Testicular histological examination of spermatogenetic activity in captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) |
| |
Authors: | Enomoto Tomoo Matsubayashi Kiyoaki Nakano Mayumi Fujii-Hanamoto Hideko Kusunoki Hiroshi |
| |
Institution: | Department of Morphology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan. t-enno@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp |
| |
Abstract: | To clarify the reproductive state of male gorillas, we performed histological examinations on the testicles of 10 male gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). The testicular samples were obtained by autopsy, and ordinal histological preparations were made for light microscopy. The poor spermatogenesis of this species was characterized by the following findings: First, spermatogenesis was evident in only four samples. Meiosis progressed in two samples, but they lacked spermatogenesis. In the remaining four specimens, seminiferous tubules hyalinized without any sign of spermatogenesis. Second, seminiferous epithelia were thin even in the males in which spermatogenesis was observed. Third, degenerated seminiferous tubules were found in all specimens. Fourth, abnormally large syncytial cells were found in the tubules. Six stages in the epithelial cycle of the seminiferous tubules were identified. Testosterone staining made it clear that there were many Leydig cells with spherical or fusiform nuclei in an abundance of interstitial tissue. The relevance of the testicular architecture of gorillas to the mating system is discussed. |
| |
Keywords: | Gorilla gorilla spermatogenesis testicular architecture cycle of seminiferous epithelia male reproductive strategy |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|