A Morphometric Study of the Effects of Bilateral Vasectomy on Testis in Rats

  SUMMARY The testes of five wistar rats 2 months after bilateral vasectomy was compared with those of sham­operated controls. Aims were to determine whether there are any changes in the wistar rat testis after vasectomy. Two testis in the vasectomized group displayed histological changes, which consisted of depletion of germ cells, vacuolation in the epithelium, folding of basement membrane of seminiferous tubule and fusion of spermatids. Morphometric analysis of testicular elements in the two groups reveald a significant reduction in the weight and the volume of testes (14.02% and 12.96% respectively); and the mean number of spermatogonia, pachyten spermatocyte, round spermatid and elongated spermatid in the post vasectomy group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). In the other hand, there were no significant changes in the mean number of sertoli cell, seminiferous tubular diameter, luminal diameter, epithelial thickness; and volume density of seminiferous tubule, tubular epithelium, luminal tubule, interstitial space, normal tubule, tubule in stages VII & VIII and testicular capsule in the post vasectomy group, as compared with control group.