Seminiferous tubular ectasia at the level of the mediastinum testis is a recently recognized rare benign condition. It is often bilateral, and usually occurs in elderly men. It is commonly associated with epididymal abnormalities (e.g. spermatocele, epididymal cysts or epididymitis), and it shares a common location (within the mediastinum testis) with cystic dysplasia of the testis and testicul...

The proteins of epididymal tissues and fluids recovered from five regions of the human epididymis were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Among the 60 peptides identified, eight appeared to be expressed solely in the epididymal duct when compared to serum and testis proteins. Three of these (92, 47 and 24 Kd) showed a degree of regional specificity in f...

The caput, corpus and cauda regions of the ductus epididymidis consisted of six histological segments that showed regional variations. The postnatal differentiation of the different segments started from birth and progressed till maturity. The simple epithelium at birth gained progressive pseudostratification. Similarly, the appearance of stereocilia, different types of cells in the epithelium ...

A small portion of cytoplasm is generally retained as the cytoplasmic droplet (CD) on the flagellum of spermatozoa after spermiation in mice. CDs are believed to play a role in osmoadaptation by allowing water entrance or exit. However, many lines of evidence suggest that CDs may have roles beyond osmoregulation. To gain more insights, we purified CDs from murine epididymal spermatozoa and cond...

The ability of stallion seminal plasma to modify phagocytosis of spermatozoa and Streptococcus zooepidemicus was examined. Phagocytosis was monitored indirectly as the H2O2 produced by peripheral blood leukocytes after addition of spermatozoa or bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide production after addition of ejaculated spermatozoa was greater (P less than 0.01) than after addition of epididymal sperm....

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of protein deficiency on plasma testosterone levels, epididymal sperm characteristics and testicular histology in the developing male rat. Twenty four Wistar albino rats were used in the study and were fed with a diet variously containing 3 %, 10 % and 20 % protein. Plasma testosterone levels were significantly lower in rats fed 3 % protein when ...

Spermatozoa acquire forward motility and fertilizing capacity during their transit through the epididymis. This maturation process involves modifications of the sperm surface by different proteins secreted by a series of specialized regions in the epididymal epithelium. Previously, our lab has reported IMDS-60 gene, which is highly expressed in mouse corpus and cauda epididymidis. Here, to perf...