On the transportation of spermatozoa in the vas deferens

In this report the intraluminal pressure of the vas deferens was measured in vivo in male cross-bred dogs. The measurement of the pressure elucidated that the vas deferens repeated autonomic contraction. This contraction was not the so-called peristalsis but the entire portion of the vas deferens contracted simultaneously. Stimulation of the hypogastric nerves resulted in a prominent elevation of the pressure in the proximal portion of the vas deferens, i.e., the portion approximate to the epididymis, followed 5-10 seconds later by a rise in the distal portion, i.e., the portion approximate to the prostate. These results suggest that the spermatozoa present near the proximal end of the vas deferens are transported littly by little by the autonomic movements of the vas deferens and that on ejaculation the spermatozoa are pressed forward from the proximal end of the vas deferens to its peripheral end by the stimuli through the hypogastric nerves.