Morphological analysis of the elastic and collagen fibers in the ram penis

Abstract

The penis represents the organ of the male’s copulation. It is essential to know the reproductive biology and the morphology of the reproductive organs to increase animal production. In order to contribute to this knowledge and provides information on the ram reproductive morphology, the purpose of this work was to describe the distribution, based on light microscopy, of the collagen and elastic fibers in the ram penis. For that, were collected transverse fragments of the penis (root, sigmoid flexure, body and glans) of seven rams. The specimens were fixed in paraformaldehyde for 24h and destined for the histological routine. The extracellular matrix of the ram penis was composed of collagen and elastic fibers. The penis was enveloped by the tunica albuginea, consisting essentially of collagen fibers, which were arranged in two layers: an outer longitudinal and an inner circular. This tunic emitted septa that penetrated the corpus cavernosum. The elastic fibers appeared transversely and longitudinally in the corpus cavernosum, corpus spongiosum, and next to the neurovascular bundle of the penis. This structure was not different to that reported for other domestic ruminants such as cattle and buffaloes.

Morphological changes associated with Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) phallic glans inflation

“…Expansion is restricted as collagen fibers in the bounding tissue straighten and are loaded in tension (Kelly, 2007); the more extensible elastin fibers store energy that can assist tissue recoil during detumescence. Comparatively, abundant elastin fibers with similar function have been observed in the glans of American alligators (Moore et al, 2016), humans (Hsu et al, 1994), and rams (Schimming & Moraes, 2018). In the Nile crocodile, histological analysis showed that elastin fibers primarily overlie the lateral inflatable regions in distinct layers of both the inner and outer walls of the glans cup, but are thicker on its lateral (outer) walls (Moore, Groenewald, et al, 2020).…”

Macro and microanatomy of some organs of a juvenile male Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica spp. gangetica)

“…Interestingly, unlike other species of dolphins in the world, only river dolphins, such as the Ganges river dolphin, possess a caecum (Cozzi et al, 2016). Then, considering the male genital system, it has been found that the penis was fibroelastic, similar to that in artiodactyls, such as cattle, pigs, and antelopes (Schimming & Moraes, 2018). Furthermore, the fibroelastic penis showed a urethral process for deeper penile penetration and a pair of retractor penis muscles (Orbach et al, 2017), similar to the small ruminants such as sheep and goats.…”