Product Description

The epididymis is a tube that connects a testicle to a vas deferens in the male reproductive system. It is present in all male reptiles, birds, and mammals. It is a single, narrow, tightly-coiled tube (in adult humans, six to seven feet in length) connecting the efferent ducts from the rear of each testicle to its vas deferens. he epididymis is covered by a two layered pseudostratified epithelium. The epithelium is separated by a basement membrane from the connective tissue wall which has smooth muscle cells. The major cell types in the epithelium are: Main cells: columnar cells that, with the basal cells, form the majority of the epithelium. These cells extend from the lumen to the basal lamina, they also have non-motile stereocilia, which are long and branching in the head region and shorter in the tail region. They also secrete carnitine, sialic acid, glycoproteins, and glycerylphosphorylcholine into the lumen. Basal cells: shorter, pyramid-shaped cells which contact the basal lamina but taper off before their apical surfaces reach the lumen. These are thought to be undifferentiated precursors of principal cells. Apical cells: predominantly found in the head region Clear cells: predominant in the tail region Intraepithelial lymphocytes: distributed throughout the tissue. Intraepithelial macrophages. Spermatozoa formed in the testis enter the caput epididymis, progress to the corpus, and finally reach the cauda region, where they are stored.