The male reproductive organs in experimental Chagas' disease. I. Morphometric study of the vas deferens in the acute phase of the disease.

Amastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi (Bolivia strain) were detected in the sex organs of male mice 15 days after inoculation. The presence of the parasite close to the lumen of the seminiferous tubules and mixed with spermatozoa in the lumen of the epididymal duct suggests the possibility of transmission of Chagas' disease through coitus. Morphological analysis of the vas deferens revealed structural alterations compatible with the early form of chagasic esophagopathy.