Micropuncture and microanalytic studies of the rat testis and epididymis.

Micropuncture techniques developed for the study of renal physiology have been adapted for investigation of the male reproductive tract. Ultramicro specimens were obtained in vivo from the tubules of the rat testis and epididymis. These samples were analyzed for sperm morphology and concentration. The new methods developed to conduct these studies are discussed in detail. The mean in vivo spermatocrits were 0.411 plus and minus 0.029, 0.355 plus and minus 0.019, and 0;731 plus and minus 0.028 in the seminiferous tubule, caput epididymidis, and caudal spermatocrit was significantly higher than the spermatocrit in the caput or seminiferous tubule. The percentages of abnormal spermatozoa in the caput and cauda were 5.5% plus and minus .7% and 4.3% plus and minus .6%, respectively.