Fate of spermatozoa in the male: II. Absence of a specific sperm disposal mechanism in the androgen-deficient hamster and rabbit.

Abstract

This study provides no support for previous conclusions that castration is followed by rapid destruction and disappearance of spermatozoa retained within the cauda epididymidis. Even 28 days after castration, there was no significant difference as compared with controls in the number of spermatozoa remaining within the ligated duct, providing that the duct epithelium remained intact. The significant reduction in sperm numbers which occurred in some castrate animals was invariably associated with rupture of the duct; this usually developed close to a ligature with formation of a sperm-filled granuloma or with extravasation of spermatozoa found in peritubular fibrinoid deposits. This and their phagocytosis after escape from the duct accounts for the rapid disappearance of spermatozoa from the ligated cauda epididymidis of castrated hamsters and rabbits. A state of androgen deficiency does not elicit special mechanisms for intraluminal sperm disposal involving either lysis or their ingestion by cells of the intact epithelium.