Prolonged survival of fowl spermatozoa in the oviducal tissues in organ culture.
1. When fowl spermatozoa were incubated at 41 degrees C with tissues from the infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, shell gland, uterovaginal junction and vagina, their motility, assessed at room temperature (20 to 25 degrees 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.
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology; D004848:Epithelium; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010057:Oviducts; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000502:physiology*