Suspensory

SUSPENSORY (suspensorium), a medical device, a pouch for supporting the scrotum, used during athletic exercises, horseback riding, and further in gonorrhea for the prevention of epididymitis and especially when epididymitis is already present. A good suspensory should satisfy the following requirements: it should fit well, should not press on the external parts, but should support the testicles, minimize the tension of the spermatic cords caused by the natural weight of the testicles, and should prevent the inevitable shaking of these sensitive organs. In particular, the thigh straps of the suspensory, which are attached to the posterior notch of the suspensory and come to rest on the perineum, should not be elastic; otherwise they will exert undesirable pressure on the intermediate part of the urethra. There are different models of suspensories, which can be divided into two groups: suspensories for wear with healthy testicular appendages and suspensories for wear with epididymitis. In acute gonorrhea and undamaged testicular appendages, the 'Olympia' suspensory proposed by Teufel is especially appropriate, as it has a flap in front that protects underwear from contamination with gonorrheal pus. In epididymitis, the Neisser-Langlebert suspensory is very practical; this is a large suspensory lined with oilcloth on the inside, which makes it possible to apply heating compresses on the move or to treat with dry heat (a large amount of cotton). The buckles and ties skillfully placed in this suspensory make it possible to accurately fit the suspensory to the swollen testicular appendages.