POSTNATAL STRUCTURE AND DIWERENTIATION OF THE EPITHEUAL CELLS OF THE EPIDIDYMIS OlF ALBINO RATS AND THE EFFRCT OF VASECTOMY ON t:PIDIDYMIS AND TESTIS

Abstract

The epididymis has a secretory and absorptive functions that are believed to be related to maturation and storage of the sperms. These functions are carried out by the various cells of the epididymal epithelium. Because of the increasing use of vasectomy in human as a method of male contraception, it is important to determine the effects of vasectomy on the parts of the male reproductive tract. So, this work aimed to study: the differentiation of the epithelial cells lining the rat epididymis on postnatal weeks (2,5 & 8) by light and electron microscopic analysis; structure of testis and epididymis of adult rat as a control group by light and electron microscopes and the effects of vasectomy on the testis and epididymis at intervals I ,2 and 5 months by light and electron microscopic analysis.

Seventy male albino rats were used in this study. They were divided into three groups: developmental group (30), adult control group (10) and vasectomized group (30). The developmental group was subdivided into three subgroups according to age: two weeks, five weeks and eight weeks of postnatal life for studying the structure and differentiation of epididymal epithelium. The vasectomized group was subdivided into three subgroups which were sacrificed at one, two and five months after vasectomy.

As regard the developmental group: The epididymal duct of rat aged two weeks, was lined by undifferentiated epithelium which was single layer of columnar non ciliated cells with a uniform height. The