Morphological analysis of the elastic and collagen fibers in the ram penis1

Abstract

The penis represents the organ of the male's copulation. It is essential to know the reproductive biology and the morphology of the reproductive organs to increase animal production. In order to contribute to this knowledge and provides information on the ram reproductive morphology, the purpose of this work was to describe the distribution, based on light microscopy, of the collagen and elastic fibers in the ram penis. For that, were collected transverse fragments of the penis (root, sigmoid flexure, body and glans) of seven rams. The specimens were fixed in paraformaldehyde for 24h and destined for the histological routine. The extracellular matrix of the ram penis was composed of collagen and elastic fibers. The penis was enveloped by the tunica albuginea, consisting essentially of collagen fibers, which were arranged in two layers: An outer longitudinal and an inner circular. This tunic emitted septa that penetrated the corpus cavernosum. The elastic fibers appeared transversely and longitudinally in the corpus cavernosum, corpus spongiosum, and next to the neurovascular bundle of the penis. This structure was not different to that reported for other domestic ruminants such as cattle and buffaloes.