Summary. Mouse and hamster spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis were deposited into the female tract at various periods following ligation of the corpus epididymidis. It was found that the number of spermatozoa in the cauda epididymidis decreased sooner in the hamster than in the mouse but the initial decrease in fertilizing ability occurred much earlier in the mouse than in the hamster. The fertilizing life of spermatozoa in the cauda epididymidis is approximately 25 days in both species.Spermatozoa develop their fertilizing ability during passage through the epididymis (Young, 1931;Bedford, 1966; Orgebin-Crist, 1967;Horan & Bedford, 1972) but gradually lose their ability to fertilize or to produce viable embryos after prolonged storage in the cauda epididymidis (Hammond & Asdell, 1926; Tesh 8c Glover, 1969;Lubicz-Nawrocki & Glover, 1973). Hammond & Asdell (1926) found that following bilateral ligation of the corpus epididymidis, most of the male rabbits became infertile after 38 days when the number of pregnancies and the size of litters were taken as criteria of fertility. Recently, Tesh & Glover (1969) reported that complete loss of fertilizing ability of rabbit spermatozoa occurs between 42 and 49 days after ligation of the corpus epididymis. The following experiments were designed to determine the fertilizing life of mouse and hamster spermatozoa and to ascertain the number of spermatozoa in the cauda epididymidis after its isolation from proximal regions by means of ligation.In order to age spermatozoa in the male tract, bilateral ligation of the corpus epididymidis was performed in mature CD-I mice (23 to 26 g) and golden hamsters (125 to 145 g). In male mice, the corpus epididymidis was exposed through a central abdominal incision. Two ligatures were placed between the caput and cauda epididymis and the intervening segment was removed. The testis and epididymis were manipulated back into the scrotum and testes were palpated at various times until the end of treatment to check that they remained in the scrotum. In hamsters, an incision was made in the scrotum and a single ligature was placed around the distal portion of the corpus epididymidis.In order to ascertain the number of spermatozoa in the cauda epididymidis after its isolation, the same number of male animals as used in the fertility tests (Table 1) were killed at the same post-operative intervals.165
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