Morphological Assessment of Epididymal Sperm in Wistar Rats Using Different Histological Stains

Abstract

Spermatozoa are unique and highly specialized cells operating at the microscopic level in a complex environment and have various sizes, shapes, and forms. The sizes, shapes, and forms of the spermatozoa are dependent on the species but may be different even within the same species. Five Wistar rats were euthanized using ketamine injection. The epididymis of each rat was dissected, teased and diluted in normal saline. Several smears were prepared and stained with Giemsa, Leishman, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), crystal violet, methylene blue, Alcian blue, Harris hematoxylin, and eosin stains. The result showed that the head and the proximal and distal parts of the tail were stained excellently with crystal violet and H&E stains. Giemsa and Harris hematoxylin were also good but could not stain the distal part of the tail. In conclusion, crystal violet is the best stain for sperm morphology in Wistar rats followed by H&E stain.