Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803. & Department of Anatomy and Embryology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Alexandria University, El-behera, Egypt.
2
Department of Histology and Cytology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
3
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional Col- lege of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Black- sburg, VA, 24061.
Abstract
The ductuli efferentes in the dromedary were lined with low pseudo- stratified columnar epithelium. Two morphologically distinct types of epithelium were detected; both in- cluded ciliated and non-ciliated cells. Close to the rete testis, the epithelium was less vacuolated and the tubules had narrower lumens. The terminal segment epithelium in some areas had regional height var- iations similar in appearance to the initial portion of the epididymal duct but the nuclei maintained a pattern specific to the efferent ductules, not to the initial part of the epididymal duct. Histochemical characteristics of the epithelial cells were investigated using an array of six lectins: Con-A, DBA, MAA, SBA, SNA-1, and WGA. Specific sugar residues of MAA, SNA-1, and DBA were not detected. The glycocalyx of both ciliated and non-ciliated cells in both type I and type II epithelia showed binding sites for Con-A, SBA, and WGA. The apical and basal cytoplasm showed strong binding for Con-A and WGA in both type I and type II epithelia, but not for SBA in type I epithelium. The Golgi zone appeared to be unstained for Con- A; this was different for WGA and SBA. Basal vacuoles showed different binding patterns for Con-A, SBA and WGA. These regional variations suggest a high degree of functional compartmentalization of the epithelium of the efferent ductules.
Keywords
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