Testicular changes in adult rat following bilateral partial (caput) epididymectomy

Adult Wistar rats were either partial (caput) and bilaterally epididymectomized or bilaterally efferentectomized, as controls of duct obstruction. The effects on testicular germinal epithelium were studied at 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25 days after surgery. No abnormalities were detected in sham-operated animals. Epididymectomized animals showed different levels of alterations with progressive disruption of the seminiferous epithelium, emergence of multinucleated bodies and some tubules obliterated by degenerated cells and cellular debris. Half way through the experiment there were tubules lacking their epithelia, as well as the Sertoli cells. On the 25th day degeneration was so important that is affected not only the epithelium (missing in almost all tubules) but also the tubular morphology. Eventually efferentectomized animals showed a progressive alteration, but its level was much lower than that observed after partial epididymectomy, indicating a possible specific function of the caput epididymidis in the control of testicular function.