Fate of Spermatozoa penetrating into the Tissues of the Fallopian Tube

Abstract

IN a re-investigation of previous work¹, spermatozoa were recently observed in the mucous membrane of the Fallopian tubes of greater horseshoe bats², and a similar occurrence was later found in common pipistrelle bats, rats, stoats, one rabbit, and one hedgehog³. There was some evidence of a response of the nuclei of the tubal cells to the spermatozoa³. In view of these observations, we have examined the Fallopian tubes of mice mated to radioactive males known to be ejaculating large numbers of spermatozoa labelled in deoxyribonucleic acid with adenine-8-¹⁴C ⁴. By using autoradiography, the labelled sperm chromatin can be identified even though the spermatozoa are no longer recognizable morphologically⁵. The Fallopian tubes were accordingly examined autoradiographically. Particular attention was paid to the mucosa and sub-mucosa, to find out if spermatozoon deoxyribonucleic acid was incorporated into the nuclei or formed nuclei in the female tract.