OBJECTIVE: The sonographic findingsand associated etiological conditions in 19 patients withtubular ectasia of the rete testis are described.METHODS: 19 patients with tubular ectasia of the retetestis diagnosed by ultrasound over a two-year period arepresented. Twenty-seven testes showed ectasia. The meanage at the time of diagnosis was 59 years. US evaluationwas performed with the 7-8 MHz multifrequency linearprobe (Acuson 128, Mountain View, CA, USA). The patientswere evaluated in the supine position and the scrotalcontent was examined in the sagittal and transverseplanes. A color and pulsed Doppler study were performedin all the cases.RESULTS: 8 patients showed bilateral involvement, 7had left and 4 right tubular ectasia. Other frequentlyassociated findings were spermatocele (8 cases), cord cyst(6 cases) and varicocele (5 cases). Four patients hadundergone scrotal surgery and one had a previous historyof epididymitis.CONCLUSIONS: Tubular ectasia of the rete testis is anuncommon, benign condition that is usually associatedwith epididymal obstruction following trauma or infectionin most of the cases. Diagnosis of tubular ectasia by US,in a correct clinical context, obviates the need to perform a biopsy and orchidectomy for its diagnosis in a vastmajority of the cases