DISTRIBUTION OF SPERMATOZOA IN THE OVIDUCT AND FERTILITY IN DOMESTIC BIRDS

Abstract

A glandular region is described in the uterovaginal junction of the domestic fowl; the glands are residence sites for spermatozoa, which invade them rapidly and in large numbers after copulation or artificial insemination. Accumulations are of spermatozoa are found in these glands, though in decreasing numbers, for as long as fertilized eggs are produced. The accumulations are similar in appearance to those previously described in infundibular glands, but spermatozoa can be made to penetrate the latter in considerable numbers only with special and unusual techniques. Consequently, it is suggested that the uterovaginal glands, not the infundibular glands, are the normal residence sites for those spermatozoa that are responsible for the continued fertilization of eggs after artificial insemination or when the hen is separated form the male.