On the structure of the epididymal region and ductus deferens of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus)
Tingari, M.D.
Journal of Anatomy 109(Pt 3): 423-435
1971
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-8782 PMID: 4949288 Document Number: 35545
The genital tract of the male fowl was investigated by dissection, injection, microradiography and conventional histological methods. The fowl testis does not have a mediastinum, and tubuli recti are absent. The seminiferous tubules therefore lead directly into the rete testis, which is drained by the ductuli efferentes. The latter are continued by connecting ductules which in turn open into the ductus epididymis. Particular emphasis is given to the structure of the ductus epididymus and ductus deferens, and they are considered to be merely different segments of the same tube. This tube gradually increases in diameter from its beginning at the cranial end of the epididymal region to its caudal end. Thus, the avian epididymal region might be regarded as equivalent to the caput epididymus of scrotal mammals. Different regions of the ductus deferens are considered to be analogous to the corpus and cauda epididymidis.