Bovine Epididymal Sperm Morphology Obtained from Caput, Corpus and Cauda Epididymides

Abstract

To investigate the proportion of normal sperm cells in bovine epididymis, bovine testicles (n = 50), obtained from a local slaughterhouses, epididymides were incised and sperm cells were transferred into slide glasses where eosin nigrosin stain was applied either in the place or in laboratory. When sperm were stained in slaughterhouse, 88% of caput epididymal sperm were alive; 9% without protoplasmic droplet (NPD), 10.2 and 68.8% had distal (DD) and Proximal Droplets (PD), respectively. Of dead sperm, 10.4% were NPD and 0.33 and 1.27% had DD and PD, respectively. Of corpus epididymal sperm, 77.2% were alive of which 14.7% were NPD, 58.3 and 4.2% had DD and PD, respectively. Of dead sperm, 20.4% were NPD and 2.2 and 0.2% had DD and PD, respectively. When spermatozoa were stained in laboratory, 71.7% were alive of which 17.4% were NPD, 49.7 and 4.6% had DD and PD, respectively. Of dead sperm, 23.1% had no droplet and 4.21 and 0.99% were DD and PD, respectively. The proportion of live spermatozoa from caudal epididymis was 86.1%, of which 9.9% were NPD, 68.3 and 7.9% had DD and PD, respectively. Of dead spermatozoa, 10.1% had no droplet and 3.3 and 0.5% had DD and PD, respectively. No significant difference observed between different parts of epididymis and also between slaughter house staining and laboratory staining of sperm cells. Data showed that approximately all parts of epididymis contained similar status of live sperm cells and the sperm cells containing protoplasmic droplets.