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THE EFFECT OF REPEATED APPLICATIONS OF HEAT ON SPERMATOGENESIS IN THE RAT: A HISTOLOGICAL STUDY

Summary.: The effect of repeated exposures of rat testes to 43·5° C has been studied, allowing a 6-week recovery period between treatments. Following exposure to heat, the weight of the testes was lower than in normal males, even in the twelve males which recovered fertility within 24 weeks following the seventh treatment. No significant changes were found in seminal vesicle weight.

Seminiferous tubules were either normal in histological appearance, or showed 'partial' or 'severe' damage 6 weeks after each application. The percentage of 'severely' atrophic tubules increased by about 4% with successive heatings. It is concluded that such damage occurred in tubules in which stem cells were dividing at the time of heating and that, as a consequence, their regenerative capacity was severely impaired.