Correlative study of the ultrastructure and the physiology of the seasonal regression of the epididymal epithelium in the hedgehog Paraechinus micropus. 1981

P P Bidwai, and S R Bawa

The seasonal variations in the ultrastructure and physiology of the epididymis of hedgehog were studied in relation to the reproductive functions. Five adult male hedgehogs were sacrificed every alternate month for one calendar year and the epididymis was fixed in Bouin's, Zenker and formol-calcium for light microscopy and in cold buffered glutaraldehyde, post-fixed in osmium tetraoxide for electron microscopy. The epididymal epithelium consists of four types of cells, the principal, the apical, the dark and the basal cells. The principal cells like other steroid synthesizing cells, contain the extensive Golgi apparatus, the smooth and the rough endoplasmic reticulum (SER and RER), the secretory vesicles and the lipid granules during the breeding season, but they are practically devoid of these cell organelles during regression, except for the retarded Golgi and moderate RER. The basal cell, on the other hand, show lipids and well developed organelles during regression but poorly developed structure in the sexually active hedgehog and possibly function as the cells storing lipids during regression and which are subsequently used at the beginning of the recrudescence. The epididymal epithelium recrudesces along with the seminiferous epithelium prior to the spermatozoa reaching the epididymal lumen, whereas the accessory sex glands which are also the extratesticular androgen dependent organs, still show regressed structure. Thus, the ultrastructural and the physiological observations suggest that the principal cells are probably the site of androgen synthesis and they become fully developed along with the cells in the testis on stimulation from the pituitary at the beginning of the recrudescence.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D004822 Epididymis The convoluted cordlike structure attached to the posterior of the TESTIS. Epididymis consists of the head (caput), the body (corpus), and the tail (cauda). A network of ducts leaving the testis joins into a common epididymal tubule proper which provides the transport, storage, and maturation of SPERMATOZOA.
D004848 Epithelium The layers of EPITHELIAL CELLS which cover the inner and outer surfaces of the cutaneous, mucus, and serous tissues and glands of the body. Mesothelium,Epithelial Tissue,Mesothelial Tissue,Epithelial Tissues,Mesothelial Tissues,Tissue, Epithelial,Tissue, Mesothelial,Tissues, Epithelial,Tissues, Mesothelial
D006364 Hedgehogs The family Erinaceidae, in the order EULIPOTYPHLA. Most are true hedgehogs possessing a coat of spines and a very short tail. Those members of the family found in Southeast Asia (moonrats or gymnures) have normal body hair and a long tail. Erinaceidae,Hedgehog
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012621 Seasons Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Seasonal Variation,Season,Seasonal Variations,Variation, Seasonal,Variations, Seasonal
D012726 Sexual Behavior, Animal Sexual activities of animals. Mating Behavior, Animal,Sex Behavior, Animal,Animal Mating Behavior,Animal Mating Behaviors,Animal Sex Behavior,Animal Sex Behaviors,Animal Sexual Behavior,Animal Sexual Behaviors,Mating Behaviors, Animal,Sex Behaviors, Animal,Sexual Behaviors, Animal

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