COMPOSITION OF BULL EPIDIDYMAL AND TESTICULAR FLUID

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Abstract
Summary. Analyses were made of fluid collected from the rete testis and the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis of the bull. Both the major electrolytes and some organic constituents in the fluids were examined. There was a decrease in sodium and chloride as the fluid passed from the testis through the epididymis and at the same time there was a general increase in organic constituents. In testicular fluid, sodium and chloride made up the bulk of the ions present. In the epididymis, however, potassium replaced approximately half of the sodium and at the same time there was a general decrease in total electrolytes. Of the organic constituents, orcinol-reactive carbohydrate, protein and acidsoluble phosphorus, especially glycerylphosphorylcholine, were present in much higher concentrations in the epididymal than in the testicular fluid. Although little reducing sugar was found, lactic acid was present in all the fluids examined.