Pathological alterations due to zinc deficiency on male genital organs in albino rats

An experiment was conducted on male albino rats to delineate the effect of zinc on the body in general and on male genital organs in particular. The albino rats were offered zinc deficient purified diet and various clinical manifestations occurred due to zinc deficiency were periodically recorded. On 28^th day of experiment, the animals showing clinical signs of zinc deficiency were sacrificed and testes and epididymes were collected for histopathological examination. The sections of testes revealed that seminiferous tubules were devoid of different layers of germinal cells. Some of these tubules lined only by Sertoli cells or basal layer of stem cells. The epididymal ducts of zinc deficient animals contain aberrant germinal cells exfoliated from seminiferous tubules. It was concluded by this study that the zinc deficiency in male animals leads to impotency and infertility as the tissue changes appeared in the genital organs.