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Preservation Of Sperm Harvested From The Rat, Caprine, Equine, And Bovine Epididymis, Aida Nioma James

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The interest in preserving endangered species has increased the amount of attention lent to the recovery of functional sperm from the epididymides of deceased males (Foote, 2000). Postmortem specimens have a finite time period before decomposition affects functionality. Determination of this “window of opportunity” to harvest and preserve epididymal sperm would be beneficial for further research in sperm preservation and assisted reproductive technologies. The objective of these studies was to determine 1) the “window of opportunity” to collect viable rat, caprine, equine and bovine epididymal sperm, 2) if epididymal sperm collected could be cryopreserved, 3) to test two common cryoprotectants …