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The epididymis serves as an interconnection between the multiple efferent ducts at the rear of a testicle (proximally), and the vas deferens (distally). Its primary function is the storage, maturation and transport of sperm cells .
In mammals, spermatozoa are produced in the seminiferous tubules and flow into the epididymal duct. The end of the epididymis is connected to the vas deferens. The vas deferens ends with an opening into the ejaculatory duct at a point where the duct of the seminal vesicle also joins the ejaculatory duct. [1]
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 ...
Testis in the place of its original formation; t', together with the dotted lines above, indicates the direction in which the testis and epididymis descend from the abdomen into the scrotum. Skene's glands a.k.a. paraurethral gland: pr. Prostate: u. Uterus. The uterine tube of the right side is marked m. va. Vagina: vh. Ductus aberrans: vs ...
The initial segment of the epididymis, first described in the guinea pig epididymis, [10] is a histologically distinct region of tall pseudostratified columnar epithelium that receives spermatozoa from the ductuli efferentes (Figure 1). The epididymis is the primary sperm storage organ in male reptiles. [6]
They differ in size according to their position, those in the middle of the gland being larger and longer. The lobules are conical in shape, the base being directed toward the circumference of the organ, the apex toward the mediastinum testis.
Sertoli cells function to nourish the developing sperm cells. They secrete androgen-binding protein, a binding protein which increases the concentration of testosterone. There are two types: convoluted and straight, convoluted toward the lateral side, and straight as the tubule comes medially to form ducts that will exit the testis.