After spermatogenesis, testicular spermatozoa are not able to fertilize an oocyte, they must undergo sequential maturational processes. Part of these essential processes occurs during the transit of the spermatozoa through the male reproductive tract. Since the sperm become silent in terms of translation and transcription at the testicular level, all the maturational changes that take place on ...

Methods for perfusing rat testis and accessory sex organs in situ by recirculating artificial medium to the hemicorpus preparation are described. The advantages and limitations of this system for studying the male reproductive tract were examined. The preparation was then used to study the uptake of androgens into the nuclei of caput epididymis, ventral prostate, seminal vesicle and testis. The...

Normal male reproductive function, particularly ejaculation, requires the integrity of urogenital sensory input and its ascending spinal projections. After midthoracic chronic spinal cord injury, sexual dysfunction occurs in both rats and humans. Neurons in the medullary reticular formation (MRF) are involved in the processing of bilaterally convergent sensory inputs from multiple cutaneous, mu...