The Effects of Ligation of Vas Deferens, Corpus Epididymidis and Vasa Efferentia on the Testicular Function in Rats

Abstract

Med., 1976, 120 (3), 251-257-The effects of ligation of the vas deferens, the corpus epididymidis and the vasa efferentia on the testicular function were studied in sexually mature rats. The significant decrease in the testicular weight was observed after ligation of the corpus epididymidis and the vasa efferentia. However, neither the weight of the ventral prostate and of the seminal vesicle, nor the plasma testosterone level showed significant changes. The results suggest that the ligation at the three locations would not affect the endocrine function of the testis. The changes in the testis would mainly affect the spermatogenesis. The effects of sperm stasis on the testicular function were also discussed. vas deferens; corpus epididymidis; vasa efferentia; testicular function Vasectomy has been generally accepted as a safe procedure in male contracep tions and used widely in the world as a means of population control. In recent years several reports have directed an attention to the relationship between an accumulation of the sperm in the ductal system and testicular function (Horan 1973(Horan , 1975Johnson and Howards 1975;Kuwahara and Frick 1975). Horan (1975) has shown in his animal experiments that epididymal stasis of the sperm caused testi cular atrophy, and when the stasis was dominant, testicular effects were invariably seen. He has further noticed interstitial cell hyperplasia after vasectomy which was reported also in man (Gupta et al. 1975). Kuwahara and Frick (1975) have shown a discrepancy of testicular histology between rats which formed the spermatic cyst after the ligations and those which did not. These observations suggest that the sperm stasis would affect the testicular function.Vasectomy or vasoligation is not necessarily an adequate procedure for the investigation of sperm stasis, because postoperative formation of the spermatic cyst and absorptive function of the epididymis would influence the results. The purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of sperm stasis on the testicular function by means of the ligation at three different locations of the ductal system; namely, vas deferens, corpus epididymidis and vasa efferentia.

The effect of vasectomy on the testes of inbred Lewis rats

“…In contrast to the disagreement resulting from earlier reports, recent experiments support the view that testicular atrophy does not occur in rats that have been surgically vasectomized for less than 1 year (Heller & Rothchild, 1974;McGlynn & Erpino, 1974;Neaves, 1974;Hernández-Jáuregui & Olivera, 1975;Howards, Jessee & Johnson, 1975;Mock, Kamel, Wright &Frankel, 1975;Neaves, 1975b;Voglmayr, 1975;Kuwahara, 1976;Lohiya, Dixit & Arya, 1976; Reinke & Stohs, 1977). These studies were confined to outbred rats, primarily to those of the Sprague-Dawley strain.…”

“…The apparent normality of testosterone levels after vasectomy in rats (Mock et al, 1975;Neaves, 1975b;Voglmayr, 1975 ;Kuwahara, 1976) has not encouraged pursuit of hormonal mechanisms of spermatogenic impairment, and more study has been devoted to sperm-specific autoimmunity because of its evident involvement in post-vasectomy hypospermatogenesis in guinea-pigs (Alexander, 1973) and rabbits (Bigazzi et al, 1976).…”

Structure and function of the ductuli efferentes: A review

“…Obstruction of the ductuli efferentes, unless attenuated within a short period of time, will initiate extensive degeneration of the seminiferous epithelium of the testis that may persist for long periods of time and lead to irreversible infertility. This can occur in many experimental and clinical conditions, including 1) ligation (Cunningham, 1928;Harrison, 1953;Kuwahara, 1976;Smith, 1962;Van Wagenen, 1925), 2) ablation of the epididymal blood vessels (MacMillan, 1953),3) congenital agenesis (Dubin and Amelar, 1971;Makler and Hampel, 1975) and maldevelopment (Ashdown, 1985;Gustafsson and Galloway, 1988;Shafik and El-Sibaei, 1991), 4) congenital occlusions (Ikadai et al, 1987), 5) varicocele in humans (Nistal et al, 1984(Nistal et al, , 1987, 6) vasectomy (Tung and Alexander, 19801, 7) vitamin E deficiency (Mason and Shaver, 19521, 8) Young's syndrome (Hendry et al, 19901, 9) granuloma, sperm stasis, and cysts (Blom and Christensen, 1960;Hamm et al, 1988;Hemeida and McEntee, 19841, and 10) chemical toxicoses, ethylene dimethane sulfonate and a-chlorhydrin Jackson, 1972, 1973), benzimidazole carbamate (Hess et al, 1991;Nakai et al, 1992,19931, cadmium (Mason andYoung, 1967;Nagy, 19851, and dinitrobenzene (Linder et al, 1988a).…”

Degeneration of the seminiferous epithelium with ageing is a cause of spermatoceles?

“…There have been some studies on experimental spermatoceles obtained by surgical ligation of the excurrent duct ( Smith, 1961; Kuwahara & Frick, 1975; Kuwahara, 1976). The studies demonstrated that vasectomy induces spermatoceles accompanied by spermatic granulomas at the ligated site.…”

“…The studies demonstrated that vasectomy induces spermatoceles accompanied by spermatic granulomas at the ligated site. However, it was found that complete ligation of the efferent ducts in rats did not induce the formation of spermatoceles ( Smith, 1961; Kuwahara & Frick, 1975; Kuwahara, 1976). It was only observed that the seminiferous tubules first became dilated, followed by severe degeneration and atrophy of the seminiferous epithelium.…”