COMPARISON OF EPIDIDYMAL AND EJACULATED SEMEN OF THE RAM

Abstract

A comparison has been made of the physiological and chemical properties of ejaculated and epididymal semen collected from rams with a surgical fistula into one vas deferens. The most striking difference between the spermatozoa was the resistance of epididymal cells to cold shock, which was correlated with the attachment of kinoplasmic droplets. Other intrinsic differences between the spermatozoa were small and there was little evidence of a difference in metabolic pattern. The two types of seminal plasma differed considerably in chemical composition, although the pH was about the same and glycerylphosphorylcholine was present in high concentration in both. Evidence was obtained that the fructose in ejaculated ram semen enables the mortality of the spermatozoa to be better maintained under anaerobic conditions than is the case with epididymal spermatozoa.