This revieuw article explored the nechanism of neural control of the senûnal tract and sperril transport through it, to approach the rational managenent of enissional dysfunction. The identification of retroperitoneal and intrapelvic syntpathetic nerves conrrolling senûnal enûssion frotn the ejaculatory duct (SEED), the conrpensatory pathways for SEED afier rransection of hypogastric nerve, the...

Postcopulatory adaptations that increase reproductive success compared to rivals, like the transfer of accessory gland products that promote paternity, are common when sperm competition occurs among males. In land snails, the dart shooting behavior and its adaptive significance, in promoting individual fitness through enhanced paternity of the successful dart shooter, have been considered such ...

It is estimated that as many as 30,000 offspring, mostly cattle, have been produced in the past 5 years using AI or some other means of transport with spermatozoa sexed by flow cytometric sperm sorting and DNA as the marker of differentiation. It is well documented that the only marker in sperm that can be effectively used for the separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa is DNA. Th...

The oviduct is an active contractile tube that provides the proper environment for sperm transport, capacitation and survival. Oviductal contractions are regulated by autocrine/paracrine secretion of several factors, such as prostaglandins (PGs) and endothelin-1 (EDN-1). We have previously shown that during the preovulatory stage, sperm are exposed to polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in the...

The guidance of human sperm cells under confinement in quasi-2D microchambers is investigated using a purely physical method to control their distribution. Transport property measurements and simulations are performed with diluted sperm populations, for which effects of geometrical guidance and concentration are studied in detail. In particular, a trapping transition at convex angular wall feat...

Fertilization in mammals requires the successful completion of many steps, starting with the transport of gametes in the reproductive tract and ending with sperm-egg membrane fusion. In this minireview, we focus on three adhesion steps in this multistep process. The first is oocyte "pick-up," in which the degree of adhesion between the extracellular matrix of the cumulus cells and oviductal epi...