Department of Veterinary Physiology, University of Sydney, N.S.W., 2006, Australia.
Am J Primatol. 1981;1(2):143-155. doi: 10.1002/ajp.1350010205.
Epididymal fluid, which is derived from testicular fluid, contains several unusual compounds. Little information is available on the composition of the testicular fluid of primates, but the fluid of the ram, bull, boar, and rat contains high concentrations of inositol and certain amino acids. Analyses have been made of epididymal fluid collected from the cauda epididymis of the Rhesus monkey and several nonprimate species (e.g., ram, bull, dog, stallion, rabbit, guinea pig, rat, and hamster), but similar information on the human is lacking. Cauda epididymal fluid appears to be similar in composition from one mammalian species to another. However, the epididymal plasma differs considerably from blood, lymph, and other extracellular fluids. The environment of spermatozoa in the epididymis is, therefore, highly specialized, and presumably in some way contributes to the prolonged survival of spermatozoa in this organ, and provides substrates for the metabolism of the spermatozoa. The chief characteristics of the cauda epididymal plasma are the low concentration of inorganic ions and the high levels of several unusual organic constituents namely, glycerylphosphorylcholine, carnitine, sialic acid, amino acids, glycosidases, and phosphatases. At least one antifertility compound, namely, orally administered α-chlorohydrin, appears to be concentrated in the epididymis. Studies on laboratory animals, domestic species, and man, suggest that it inhibits enzymes of the glycyolytic pathway in spermatozoa, and this may be the basis for its antifertility activity.
附睾液来源于睾丸液，含有几种不寻常的化合物。关于灵长类动物睾丸液的组成，信息很少，但公羊、公牛、公猪和大鼠的睾丸液中含有高浓度的肌醇和某些氨基酸。已经对从恒河猴和几种非灵长类动物（例如公羊、公牛、狗、种马、兔子、豚鼠、大鼠和仓鼠）的附睾尾部收集的附睾液进行了分析，但关于人类的类似信息却缺乏。附睾液在不同哺乳动物物种之间的组成似乎相似。然而，附睾血浆与血液、淋巴和其他细胞外液有很大的不同。因此，精子在附睾中的环境非常特殊，这可能以某种方式有助于精子在该器官中的长期存活，并为精子的代谢提供底物。附睾尾部血浆的主要特征是无机离子浓度低，几种不寻常的有机成分（即甘油磷酸胆碱、肉碱、唾液酸、氨基酸、糖苷酶和磷酸酶）含量高。至少有一种抗生育化合物，即口服α-氯乙醇，似乎集中在附睾中。对实验动物、家畜和人类的研究表明，它抑制精子中的糖酵解途径的酶，这可能是其抗生育活性的基础。
