhasin
http://www.urotoday.com/recent-abstracts/men-s-health/androgen-deficiency/90690-hypogonadism-its-prevalence-and-diagnosis-beyond-the-abstract.html
Research Program in Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA., Research Program in Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, The Center for Clinical Investigation, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: .