Histomorphological and histochemical studies on the ductus deferens of guinea pig

Abstract

The histomorphological and histochemical studies conducted on the proximal and middle parts of ductus deferens in guinea pigs revealed that the lining epithelium varied from simple columnar to pseudostratified columnar non-ciliated epithelium. The number of mucosal folds was lesser in the proximal part than the middle part. In the proximal part, only the circular layer of smooth muscles was observed, whereas both the circular and longitudinal layers of tunica muscularis could be seen in the middle part. The lumen of ductus deferens contained vesicles, granules, dense bodies, spermatozoa etc. and showed a strong reaction for basic proteins which may be due to the disruption of spermatozoa by the precipitation of proteins. A moderate to strong reaction for neutral and acid mucopolysaccharides was seen in the tunica mucosa whereas other layers were weakly positive. However, reverse pattern of distribution for lipids and basic proteins was observed in different layers of ductus deferens.