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  • Title: The response of the regional lymph node to epididymal sperm granulomas after vasectomy.
    Author: McDonald SW, al Saffar R, Scothorne RJ.
    Journal: J Anat; 1991 Jun; 176():35-44. PubMed ID: 1917673.
    Abstract:
    The cause of the variable immune response in the regional testicular lymph node of inbred Albino Swiss rats after vasectomy was investigated in two experiments. In the first, the ductus deferens was transected at its junction with the epididymis so that, in every case, sperm granulomas developed in the epididymis, from which lymph is known to drain invariably to the testicular node. In spite of this, not all testicular nodes showed histological signs of an immune response at 12 weeks after vasectomy. In the second experiment the contents of epididymal lymphatics were compared in vasectomised rats and sham-operated controls at intervals of up to 18 months after operation. Lymphatics in animals with an 'active' epididymal granuloma invariably contained numbers of macrophages and lymphocytes, thought to be involved in antigen transport, while those of controls contained none. It is concluded that variations in the lymphatic drainage of vasal granulomas were not primarily responsible for the variable lymph node response to vasectomy previously reported. 2 experiments involving inbred Albino Swiss rats after vasectomy suggest that variations in the lymphatic drainage of sperm granulomas are not, as previously suggested, a major factor in the variability of the regional testicular lymph node's response to this procedure. More significant to the antigenic stimulation of the node seems to be leukocytes released from sperm granulomas. In the 1st experiment, the ductus deferens was divided at its junction with the epididymal duct and sperm granulomas were induced to form in the cauda, which drains into the testicular node. The resultant testicular nodes exhibited a range of weights and cortical nodule content and 1 experimental node was indistinguishable from control nodes. The presence of an epididymal granuloma did not inevitably lead to an immune response in the regional node; spermatozoa were relatively numerous in the node of only 1 of 8 experimental rats. In the 2nd experiment, the intrinsic lymphatics of the epididymis in rats with epididymal granulomas after vasectomy were compared with those in sham-operated controls. Lymphatics in the epididymis adjacent to the granuloma in vasectomized rats contained numerous macrophages and lymphocytes--findings that were not recorded in control animals or vasectomized rats in which a granuloma had not developed. The abundance of macrophages and lymphocytes adjacent to (a granuloma suggests that these cells came from the granuloma and are most likely active agents in antigen transport from granuloma to node.
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