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The epididymis (/ ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɪ d ɪ m ɪ s /; pl.: epididymides / ɛ p ɪ d ɪ ˈ d ɪ m ə d iː z / or / ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɪ d ə m ɪ d iː z /) is an elongated tubular genital organ attached to the posterior side of each one of the two male reproductive glands, the testicles.
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland [1] is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. [2]
For example, the intra-abdominal low sperm storage capacity of the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) epididymis [2] informed the role of the epididymis as the prime mover in the evolution of descended testes in mammals as it relates to lower extra-gonadal temperatures enhancing epididymal sperm storage in scrotal mammals. [3]
The epididymis is a long whitish mass of tightly coiled tube. The sperm that are produced in the seminiferous tubules flow into the epididymis. During passage via the epididymis, the sperm undergo maturation and are concentrated by the action of ion channels located on the apical membrane of the epididymis. [2]
The function of the blood–testis barrier may be to prevent an auto-immune reaction. [13] Mature sperm (and their antigens) emerge significantly after immune tolerance is set in infancy. [13] Since sperm are antigenically different from self-tissue, a male animal can react immunologically to his own sperm. The male can make antibodies against ...
The term epididymal hypertension is derived from the epididymis, a part of the male reproductive system. [8] The term is also applied to females despite the lack of an epididymis in female anatomy. Professor Caroline Pukall, who co-wrote the first in-depth study on EH, has suggested using the term throbbing crotch syndrome . [ 9 ]
The sex organs of the green algae Chara are the male antheridia (red) and female archegonia (brown). A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction.
In evolutionary biology, function is the reason some object or process occurred in a system that evolved through natural selection. That reason is typically that it achieves some result, such as that chlorophyll helps to capture the energy of sunlight in photosynthesis .