Turner Terry T
Department of Urology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, PO Box 800422, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
J Androl. 2008 May-Jun;29(3):237-50. doi: 10.2164/jandrol.107.004119. Epub 2008 Jan 24.
The epididymis consists of a single, highly coiled and convoluted tubule that Antoine De Graaf, the famous 17th-century anatomist, likened to a thread thickening to a string. The uncoiled tubule is several meters long and sperm in transit through it become functionally mature under the under the influence of the tubule lumen's microenvironment. The regulation of that microenvironment and the manner by which it influences sperm maturation have been the topic of investigation for many years, though the study of the human epididymis directly is fraught with problems related to sample availability and condition. Nevertheless, investigations using a variety of mammalian tissue sources, human included, have resulted in significant advances in our understanding of both the biology and pathology of the organ. The epididymal functions of transporting, concentrating, maturing, and storing sperm are important to male fertility and their absence or significant impairment can be a factor in male infertility.
附睾由一条单一的、高度盘绕和卷曲的小管组成，17世纪著名解剖学家安托万·德·格拉夫将其比作一根由细线变粗而成的绳子。展开后的小管有好几米长，在其中运输的精子在小管管腔微环境的影响下功能逐渐成熟。多年来，该微环境的调节及其影响精子成熟的方式一直是研究的课题，不过直接对人类附睾进行研究面临着与样本可用性和状况相关的诸多问题。尽管如此，使用包括人类在内的多种哺乳动物组织来源进行的研究，已使我们在理解该器官的生物学和病理学方面取得了重大进展。附睾运输、浓缩、使精子成熟和储存精子的功能对男性生育能力很重要，这些功能的缺失或严重受损可能是男性不育的一个因素。
