Ultrastructural changes in the efferent duct and epididymis of men with obstructive infertility

Ultrastructural changes in the efferent duct and in different regions of the epididymis in men with obstructive azoospermia were compared with corresponding tissues collected from men of proven fertility who underwent castration due to malignancy of the prostate. Major degenerative changes were seen in the efferent duct and the caput epididymidis of men with obstruction at the caput epididymidis which may have been induced by fluid pressure due to defective absorption of testicular fluid in the caput epididymidis. These degenerative changes included decrease in tubular and lumen diameter of the caput and the cauda epididymides, decrease in height of the stereocilia, reduction in rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi material, and presence of lipofuscin and osmiophilic dense bodies. The degenerative changes were less when the site of obstruction was in the cauda epididymidis since fluid reabsorption would continue to take place normally in the caput epididymidis. In men who had undergone vasoepididymostomy (VEA), the ejaculated spermatozoa showed a high percentage of morphological abnormalities which may have occurred due to adverse effects of long-term obstruction on spermatogenesis.