Entry of Spermatozoa into the Fallopian-Tube Mucosa

Abstract

IT was reported recently that spermatozoon heads had been observed in the mucous membrane in histological sections of the Fallopian tube of two greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum) and four common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)¹; spermatozoa were not found in the uterine tissues. Similar observations have since been made in two rats, one rabbit, one hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), one mole (Talpa europaea) and two stoats (Mustela erminea). Spermatozoa considered to be in the mucosa were all in the thickness of the section and not on the surface. They were found even in individuals in which the lumina of tube and uterus contained few if any spermatozoa. When spermatozoon heads lay close to mucosal-cell nuclei, there was generally evidence of a local reaction, namely, a flattening or indentation of the opposed surface of the nucleus. Spermatozoa were not seen in sub-mucous tubal tissues. It is concluded, therefore, that the phenomenon is real, and not attributable to artefact, and that it is probably general.