Histochemistry of uterovaginal sperm-host glands in Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) with reference to the period of oviposition.

General histochemistry of uterovaginal sperm-host glands (SHG) of Japanese quail was examined in virgin and naturally mated hens and during oviposition in artificially inseminated hens. The SHG tissues were stained for complex carbohydrates with periodic acid - Schiff (PAS); for lipids with oil red O (ORO); and for acid phosphatase (AP) with AS-TR phosphate substrate. Typically, PAS material was absent from SHG cells, SHG showed preferential uptake of ORO, and the stain was seen as discrete droplets with greater accumulation in the apical and basal portions of the epithelia. The SHG showed reduced ORO with an egg in the uterus, and staining was not altered by presence or absence of sperm. All epithelia of the uterovaginal region showed strong AP activity with greatest concentration in the apical portion of the SHG epithelia.