Anatomical basis of sperm-storage in the avian oviduct

The anatomical basis of oviductal sperm-storage in the avian oviduct is the sperm-storage tubule (SST). In the turkey this is composed of a simple columnar epithelium characterized by a supranuclear vacuole, which possibly contains lipid material, and appears to differentiate from the oviductal surface epithelium prior to full sexual maturation. Turkey SST epithelium was periodic-acid Schiff-negative and failed to bind four of the five lectins examined. Only winged pea agglutinin, which has an affinity for fucose-containing glycosidic residues, bound to some individual SST epithelial cells. Short-term cultures of oviductal mucosae containing SST showed aggregates of sperm associated with the spaces between adjacent folds and in surface openings assumed to be SST.