Abstract: Wistar rats are an outbred strain of albino rats belonging to the species Rattus norvegicus. Histopathological study of the testis was carried out to determine the effects of heat and lead on male fertility by evaluating some andrological parameters of the wistar rat such as mophology of spermatozoa, sperm count and motility. The main objective of this research is to compare the deleterious effect of lead and heat on the male reproductive system of a wistar rat.
Fifteen adult male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups; group A were the control group; group B were kept in hot environment above 42 degrees Celsius and group C are administered 0.18mls of lead acetate solution per grams body weight once daily for 14 days.
The gonadotoxins caused morphological alterations of sperm cells in this study; including head, tail and middle defects which are indications of interference with maturation stage of spermatogenesis in the somniferous tubules. The deleterious effect of the gonadotoxins on the somniferous tubules is corroborated by histopathology which revealed degeneration of epithelium of the somniferous tubules. The degree of sperm cell motility was significantly lowered in animals exposed to gonadotoxins compared to animals in the control group and also the sperm cell count was lowered (P<0.05) in the animals exposed to gonadotoxins in comparison with animals in the control group, as a result of decline in the production of normal, viable sperm cells in the test animals.
It was concluded that the gonadotoxins exert toxic effect on the somniferous tubular epithelium with concomitant reduction in the reproductive abilities of the male rats and as such exposure to heat and high level of lead should therefore be avoided both in animal and man.
Keywords: Gonadotoxins, Heat, Lead Acetate, Spermatogenesis, Somniferous Tubules.
Title: Effects of Heat and Lead on the Reproductive System of Male Wister Rat
Author: Babatunde Adebayo Kehinde, Jegede Ayoola Isaac
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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