Fine structure of the sperm storage tubules in the box turtle oviduct

in Reproduction
Authors:
D. H. Gist
Search for other papers by D. H. Gist in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
E. N. Fischer
Search for other papers by E. N. Fischer in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/jrf.0.0970463
Volume/Issue:
Volume 97: Issue 2
Page Range:
463–468
Article Type:
Research Article
Online Publication Date:
Mar 1993
Free access

Sign up for journal news

The sperm storage tubules of the box turtle (Terrapene carolina) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Tubules containing spermatozoa were surrounded by 6–8 secretory cells, each of which contains numerous membrane-bound vesicles presumably containing precursors to egg white proteins. The apical membranes of these cells contain microvilli, and the apical lateral membranes possess prominent junctional complexes. Cells comprising the spermatozoa-containing tubules cannot be differentiated from those devoid of spermatozoa. Various quantities of spermatozoa reside free in the lumina of the secretory tubules, and are not in contact with host cells. Only the presence of ducts communicating with the oviduct lumen serve to differentiate the spermatozoa-containing tubules.

Reproduction is committed to supporting researchers in demonstrating the impact of their articles published in the journal.

The two types of article metrics we measure are (i) more traditional full-text views and pdf downloads, and (ii) Altmetric data, which shows the wider impact of articles in a range of non-traditional sources, such as social media.

More information is on the Reasons to publish page.

Sept 2018 onwards Past Year Past 30 Days
Full Text Views 399 229 3
PDF Downloads 227 49 2

 

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Print ISSN:
1470-1626
Online ISSN:
1741-7899