Eur J Anat, 18 (2): 102-108 (2014)

Biometrical and histometrical observations on the testis and epididymis of the African sideneck turtle (Pelusios castaneus)

Samuel G. Olukole¹, Matthew O. Oyeyemi² and Bankole O. Oke¹

¹Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and ²Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Biometrical and histometrical observations were carried out on the testis and epididymis of twenty five adult African sideneck turtles (Pelusios castaneus) with a view to providing basic data that could be relevant in the comparative regional anatomy of the male reproductive organs of sea and freshwater turtles. The mean body weight of the turtles used in this work was 547 ± 41.4 g. The mean relative testicular and epididymal weights of the turtles were of 0.163% and 0.122%, respectively.The testis is sheathed by a capsule organised into two layers, the outer tunica vaginalis and the inner tunica albuginea. The highly convoluted seminiferous tubules of the testicular tissue had basement membranes lined with germ cells arranged in successive layers representing different stages of cell division. The epididymis had spermatozoa within its lumen, with about 5 to 8 ductuli efferentes found within its lamina propria. The epithelia of the epididymis and ductuli efferentes were lined by pseudostratified ciliated columnar cells. The diameter of the seminiferous tubules relative to those of the lumen and germinal epithelium of the testis, as well as the epididymal ductal diameter, luminal diameter and epithelial height of the P. castaneus, were all similar to those previously reported in turtles and other reptiles. This work provides baseline data on the gross and microanatomy of the testis and epididymis of P. castaneus, and is expected to be useful in the comparative regional anatomy of sea and freshwater turtles.

Keywords: Testis, Epididymis, African sideneck turtle, Biometry