Adrenergic innervation of the human testis, epididymis, ductus deferens and prostate: a fluorescence microscopic and fluorimetric study.

Abstract

1. The localization of catecholamines and 5-hydroxytryptamine has been investigated in the human testis, epididymis, ductus deferens and prostate obtained at operations on patients aged 26–79 years. 2. In fluorimetric determinations noradrenaline was found to be present in varying concentrations in the genital tract. The lowest amount (0.07 μg/g) was found in the testis. In proximal direction along the ejaculatory duct system there was a progressive increase in the noradrenaline level, reaching a maximum of 1.43 μg/g in ductus deferens. The prostatic tissue (obtained from hyperplastic glands) contained only 0.15 μg/g noradrenaline. No dopamine was present. Adrenaline occurred, by all probability as an artefact, only in tissues from one single case to which this amine had been administered as part of the local anaesthetic mixture given before operation. 3. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of formaldehyde-treated genital organs revealed the presence of adrenergic nerves, the number of which well agreed with the noradrenaline concentrations. Only vascular nerves were found in the testis. The bulk of the adrenergic nerve terminals in the epididymis, ductus deferens and prostate innervated the smooth muscle coats, whereas only a smaller portion of the adrenergic nerve population was of vasomotor nature. 4. Microspectrophotometric characterization of the formaldehyde-induced fluorescence in the tissue sections confirmed that the adrenergic nerves contained noradrenaline. 5. The finding of fluorescent ganglion cells in the prostate indicated that part — if not all — of the male genital tract also in humans is innervated by way of so-called short adrenergic neurons, originating in peripherally located sympathetic ganglia. 6. Flask-shaped cells, morphologically resembling the enterochromaffin cells and emitting a yellow indole fluorescence, were present in the epithelium of the prostatic mucosa. 7. Apart from the specific, formaldehyde-induced monoamine fluorescence, a considerable amount of autofluorescence of varying colour and related to different structures occurred both in the epithelial layers and in the connective tissue.