Assessment of epididymal sperm obtained from dromedary camel

Testicles were isolated from dromedary camels in a local slaughterhouse at breeding and non-breeding seasons. Sperms were recovered from different parts of the epididymis (caput, corpus and cauda) and stained separately on slide glasses by eosin nigrosin staining method and dried by a hair dryer and carried to the laboratory. In the lab, slides were observed for evaluation of the proportion of live sperms and the proportion of sperms with cytoplasmic droplets under a light microscope. The proportions of live sperm cells were 76.8, 86.9 and 88.8% for caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, respectively. In the left testicle these values were 85.3, 83.1 and 88.4 for caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, respectively. No significant difference was also observed in the live sperm cells obtained from right and left testicles. The proportions of live sperm cells were 83, 90 and 86% in breeding and 80, 82 and 90.5% in non-breeding seasons for caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, respectively, which were not significantly different. The proportions of live sperms with protoplasmic droplets were 66, 70 and 74% in breeding and 73, 70 and 82% in non-breeding seasons for caput, corpus and cauda epididymis, respectively, which were not significantly different. The proportions of live sperms with protoplasmic droplets were significantly different neither among right and left testicles nor in different parts of epididymis. We concluded that sperm cells could be obtained from every part of the epididymis.