Most of the studies investigating the relationship between varicocele and male infertility are mainly focused on the testicles. It is obvious that varicocele would affect the morphology and function of the epididymis which is an intrascrotal organ. In this study, the effects of experimental left varicocele (ELV) on the epididymal morphology were investigated in adult rats. ELV was induced via partial obstruction of the left renal vein in 20 Sprague-Dawley adult rats. An additional twelve rats served as controls, and another twelve served as shams. Half of the rats in the groups were sacrified by the end of the first month of the experiment, and the rest were sacrified by the end of the second month. Epididymides were weighed; tubular diameters of the caput, corpus, and cauda of the epididymis were measured. The TUNEL assay was used to assess apoptosis within the epididymal tubules. The mean weight of each right and left epididymis in the varicocele group was lower than that in the control and sham groups (p < 0.01). In the varicocele group, the left epididymis weighted less than the right by the end of the second month (p < 0.01). The mean tubular diameter in the varicocele group was narrower than that in the control and sham groups (p < 0.001). Tubular diameter was significantly narrower in the caput segments in rats with varicocele by the end of the second month (p < 0.001). Apoptosis was significantly increased in principal cells of the epididymal epithelium in the varicocele groups. The apoptotic cells in the caput epididymis epithelium were more numerous than those in the other segments. In conclusion, ELV significantly decreases epididymal weight and tubular diameters presenting increased apoptosis within the principal cells. There is a positive correlation between the epididymal damage and the duration of varicocele.

中文翻译：

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实验性左精索静脉曲张对附睾的影响。

大多数研究精索静脉曲张与男性不育之间关系的研究主要集中在睾丸上。精索静脉曲张显然会影响阴囊内附睾的形态和功能。在这项研究中，研究了成年大鼠实验性左精索静脉曲张（ELV）对附睾形态的影响。ELV是通过20只Sprague-Dawley成年大鼠的左肾静脉部分阻塞而诱发的。另外十二只大鼠作为对照，另外十二只作为sha鼠。在实验的第一个月末，将组中的一半大鼠处死，而在第二个月末，将其余的大鼠处死。称量附睾。测量附睾的帽盖，主体和尾部的管状直径。TUNEL测定法用于评估附睾小管内的细胞凋亡。精索静脉曲张组左，右附睾平均重量均低于对照组和假手术组（p <0.01）。在精索静脉曲张组中，到第二个月月末，左附睾的重量小于右附睾（p <0.01）。精索静脉曲张组的平均肾小管直径比对照组和假手术组的小（P <0.001）。到第二个月末，精索静脉曲张大鼠的管段中的管径明显变窄（p <0.001）。精索静脉曲张组的附睾上皮细胞中凋亡明显增加。ut附睾上皮中的凋亡细胞比其他节中的细胞更多。结论，ELV显着降低附睾重量和肾小管直径，从而增加主细胞内的细胞凋亡。附睾损伤与精索静脉曲张持续时间之间呈正相关。