Testicular Degeneration, Rat

Abstract

Testicular degeneration can be unilateral or bilateral. It can involve a whole testis or a part of a testis, or it may only affect a few random seminiferous tubules. In most cases, the testis may maintain its normal size during the early stages of degeneration, because it is usually a lengthy process. If the degeneration is caused by the disturbance of blood circulation, as seen in cadmium toxicity (Gunn et al. 1963), the testis appears swollen, turgid, and dark red in early stages. If it is due to an obstruction of the excretory duct, as seen in chlorohydrin toxicity (Ericsson 1970), the testis appears uniformly enlarged and pale in the early stages. Also, large amounts of fluid may ooze out from a cut surface. Regardless of the cause, the affected testis eventually becomes soft, flabby, and darker in color. The parenchyma will not bulge from the capsule when it is cut, as it does in the normal testis. Occasionally, there are small, irregular foci, composed of grayish-white, thread-like structures that are actually sperm- filled seminiferous tubules that have become mineralized.