Male repro - general, testes Flashcards
fertility
ability to produce and deliver enough healthy sperm to fertilize ova (healthy sperm, adequate fluid, delivery system)
potency
ability to copulate (libido, physical ability)
what do disease of male repro tract interfere with
- sermatogenesis
- secretion of suitable fluid vehicle
- deposition of spermatozoa in vagina
- fertilization
general scrotum info
- thin skin
- apocrine sweat glands (thermal regulation)
- testicular temp must be lower than body temp for spermatogenesis and fertility
scrotum dermatitis
- pendulous and vulnerable to injury –> chronic injury can cause skin thickening with secondary alteration of thermoregulation
- ruminants: dermatitis due to dermatophilus congolensis, besnoitia besnoiti, fungi, chorioptes bovis
- frostbite
scrotum neoplasms
- melanomas (gray horses)
- mast cell tumor, melanoma (dogs)
cryptorchidism
- incomplete descent of one or both testes
- all domestic species, most common in cat/horse
- unilateral or bilateral (most unilateral R side in dogs)
- inherited (dominant in horses, recessive in other species)
- bilateral: sterile because of effect of heat on spermatogenesis - unilateral = decreased fertility
gross appearance of cryptorchid testicle
- testis is small, firm, oddly shaped
- located from caudal pole of kidney to external inguinal ring (common site)
importance of cryptorchidism
- infertility, further breeding not recommended
- dog: predisposition to testicular neoplasia in undescended testis (sertoli cell tumor, seminoma)
- gives horses mean disposition (high flanker horse)
testicular hypoplasia
- arrest in testicular development
- occurs in all species
- failure to grow to normal size (due to small number, length, diameter of seminiferous tubules)
- semen is watery with few or no spermatids
what is testicular degeneration
- atrophy
- most frequent cause of infertility in male animals
- manifested as atrophy, mineralization, fibrosis
- many causes
types of testicular degeneration
- unilateral: local causes (pressure of local tumor or abscess, vascular occlusion)
- bilateral: systemic causes
- can occur in all species without indication of pathogenesis
etiology of testicular degeneration (list 10)
- any adverse influence on general health
- thermal degeneratio
- local/systemic infection
- poor nutrition
- vascular
- age
- noxious agents
- hormonal factors
- sperm stasis
- diabetes
thermal degeneration and testicular degeneration
- elevated body temp (fever from disease)
- excessive scrotal fat
- high environmental temp
- tunic adhesions prevent normal thermoregulation
poor nutrition and testicular degeneration
low energy, vitamin A deficiency, phosphorus deficiency, low protein
vascular issues and testicular degeneration
- infarction by torsion
- human intervention (crush castration)
- strongyle larvae in horse (inflammation of spermatic artery)
age and testicular degeneration
hyaline degeneration of arterial walls
noxious agents and testicular degeneration
- chemicals (chlorinated napthalene - cattle)
- radiation
- toxic plants (locoweed)
hormonal factors and testicular degeneration
- pituitary tumor
- estrogen in feed
sperm stasis and testicular degeneration
occlusive problem in epididymis or vas deferens
gross features of testicular degeneration
- smaller than normal
- acute phase: soft and flabby from loss of parenchyma
- cut surface does not bulge
- end stage: fibrosis (hard), mineralization
microscopic features of testicular degeneration
- vacuolation of spermatogonia
- failure of development of spermatids
- degenerate sertoli cells and spermatidic multinuclear giant cells
semen evaluation in testicular degeneration
- concentration (turbidity)
- motility
- live - dead stain
- morphology of sperm
etiology of orchitis
- mostly caused by bacterial infection
- bacteria arrive via bloodstream (hematogenous) or direct penetration
brucella abortus and orchitis
- natural infection
- acute orchitis (unilateral or bilateral)
- swollen, hot, doughy on palpation
- infarction occurs due to pressure on testicular vessels
- degenerate seminiferous tubules
- necrosis (yellow flecks of necrosis in parenchyma, coalesce to areas of liquefaction)
- final outcome: put filled cavity with thick fibrous CT wall
other bacteria causing orchitis
acranobacterium pyogenes
brucella suis and orchitis
multiple abscesses, caseation, granulomas with giant cells
horses and orchitis
salmonella abortus equi infection
sheep and orchitis
- corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
- histophilus ovis
- brucella mellitensis
dogs and orchitis
- common
- usually accompanied by epididymitis –> usually extends from urinary bladder by reflux up ductus deferens
- bite wounds
- canine distemper virus
tuberculosis and orchitis
- causes epididymitis
- rare in most of US
