It is clear that the functions of the
mammalian epididymis are still worthy of further
investigation. There can be no difficulty in accepting
the epididymal role in sperm transport, sperm storage,
and in sperm preservation, but the more precise
properties of the epididymal secretions and their
physiological relationship to the life cycle of the
spermatozoon are still matters for conjecture. The
regularity with which tuberculous lesions settle in the
tail of the epididymis and the rapidity with which corc -1 infections spread to involve the testis are problems
of more than ordinary interest to the clinician and the
pathologist. Furthermore the effects of epididymal
obstructions, both high and low, are of fundamental
importance to all students of fertility and sterility.The anatomy of the blood supply of the testis in
Man and various species of mammals has recently been
re- investigated (Harrison & Barclay, 1948; Harrison,
1949) and the effects of both temporary and permanent
occlusion of the testicular artery studied in the rat
(Oett14 & Harrison, 1952). It is clear from the work
of these authors that the complicated vascular pattern
of the testicular artery is of functional importance,
has various clinical implications and may be part of a
thereto- regulatory mechanism. It was in the hope that
an examination of the blood supply of the epididymis in
the rat and in Man might provide additional information
on its functions in health and disease, that this
investigation was undertaken
