Unusual ampullary sperm crypts, and behavior and role of the cumulus oophorus, in the oviduct of the least shrew, Cryptotis parva

Biology of Reproduction
J M BedfordD M Phillips

Abstract

The gametes of the least shrew, Cryptotis parva, were studied in regard to their maturation and structure, and with particular emphasis on their behavior in the fallopian tube, from the time of ovulation until the appearance of two-cell embryos beginning some 9 h after ovulation. Cryptotis spermatozoa are organized according to the conventional eutherian mold, with the exception of a barbed perforatorium and an unusual plasma membrane density lent by a bristly coat where it overlies the acrosome rim. In the epididymis they undergo a maturation of the capacity for motility and an -S-S-related stabilization of the nucleus and tail organelles, with the cauda housing only approximately 4-5 million spermatozoa. Mating involves penile locking and also the deposition of a modest vaginal plug that covers the cervix. The short (4-5 mm) fallopian tube has three regions-a simple isthmus, a relatively narrow ampulla populated throughout by ciliated crypts, and a crypt-free terminal infundibulum-the fertilization site. Unlike the situation in most mammals, the tubal isthmus was devoid of spermatozoa in mated females before and after ovulation, which occurred approximately 13 h post-hCG and produced a mean of 5.7 ova. However, the ampulla th...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 2, 2013·Animal Reproduction Science·Faviola Pedrero-BadilloEstela Cuevas
Jun 20, 2002·Reproduction in Domestic Animals = Zuchthygiene·Ann Van SoomA de Kruif
Aug 11, 2010·Reproduction : the Official Journal of the Society for the Study of Fertility·John J RasweilerKiranmayi V Mechineni
Nov 4, 2015·Annual Review of Animal Biosciences·William V Holt, Alireza Fazeli
Feb 3, 2005·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·J Michael BedfordSteven M Goodman
Jun 12, 2004·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·J Michael Bedford
May 4, 2017·Anatomia, histologia, embryologia·F ArodakiM Al-Tikriti

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