Morphological and glycohistochemical studies on the epididymal region of the Sudani duck ( Cairina moschata)

Abstract

In this study, the epididymal region of the Sudani duck was investigated using histological and lectin histochemical methods. Morphologically, the epididymal region of the Sudani duck is composed of extratesticular rete testis, proximal and distal efferent ductules, a short connecting duct, and epididymal ducts. Morphometric analysis of the epididymal region of Sudani duck revealed that the efferent ductules predominate in relation to the epididymal ducts. The distribution of sugar moieties within the epididymal region of the Sudani duck was investigated using ten different fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated lectins. In the rete testis epithelium, only PHA-L showed a positive reaction. Efferent ductules in contrary exhibited a wide range of lectin affinity whereas six positive lectins (Con A, LCA, PNA, WGA, PHA-L, PHA-E) were observed. In the connecting and epididymal ducts, four lectins (Con A, WGA, PHA-L, PHA-E) were also detected. GSA-I, UEA-I, and LTA were at all not evident in the epididymal region of the Sudani duck. In conclusion, the correlation between the large areas of the epididymal region occupied by the efferent ductules and the wide range of sugar affinity of this portion may confirm the speculation that efferent ductules might be the primary site of fluid reabsorption in the epididymal region of Sudani duck.