Male Reproductive Morphology - General Flashcards
three types of cells of the testes
-Testicular sustentacular (Sertoli) cells
-Germ cells (Spermatogonia, Spermatocytes, Spermatids)
-Interstitial endocrine cells
two reasons the male repro tract is a unique area immunologically
-Spermatozoa are ‘outside’ the body
-Blood testis barrier
spermatozoa are ____ and _____
foreign and immunogenic
what is the most important test we can do in male dogs
scrotal palpation
what pieces of anatomy do you need to consider if a dog presents with a swollen scrotum (7)
-Scrotal skin
-Vaginal tunics
-Testis
-Epididymis (head, body, and tail; usually tail)
-Spermatic cord (cremaster muscle, deferent duct and pampiniform plexus)
-Inguinal ring and area
-Superficial inguinal (scrotal) lymph node
ancillary tests for scrotal issues (5)
-urinalysis
-semen evaluation
-fine needle aspiration/impression smears
-incisional biopsy
-excisional biopsy
what can scrotal skin disease be secondary to
Can be secondary to periorchitis/epididymitis
what two things can cause periorchitis? what is the cause for cats?
Periorchitis
-All species gets this
-Often from epididymitis
-Can be from peritonitis
Cat is exception
-Feline infectious peritonitis
causes of testicular hypoplasia
- Hereditary?
- Disorders of Sexual Development
– Sex chromosome DSD - XXY cats, freemartin
– XX testicular DSD – dogs, goats
– XY testicular DSD – all species
what timepoint classifies testicular hypoplasia
Failure to reach ‘normal’ at puberty
should you breed animals with hypoplastic testes
never
what is an important thing to do to determine if scrotum is small or not
scrotal circumference measurement
what is cryptorchidism and what are the causes of the issue
Cryptorchidism = XY testicular DSD
Why was there maldescent?
* genetic
* hormonal
* structural
* environmental (outbreaks)
what test can you do for all species to determine cryptorchidism
serum hormone testing (testosterone, AMH, inhibin)
how to determine cryptorchidism in dogs vs cats vs horses
Cat
* Penile spines (barbs, papillae)
Dog
* Palpate prostate
Horse
* rectal palpation
adverse outcomes of cryptorchidism (4)
- Torsion
- Neoplasia
- Reduced fertility
- Heritable trait
what gross appearance will small testis from atrophy look like
brown colour, mineralization, fibrosis
causes of large testicles
-Compensatory hypertrophy
-Neoplasia
* DDX epididymitis
* Dog (sustentacular (Sertoli) cell tumor, interstitial cell tumor, seminoma)
* Horse (seminoma (old), teratoma (young))
what does a sertoli cells tumor look like? and what other clinical signs might be present
its white and tough
Hyperestrogenism syndrome
* Not all have inc. serum estrogen
* Feminisation
* Gynecomastia
* Alopecia
* Bone marrow suppression
what does an interstitial cell tumor look like and how common is it in dogs
tan with hemorrhage, bulges
most common tumor in dogs
what does a seminoma look like is a dog vs horse
Dog
* White, bulges and is homogeneous
Horse
* Pale yellow and lobulated
what is a presenting sign of testicular torsion
acutely painful abdomen
causes of epididymis being too small vs too big
Congenital disease
-Spermatic granuloma of the epididymal head
-Hypoplasia
-Segmental aplasia of mesonephric duct
Epididymitis
