Morpho-Histology and Morphometry of Chicken Testes and Seminiferous Tubules among Yellow-Feathered Broilers of Different Ages

Abstract

Unlike in many mammals, poultry testes are found in the abdominal cavity where they develop and perform spermatogenesis at high body temperature. Scarce reports among current publications detail the growth of testes and ST morphometry among juvenile chicks. Therefore, this study aims to investigate changes in components occurring in Gallus domesticus testes, by assessing the GSI and morphologically and histologically evaluating the testes and ST morphometry from 1-wk- to 4-mo-old. Right and left testes were collected from 70 healthy chickens divided into seven age-related groups (n = 10) and then immersed into the alcoholic acetate formalin (AAF) fixative solution. Hematoxylin- and eosin-stained tissues were used for microscopic observations. The findings revealed that both testes exhibited smooth features from 1-wk-old to 1-mo-old, and thereafter showed a consistent increase in vascularization until 4-mo-old. Histologically, both testes exhibited unclear ST, with ST apoptotic resorption observed in the 1-wk-old chicks. Until 1-mo-old, ST formed and few spermatogonia differentiated into primary spermatocytes, with all spermatogenic cells observed at 3-mo-old, i.e., sexual maturity. These findings suggest that both testes develop in analogy, and their sizes including increases in length and diameter are related to the spermatogenic activity in the ST. Subsequently, ST resorption by apoptosis is assumed to participate in the physiological mechanism regulating germ cells (GC). Finally, the GSI tended to increase with growth.