Histomorphometry of sexually immature albino rat testis after X ray-irradiation

Abstract

A A morphometric study was conducted of sexually immature albino rat testes which were exposed to a localized single. X-ray dose of 154.00 mC/Kg.The rats were killed at the ages of 25, 30, 35, 45, 60, 90 and 120 days. Their testes were removed from the scrota and examined microscopically by light microscope and macroscopically, To obtain better identification of all phases of spermatogenesis, 6 mu m-thick paraffin sections were stained using the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Harris hematoxylin methods.The results show that X-rays provoke severe alterations in the seminiferous epithelium, selectively eliminating a significant quantity of the spermatogonia. On other hand, the elements which survived X-irradiation, including some types of spermatogonia and undifferentiated cells, were capable of repopulating the seminiferous epithelium. Animals irradiated at 25 days of age were found to be fertile when they were mated between 90 and 120 days.