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On the ultrastructure and development of the protoplasmic droplet of spermatozoa

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Summary

The fine structure of the protoplasmic droplet of epididymal spermatozoa of bull, ram, rabbit, and rat is described, as well as its development in the testis of bull and rabbit.

The droplet is bounded by the cell membrane, and its substance borders on the neck and middle piece. The internal structure is comprised of fine, curved tubules, many small and some larger vesicles, and a ground cytoplasm, which is rather dense in the rabbit and the rat. Rat spermatozoa show a conspicuously large droplet with the membraneous structures asymmetrically distributed. Droplets of spermatozoa from the most posterior part of the epididymis of bull and ram generally show an altered structure with many curved, often concentric lamellae.

No change in the ultrastructure of the middle piece was observed in connection with the movement of the droplet.

The membraneous structures of the droplet assemble in the neck region o. late spermatids as small vesicles in bulls, and as tubules and vesicles in rabbits These structures probably represent both elements from the disintegrating Golgi apparatus and vesicles of the endoplasmic reticulum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Cell Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Gunnar Bloom & Lennart Nicander

  2. The Department of Anatomy and Histology, Royal Veterinary College, Stockholm, Sweden

    Gunnar Bloom & Lennart Nicander

Authors
  1. Gunnar Bloom
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  2. Lennart Nicander
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Financial support for this study was received from the Swedish Medical Research Council and the Wallenberg Foundation.

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Bloom, G., Nicander, L. On the ultrastructure and development of the protoplasmic droplet of spermatozoa. Z.Zellforsch 55, 833–844 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381652

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381652

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