Spermiogram and Morphological Characteristics in Testicular and Epididymal Spermatozoa of Large White Boar in Nigeria

Reproductive ability in the male comprises the production of semen containing normal spermatozoa (quality) in the adequate number (quantity), together with the desire and ability to mate. The epididymis is an extremely large convoluted structure, which is closely attached to the dorsal part of the lateral surface of the testicle (Setchell, 1977: Oyeyemi et al., 2000). Its functions include storage, maturation and absorption of sperm cells. Changes occurring in sperm during epididymal migration, have been correlated with the function, integrity of the testis and the epididymis (Rao, 1971). This has led to the classification of sperm defects into primary and secondary or major and minor sperm defects (Bloom, 1973) although Moss et al., (1988) classified these defects into primary, secondary and tertiary or miscellaneous.