Studies of the deferent ducts from the testis of the African elephant, Loxodonta africana. II. Histochemistry of the epididymis.

The three main segments of the elephant epididymis were examined for the occurrence, in the spermatozoa and lining epithelium, of carbohydrates, neutral lipids and phospholipids, ATPase, alkaline phosphatase, succinic dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, diaphorases, hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases, acid phosphatase and non-specific esterase. The most distinct feature of the carbohydrate content of the epididymis was a layer of acidic, alcian blue-positive glycoprotein over the luminal surface of the epithelium, particularly in the terminal segment. PAS-positive, diastase-resistant inclusions were also found throughout the epdidymis. Neutral lipid occurred as droplets above and below the nucleus in the epithelium of the middle segment, and as supranuclear accumulations in the terminal segment. All the enzymes except the steroid dehydrogenases were detected in the epididymal epithelium, and all except the steroid dehydrogenases and acid phosphatase were detected in the spermatozoa. There was considerable variation in the intensity of the cytochemical reactions in the epithelium, but not in the spermatozoa, in different regions of the epididymis. In general, the enzymes involved in active transport showed strongest reactions in the initial and terminal segments, the reactions in the stereocilia being the most intense. The enzymes involved in energy metabolism showed strongest reactions in the middle and terminal segments, with the activity being fairly evenly distributed throughout the cytoplasm of the principal cells. However, the two lysosomal enzymes which were studied showed quite different distributions: the reactions for acid phosphatase were strongest in the initial and middle segments, whilst the reactions for non-specific esterase were strongest in the middle and terminal segments. It is suggested that the initial segment is involved in absorptive and anabolic activity, the middle segment in anabolic activity, and the terminal segment (where spermatozoa are stored ready for ejaculation) in considerable metabolic activity and active transport of substrates across the epithelium.