Morphological defects of the acrosome in boar spermatozoa

Morphological examination of semen from 17 boars of five breeds showed the presence of acrosome defects in 11 boars from four breeds. Two distinct types were seen; 'knobbed' sperm (type 1), of which two forms were found to be present by electron microscopy, and an uneven swellling of part of the acrosome (type 2) whose contents consisted of cytoplasmic and membrane-like material. The incidence of 'knobbed' sperm ranged from 0.2 to 6.3 per cent. Type 2 abnormalities were seen in only two boars, at 0.66 and 1.33 per cent.