Testicular hypoplasia in boar: association between seminal analysis and hystopathology

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the occurrence of testicular hypoplasia in boar and correlate the findings of testicular biometrics and histopathological evaluation with the seminal parameters. The work was conducted at the Experimental Center of Porcine of the Federal University of Lavras when four boars were acquired. Since 190±12 days of age, the boars were subjected to a training protocol for semen collection, and during 130 days, were made andrological evaluations weekly, with testicular weighing, biometrics and volume. In one animal was observed total absence of sperm in the ejaculated, since the first semen collect, despite having normal volume of semen and was also found smaller testicular volume compared to the others. When the boar completed three and half years old, a surgical castration was performed, being collected samples from both testis and epididymis for histopathological evaluation. On histological evaluation, there was a reduced diameter in the seminiferous tubules, which were formed only by Sertoli cells with rare spermatogenic lineage cells. A marked proportional increase in the number of Leydig cells in relation to the seminiferous tubules was observed, and the testis was covered by a thick layer of connective tissue, which formed trabeculae that radiated into the parenchyma. In the samples from the epididymis were not observed sperm. Bilateral testicular hypoplasia was present and could be previously detected by the testicular volume and semen analysis, being confirmed by histopathological evaluation of the testes and epididymis of the boar, association that is essential for the definitive diagnosis.