Effect of sexual maturation on testicular morphometry and echotexture and their association with intratesticular blood flow in ossimi rams

Twelve Ossimi rams divided into two groups viz., pre-pubertal (4 to 5 months old, n=6), and post-pubertal (30 to 48 months old, n=6) were submitted to B-mode testicular ultrasonography (US) for evaluation of testicular length, width, thickness and volume. Testicular artery was submitted to pulsed-wave Doppler examination to measure the resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) in both groups. Testicular width (34.50±3.71mm) and volume (58.80±9.98 mm³) showed significantly (P<0.05) higher values in the pre-pubertal ram lambs compared with the post-pubertal group (33.60±1.25 mm and 56.70±4.07mm³). Blood flow indices (RI and PI) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in pre-pubertal (0.62±0.15 and 0.98±0.20) than post-pubertal (0.45±0.12 and 0.63±0.18) group. The pre-pubertal group recorded testicular echogenicity of 82.5±12.47 compared to the post-pubertal ones (76.8±13.15). In pre-pubertal group, testicular volume was highly correlated (p<0.01) with testicular length (r= 0.933), width (r= 0.935), and thickness (r= 0.813), while for mature group, testicular volume showed strong association with testicular length (r= 0.813). At both groups, RI and PI values showed strong positive associations (p<0.01). It was concluded that RI and PI were directly affected by sexual maturation and could be used as a marker for selection and/or replacing males in flocks.