China Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine ›› 2022, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (7): 2645-2653.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2022.07.022

• Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Morphological and Histological Characteristics of Testis and Epididymis of Hyla Rabbits at Different Ages Before Sexual Maturity

TIE Yanan, YANG Xixi, WANG Zhiliang, WANG Xinrong   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
  • Received:2022-01-04 Online:2022-07-05 Published:2022-06-29

Abstract: 【Objective】 This study was aimed to explore the changes of testis and epididymal tissues in different days old Hyla rabbits before sexual maturity to provide histological basis for the determination of their puberty and sexual maturity.【Method】 45 male Hyla rabbits were randomly divided into 9 groups,with 5 in each group,the testis and epididymis of one group of rabbits were collected every 15 days from 30 days of age,and their growth and development rules were examined and analyzed using gross morphology and histoanatomy.【Result】 With the increase of daily age,testicular index,testicular weight,testicular long diameter,testicular short diameter,and testicular thickness were gradually increased,and all the indexes of each group at 150 days of age were significantly higher than those in other groups (P<0.05).30,45 and 60 days old testis with endophyte sperm tubules were sparsely arranged.The stromal component of the testis of 75,90 and 105 days old were gradually increased and the lumen was gradually formed,the plasmic cells of 120,135 and 150 days old were further proliferated and distributed in groups,round and long-shaped unformed sperm appeared from 90 days old,a small amount of formed sperm appeared in the lumen of the epididymis at the 120 days old testis,and a large number of sperm was densely distributed in the testicular lumen at 150 days old.Moreover,the rabbit sperm tubule area,epithelial cell thickness and number of supporting cells were significantly greater at 120,135 and 150 days old than those in the other groups (P<0.05).The number of interstitial cells did not differ significantly between the groups above 30 days old (P>0.05),but all were significantly greater than 30 days old.The diameter of rabbit epididymal head,body and tail at 120,135 and 150 days old were significantly higher than those in the other groups (P<0.05),the columnar epithelial thickness and cilia length of the epididymal head were significantly higher from 105 days old than in the 30,40,60,75 and 90 days old groups (P<0.05).【Conclusion】 The testis and epididymis of Hyla rabbits developed synchronously with the increase of age,reaching the initial estrus at 120 days old,and the testis and epididymis basically reached sexual maturity at 150 days old.

Key words: Hyla rabbits; testis; epididymis; sexual maturity

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