JOE
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Journal of Endocrinology (1975) 67, 203-210    DOI: 10.1677/joe.0.0670203
© 1975 Society for Endocrinology

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by VREEBURG, J. T. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by VREEBURG, J. T. M.

DISTRIBUTION OF TESTOSTERONE AND 5{alpha}-DIHYDRO-TESTOSTERONE IN RAT EPIDIDYMIS AND THEIR CONCENTRATIONS IN EFFERENT DUCT FLUID

J. T. M. VREEBURG

5{alpha}-Dihydrotestosterone concentrations were found to be appreciably higher in the proximal portion of the rat epididymis than in the distal portion. Following ligation of the efferent ducts of a testis, the 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone concentration diminished in the proximal half but not in the distal half of the epididymis. Epididymal fluid and spermatozoa were washed out from minces of epididymal tissue. The numbers of spermatozoa present in the wash fluid and in the homogenate of washed minces of epididymal tissue were used as measures for the amounts of epididymal fluid present in these fractions. Of the total amount of 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone (30·2 ng/g tissue) in the proximal portion, 20·5 ng were localized in the epididymal fluid, whereas of the total amount of 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone (8·6 ng/g tissue) in the distal portion, 2·8 ng were found in the epididymal fluid. The amounts of testosterone present in the fluids of both proximal and distal portions were 1–2 ng/g tissue. In contrast to the epididymal fluid, efferent duct fluid had a high concentration of testosterone (28·8 ng/ml) and a low concentration of 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone (1·9 ng/ml). These data suggest that the fluid surrounding the spermatozoa in the testis and the epididymis contains a high concentration of androgen and that as the fluid moves from the testis to the epididymis there is a clear change in the ratio of testosterone to 5{alpha}-dihydrotestosterone.







HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1975 by the Society for Endocrinology.