FATE OF GERMINAL EPITHELIUM. 139 



tendency toward clumping, but in the distal portion this tendency 

 is still present; however, smears made from this stage show no 

 tendency toward clumping, and no sperm motility could be 

 observed when physiological saline was added. In neither the 

 epididymis nor the vas did the sperm show any obvious morpho- 

 logical change. It seems apparent therefore that as a criterion 

 by which to judge of viability the tendency toward clumping is 

 a better index than the morphology of the individual sperm. 



The Epididymis of Sixteen Days Retention. The epididymis 

 retained for sixteen days in the abdominal cavity shows a glassy 

 appearing zone three or four millimeters wide at the base. The 

 entire organ is smaller than the normal, whether the vas is 

 ligated or not, and where not ligated it is smaller and presents 

 a broader clear zone at the base than in the ligated one. In 

 sections the distal tubules are seen to contain spermatozoa 

 which appear normal except for the clumping tendency. Further 

 toward the base of the epididymis the number of spermatozoa 

 becomes less, and at the extreme base there are few or none; 

 instead there is to be seen a coagulum of fragmenting elements, 

 degenerate beyond identification. Between these extremes some 

 of the tubules contain a few spermatozoa mixed with a large 

 number of swollen epithelial cells of varying size, among which 

 are characteristic globular masses of these epithelial constituents. 

 Polymorphonuclear leucocytes are common within and between 

 the tubules in the basal portion of the epididymis. 



In comparing the epididymis of the ligated and non-ligated 

 vas, we find the latter somewhat smaller, the number of sperm 

 less, and the amount of degenerating debris relatively more. 

 This is easily explained since the ligature prevents the outward 

 flow of sperm in the epididymis and vas, so that the degenerating 

 constituents entering from the testis are able to occupy only the 

 proximal tubules. The normal fellow of a cryptorchid epididymis 

 is normal both as to appearance and contents and is apparently 

 affected not at all by abdominal retention of the opposite testis. 



The smears of the vas and epididymal contents from the 

 testes of sixteen-day retention show sperm which are to all 

 appearances normal morphologically, but which exhibit no 

 pronounced tendency to clump, and are not activated to motility 

 by the addition of physiological saline. 



