Fertility of spermatozoa from the excurrent ducts of the guinea-pig.
Guinea-pigs were inseminated with spermatozoa from the vas deferens, where they are characteristically arranged in rouleaux, or from that part of the epididymis where rouleaux are infrequent. Fertility was much reduced in the 16 females inseminated with a suspension of single spermatozoa: only 4 became pregnant (compared with 10/11 controls) and all these had had some (0.5-0.75%) rouleaux in the insemination suspension. It is concluded that rouleau formation is indicative of physiological as well as morphological maturity.
D000818:Animals; D004822:Epididymis; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006168:Guinea Pigs / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D013079:Sperm Maturation; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D014649:Vas Deferens