Sperm storage of the utero-vaginal glands in domestic hens

닭의 자궁과 질 접합부의 정자선내에 정자 저장

The present observations were focussed mainly on the morphological findings of the utero-vaginal(U-V) glands in normal laying domestic hens and the storage of cock spermatozoa in the U-V glands at various times after artificial insemination(AI). These domestic hens were assigned to three group of PMS-treated, GnRH-treated before last AI, and control group. The hens were sacrified at intervals of 1,3,7,12 and 19 days after AI. Histological sections of U-V junctions were prepared and the morphological structures of the U-V glands were observed and then were scored about the spermatozoa presence in the U-V gland. 1. The U-V glandular tubules were mostly unbranched with single columnar epithelium. Also these tubules were occassionally observed as one circular-rotated tubules or 2 to 3 branched convoluted tubules in special shapes. The numbers of the convoluted curves per tubule were $4.3{\pm}3.3$ and the ranges of convoluted curve number were straight to 16 curves. 2. The inside and outside diameters of the glandular tubules were $6.5{\pm}3.5{\mu}m$, and $35.2{\pm}4.7{\mu}m$, respectively, and the tubular lengths of the U-V glands were $219.3{\pm}115.7{\mu}m$. 3. Storaged spermatozoa in the U-V glands of all three group hens were intensively stained by hematoxylin, and packed in tight, longitudinally parallel bundles within the tubules. In addition, numbers of completely spermatozoa-filled glands were tend to increase or decrease in proportion to the numbers of partially spermatozoa-filled glands. Also U-V glands containing spermatozoa tend to be present collectively in the any zone of U-V junction. 4. In the control group, the numbers of glands containing spermatozoa in the hens at 1,3,7,12, and 19 days after AI were found to be 22.9, 33.3, 35.8, 8.6, and 0% respectively. 5. In the PMS-treated group, the numbers of glands containing spermatozoa in the hens at 1,3,7,12, and 19 days after AI were found to be 33.6, 29.7, 26.8, 8.2 and 0% respectively. 6. In the GnRH-treated group, the numbers of glands containing spermatozoa in the hens at 1,3,7,12, and 19 days after AI were found to be 19.7, 40.8, 20.4, and 0% respectively.