Postnatal Developmental Anatomy of Testes and Epididymis of Gaddi Goats

Abstract

The study revealed that the testes of one-day-old Gaddi goats have descended in the scrotum along with adnexa. They were elongated compressed latero-medially and became ovoid during their postnatal growth and morphogenesis. The two testes were not different significantly in their weight and measurement. The average weight which was about 2.9 gm at birth grew to 107 gm (40X) in pubertal animals and nearly maintained it during the post-puberty (113 g). The mean length (1.46 cm), width (0.85 cm) and thickness (0.62 cm) also grew by 47, 60, and 83 times, respectively. In post-pubertal animals it measured 7.06 x 5.20 x 5.10 cm. The study indicated a very fast growth of the testes from birth to puberty, which did not alter significantly after that. A relatively much faster growth in thickness and width over the length was the reason behind the change of the morphology from more elongated shape at birth to ovoid shape on maturity. The mediastinum testis was grossly discernible in the testis even at birth. Epididymis was identifiable into caput, corpus and cauda. The gross linear mensuration of these components did not differ in the caput and cauda regions on either side, whereas the length of corpus was more on the left side in all age group of animals. The growth curve revealed a continuous growth of all segments, but the fastest growth occurred in the early postnatal life (at 12-18 month age).