The multiple testis in diemyctylus

Abstract

AbstractA study of the development and seasonal changes of the testis in Diemyctylus viridescens shows that accessory testicular lobes arise as follows: Emptying of the caudal zone of the testis at mating is followed by degeneration of the lobules (tubules) of that region, reducing it to a slender cord consisting chiefly of duct system and residual spermatogonia. A regeneration of lobules at the distal end of this cord later gives rise to the second or accessory lobe.Accessory lobes develop in immature males after a similar reduction of the caudal end of the testis through spermatogonial degeneration or an abortive spermatogenesis. The caudal germ‐cell cord thus formed is comparable to that resulting from extrusion of spermatozoa, and the development of new lobules at the distal end of this cord gives rise to a second lobe as in adult males. There is no evidence of the formation of a multiple testis by outgrowths from the primary lobe or by the junction of several lobes originally separate.A multiple testis occurs in Urodele species exhibiting two peculiarities of the spermatogenetic pattern: (1) a slow spermatogenetic wave and, (2) delayed regeneration of lobules emptied at mating or by degeneration of their germ cells. The number of lobes is correlated with the age of the individual. In Diemyctylus under 6 cm. the first accessory lobe has not yet developed.