Prolonged survival of fowl spermatozoa in the oviducal tissues in organ culture

Abstract

1. When fowl spermatozoa were incubated at 41 °C with tissues from the infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, shell gland, uterovaginal junction and vagina, their motility, assessed at room temperature (20 to 25 °C), was maintained for 4 to 12 d.

2. The survival period was much longer for spermatozoa incubated with the tissues from the infundibulum and uterovaginal junction (with sperm‐host glands, 11 to 12 d) than for those incubated with tissues from the other regions (lacking host glands, 4 to 7 d).

3. In the tissues of the infundibulum and uterovaginal junction, spermatozoa entered the sperm‐host glands and were more closely associated with the epithelial cells than they were in tissues from other regions.

Notes

Present address: Laboratory of Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki 880, Japan.