Effects of cadmium chloride administration on the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of ejaculates from...

The effects of cadmium chloride on the volume of the ejaculate, semen density, total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate, viability, grade of motility, and morphological abnormalities were studied in 3-month-old ram-lambs of the Chios breed. Two groups of seven animals each were used. For a period of 7 months, one group was treated with a daily oral dose (3 mg/kg b.w.) of cadmium chloride and the other group received the corresponding volume of doubly distilled water. Blood samples were collected for cadmium determinations, whereas semen was collected weekly. In the cadmium-treated animals, cadmium concentration in the whole blood was increased and the testes weight was lower. The volume of the ejaculate, the semen density and the total number of spermatozoa were significantly reduced by the administration of cadmium chloride. No differences were observed in the viability, the grade motility of spermatozoa, or the percentage of dead and morphologically abnormal spermatozoa between the control and the cadmium-treated animals. Histopathological examination in the cadmium-treated animals revealed the presence of lesions in the Sertoli cells, the seminiferous tubules, the primary and the secondary spermatocytes and the spermatides, whereas in the Leydig cells no significant lesions were evident.