[The experimental and postmortem morphological characteristic of the chronic action of alcohol on the testicles]

The objective of the present study was to analyze the dynamics of the morphological changes that manifest themselves in the testicles of mature rats exposed to chronic alcohol intoxication over a period up to 6 months and to compare them with the analogous changes in the testicles of men who had had the long history of alcohol dependence and died with the pronounced symptoms of alcohol intoxication. The study has demonstrated the strong resemblance between the changes in the testes of men and animals including such as the dystrophic alteration of the spermatogenic epithelium, diffuse overgrowth of the connective tissue, well apparent signs of disturbed blood circulation, and suppression of spermatogenesis. However, these morphological changes in human testicles were more pronounced than in the rat gonads. In certain cases they underwent further fibrous transformation with the formation of well apparent hyalinosis foci. It is worthwhile to note that such morphological changes in the humans were not the specific consequences of the excessive alcohol consumption but reflected the collective influence of various toxic agents, with alcohol being one of the leading intoxicants.