EPIDIDYMIS. 



277 



tain fatty, pigment, and other granules, and produce a secretion which may 

 appear in vesicular masses on the surface of the cells. Often the tall cells 

 and occasionally the short ones are ciliated. The cilia vibrate so as to pro- 

 duce a current toward the ductus epididymidis. The epithelium rests on 

 a striated basement membrane which is surrounded by a layer of circular 

 smooth muscles, several 

 cells thick. The muscle 

 layer is thickest , toward 

 the ductus epididymidis. 



Cubical cells. 



Columnar cells. 



Smooth muscle fibers. 

 FIG 



Connective tissue. 



314. TRANSVERSE SECTION- OP A DUCTULUS FFFEREXS 



TESTIS OF AN ADULT MAX. 

 The right-hand end of the illustration is schematic. No cilia 

 could be seen, although those of the epithelium of the epi- 

 didymis were well preserved. X 360. 



Before puberty and in old age 



Among the muscle cells 

 there are elastic fibers 

 which, like those of the 

 ductus epididymidis and 

 deferens, first appear at 

 puberty. There are no 

 glands in the efferent 

 ducts, but the irregulari- 

 ties in the epithelium are 

 thought to be due to glandular activity, 

 these irregularities are slight. 



The ductus epididymidis consists of a two-rowed epithelium with 

 rounded basal cells and tall outer columnar cells. The latter contain 

 secretory granules and sometimes pigment, and have in the middle of 

 their upper surfaces long non-motile hairs which in sections are usually 



matted in conical processes 

 (Fig. 33, b, p. 31). The epi- 

 thelium may contain round 

 cavities opening into the lumen 

 or forming closed cysts. The 

 delicate membrana propria 

 and a thick circular muscle 

 layer complete the wall of the 

 ductus, the convolutions of 

 which occur in a loose connec- 

 tive tissue. Toward the duc- 

 tus deferens the muscle layer thickens. There are no glands in the ductus 

 epididymidis but its cells produce considerable secretion in which the sper- 

 matozoa become active. 



The blood vessels of the epididymis, which are few in comparison with 

 those of the testis, lie in part so close to the efferent ducts as to cause the 

 tunica propria to bulge toward the epithelium. The nerves, besides peri- 





Epithelium. 



Membrana 

 propria. 



Circular layer of 

 muscle fibers. 



Loose connective 

 tissue 



FIG. 315. TRANSVERSE SECTION OF A HTMAN DUCTCS 

 EPIDIDYMIDIS. X 80. 



