Male Reproductive Morphology - General

Question 1

three types of cells of the testes

Answer 1

-Testicular sustentacular (Sertoli) cells
-Germ cells (Spermatogonia, Spermatocytes, Spermatids)
-Interstitial endocrine cells

Question 2

two reasons the male repro tract is a unique area immunologically

Answer 2

-Spermatozoa are ‘outside’ the body
-Blood testis barrier

Question 3

spermatozoa are ____ and _____

Answer 3

foreign and immunogenic

Question 4

what is the most important test we can do in male dogs

Answer 4

scrotal palpation

Question 5

what pieces of anatomy do you need to consider if a dog presents with a swollen scrotum (7)

Answer 5

-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

Question 6

ancillary tests for scrotal issues (5)

Answer 6

-urinalysis
-semen evaluation
-fine needle aspiration/impression smears
-incisional biopsy
-excisional biopsy

Question 7

what can scrotal skin disease be secondary to

Answer 7

Can be secondary to periorchitis/epididymitis

Question 8

what two things can cause periorchitis? what is the cause for cats?

Answer 8

Periorchitis
-All species gets this
-Often from epididymitis
-Can be from peritonitis

Cat is exception
-Feline infectious peritonitis

Question 9

causes of testicular hypoplasia

Answer 9

• Hereditary?
• Disorders of Sexual Development
  – Sex chromosome DSD - XXY cats, freemartin
  – XX testicular DSD – dogs, goats
  – XY testicular DSD – all species

Question 10

what timepoint classifies testicular hypoplasia

Answer 10

Failure to reach ‘normal’ at puberty

Question 11

should you breed animals with hypoplastic testes

Answer 11

never

Question 12

what is an important thing to do to determine if scrotum is small or not

Answer 12

scrotal circumference measurement

Question 13

what is cryptorchidism and what are the causes of the issue

Answer 13

Cryptorchidism = XY testicular DSD

Why was there maldescent?
* genetic
* hormonal
* structural
* environmental (outbreaks)

Question 14

what test can you do for all species to determine cryptorchidism

Answer 14

serum hormone testing (testosterone, AMH, inhibin)

Question 15

how to determine cryptorchidism in dogs vs cats vs horses

Answer 15

Cat
* Penile spines (barbs, papillae)

Dog
* Palpate prostate

Horse
* rectal palpation

Question 16

adverse outcomes of cryptorchidism (4)

Answer 16

• Torsion
• Neoplasia
• Reduced fertility
• Heritable trait

Question 17

what gross appearance will small testis from atrophy look like

Answer 17

brown colour, mineralization, fibrosis

Question 18

causes of large testicles

Answer 18

-Compensatory hypertrophy

-Neoplasia
* DDX epididymitis
* Dog (sustentacular (Sertoli) cell tumor, interstitial cell tumor, seminoma)
* Horse (seminoma (old), teratoma (young))

Question 19

what does a sertoli cells tumor look like? and what other clinical signs might be present

Answer 19

its white and tough

Hyperestrogenism syndrome
* Not all have inc. serum estrogen
* Feminisation
* Gynecomastia
* Alopecia
* Bone marrow suppression

Question 20

what does an interstitial cell tumor look like and how common is it in dogs

Answer 20

tan with hemorrhage, bulges

most common tumor in dogs

Question 21

what does a seminoma look like is a dog vs horse

Answer 21

Dog
* White, bulges and is homogeneous

Horse
* Pale yellow and lobulated

Question 22

what is a presenting sign of testicular torsion

Answer 22

acutely painful abdomen

Question 23

causes of epididymis being too small vs too big

Answer 23

Congenital disease
-Spermatic granuloma of the epididymal head
-Hypoplasia
-Segmental aplasia of mesonephric duct

Epididymitis