The Androgenital Approach to Male Reproductive Science: Proposal of a Formalized Unified Framework

Male reproductive science remains fragmented across endocrinology, urology, andrology, and reproductive toxicology. This disciplinary separation is increasingly being shown to slow or prevent potential insights in male reproductive science. We propose Androgenitology as a formalized unifying framework and potential future full discipline that conceptualizes the testes, epididymis, prostate, seminal vesicles, penis, perineum, and pelvic floor as a single integrated system. A regional network linked by shared androgen receptor signaling, common embryologic origins in the urogenital ridge, and growth/maintenance mediated through vascular, neural, genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal pathways. By bridging developmental, functional, and environmental influences across the entire androgen-responsive tract and explicitly forefronting a multi-omic combined “androgenital” approach, Androgenitology enables systems-level questions that current siloed paradigms struggle to address alone. This integrative lens offers a path to resolve longstanding evidence gaps, improve etiological classification, and advance both clinical care and research in male reproductive health.