| Item type: | Article | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal or Publication Title: | Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia | ||||
| Publisher: | BLACKWELL VERLAG GMBH | ||||
| Place of Publication: | BERLIN | ||||
| Volume: | 33 | ||||
| Number of Issue or Book Chapter: | 6 | ||||
| Page Range: | pp. 317-325 | ||||
| Date: | 2004 | ||||
| Institutions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Anatomie > Lehrstuhl für Molekulare und zelluläre Anatomie | ||||
| Identification Number: |
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| Keywords: | GENE-RELATED PEPTIDE; EXCURRENT DUCT SYSTEM; BOVINE RETE TESTIS; ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY; SUBSTANCE-P; NEPHROSTOMIAL TUBULES; SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES; RAT; EPIDIDYMIS; ORIGIN; | ||||
| Dewey Decimal Classification: | 500 Science > 570 Life sciences | ||||
| Status: | Published | ||||
| Refereed: | Yes, this version has been refereed | ||||
| Created at the University of Regensburg: | Yes | ||||
| Item ID: | 71116 |
Web of ScienceAbstract
The feline urogenital junction is situated between the extratesticular rete and the spacious initial segments of the efferent ductules. The rete epithelium is cuboidal to low columnar. The rete cells forming the junction rest on a wavy basal lamina, display deep mutual invaginations, possess central nuclei with several infoldings and form a distinct border with the columnar epithelial cells of ...
Abstract
The feline urogenital junction is situated between the extratesticular rete and the spacious initial segments of the efferent ductules. The rete epithelium is cuboidal to low columnar. The rete cells forming the junction rest on a wavy basal lamina, display deep mutual invaginations, possess central nuclei with several infoldings and form a distinct border with the columnar epithelial cells of the initial segments of the ductuli efferentes. The epithelium of the initial segments is composed of ciliated cells and non-ciliated principal cells. The latter are the dominating type and characterized by an apical brush-border and a supranuclear endocytotic apparatus. The stroma of the extratesticular rete contains an abundance of collagen whereas contractile cells are here generally absent. In contrast, the initial segments of the efferent ductules are surrounded by elastic fibres and a layer of contractile cells. All nerves for the feline urogenital junction come from the nervus spermaticus superior. In the epididymal head, small nerve bundles deviate into the septa between the ductules. Single fibres establish a dense network within the muscular coat of the ductuli. At the transition to the extratesticular rete, this network ends abruptly. Nerve fibres in the confines of the rete are associated with blood vessels or proceed to the testicular interior, but establish no relationships with the rete epithelium or the myofibroblasts of the mediastinum. The nervous network in the walls of the efferent ductules and their initial segments is not only composed of sympathetic but also parasympathetic, non-myelinated fibres. Particularly noteworthy is the abundance of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)- and substance P (SP)-containing axons around the initial segments. Both neuroproteins are consistent markers for sensory neurones. Taken together, it can be assumed that the entry of seminal fluid and spermatozoa into the efferent ductules is controlled by a regulatory nervous chain provided with afferent and efferent components.
Metadata last modified: 19 Dec 2024 15:09
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