Structural changes in the testes during ethanol intoxication following modulation of testicular blood flow

Aim: To examine the structural changes in the testes during various stages of alcohol intoxication and after alcohol cessation; to assess the potential for regenerative processes following surgically improved testicular blood supply.

Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted on 60 adult male outbred albino rats, allocated into three experimental groups, the intact group, and the control group. The effects of alcohol were studied at the light-microscopic and ultrastructural levels, followed by statistical analysis. Alcohol was administered for one, two, three, or four weeks. Tissue samples were collected immediately after each exposure period, as well as 30 days after one-, two-, three-, and four-week exposure durations. In addition, in animals exposed to alcohol for four weeks, tissue samples were collected on postoperative days 14 and 30 following ligation of the caudal epigastric arteries above the origin of the cremasteric arteries.

Results: Chronic alcohol intoxication adversely affected the testes of outbred albino rats, inducing destructive changes in the arterial system, the microvasculature, the blood-testis barrier, and the spermatogenic epithelium. The severity of morphological changes in the testes of rats exposed to chronic alcohol intake correlated with the duration of exposure to the damaging agent. Spermatocytes, i.e., cells at more advanced stages of differentiation, were most sensitive to alcohol-induced damage. Recovery processes in the testes of rats exposed to chronic alcohol intake occurred after short-term intoxication (one to two weeks) but were absent following four weeks of alcohol exposure. Targeted enhancement of testicular blood supply by ligation of the caudal epigastric arteries above the origin of the cremasteric arteries promoted more intensive reparative processes and restoration of the testicular morphological structure.

Conclusions: Alcohol intoxication induces significant hemodynamic changes, which underlie the maladaptive responses and degenerative processes in the testes. After cessation of alcohol exposure, regenerative and adaptive processes proceed slowly. Enhancing testicular blood flow surgically via collateral vessels improves microcirculation and stimulates regenerative processes within the testicular parenchyma.