A Morphometric Study Of The Seminal Vesicle In Rats From Young To Old

Background and objective: Most of the seminal plasma in semen comes from seminal vesicles.The amount of secretion in the seminal vesicle is a main parameter reflecting the function of the seminal vesicle,but its quantitative study,especially its change in the process of growth and development,is lacking.This paper aimed to quantitatively study the total amount of secretion and other key morphological structures in the seminal vesicle in rats from young to old.Materials and methods: From a same cohort of normal male Sprague-Dawley rats,7-9 animals were randomly sampled at 1,2,3,4,5,6,12,18,24 and 36 months of age,respectively.The entire seminal vesicle on one side,including the closely attached coagulated gland-part of the rat prostate,was removed.Methacrylate embedded sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin before observation and measurement with a stereology image system.The total volumes of glandular secretions and other key structures in the seminal vesicle were estimated with point counting(a stereological method).Results & conclusions: The rapid growth of the seminal vesicle(volume)was between 1 and 4 months of age.The seminal vesicular gland and coagulation gland accounted for 68%-87% and 13%-28% of the organ volume,respectively.The total volume of the glandular lumen(secretion)or mucosa in the vesicular gland plateaued at 12-18 months and declined by 30%-35% from 18 to 36 months of age while that in the coagulating gland plateaued at 18-24 months and declined by 32%-36% from 24 to 36 months of age.