Histological and Lectin Histochemical Characterization of the Epididymal Duct in the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)

Hafez, Shireen A. Hafez A.; El-shafey, Samir M.; Caceci, Thomas

doi:10.21608/jva.2011.45171

Histological and Lectin Histochemical Characterization of the Epididymal Duct in the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)

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, 24061.

10.21608/jva.2011.45171

Abstract

Study of the regional microscopic anatomy of the epididymal duct of the dromedary camel revealed that the initial segment was lined with high pseudostratified columnar epi- thelium bearing stereocilia; varying height levels from place to placegive the duct a “festooned” appearance. The nuclei of both principal and basal epithelial cells were located in the basal one-third. The duct was surrounded by a layer of circularly oriented smooth muscle cells; this peritubular smooth muscle thickened toward the termination of the epididymal duct. The middle and terminal segments of the epididymal duct were lined with similar epithelium, but with no noticeable variations in height. The nuclei in these regions were located in the basal one-half of the cells and spermato- zoa were more evident in the lumen of the middle and terminal segments.

Epithelial cells were stained with six lectins: Con-A, DBA, MAA, SBA, SNA-1, and WGA. Binding sites for Con-A, WGA, and SNA-1 were seen in the initial segment. No binding sites for SBA, DBA, or MAA were detected in the initial segment. Sug- ar moieties for all lectin studied were detected in the middle and terminal segments, except for DBA and MAA in the middle segment, or WGA and MAA in the terminal segment. These lectins showed selective regional binding to different portions of the epididymal duct and varying degrees of binding to different cellular compartments. These regional var- iations in carbohydrate composition imply the probability of functional compartmentalization in the epididymal duct.

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