Function

Important function is to be part of the conduites for sperms, which make a pathway and help the transportation of sperms from rete testis to the epididymis (a tube that connects a testicle to a vas deferens; Pic. 1, 2) thanks to smooth muscle contraction.

Other function is the reabosorption of luminal fluid, which leads to the increase of the concentration of sperm as they enter the epididymis. The epithelium has also secretory function, but it is little known about it. 

Anatomy

Efferent ductules connects the rete testis (the network of interconnecting tubules located in the hilum of the testicle) and the epididymis (Pic. 3). 

In humans there are approximately 15–20 efferent ducts, which also occupy nearly one third of the head of the epididymis (Pic. 4). Near the rete testis the ductules are straight or slightly convulted, surrounded by epididymal ligament and fat and by a band of smooth muscle that helps to propel the sperms.

Histology

Ductuli efferentes arise from the cuboidal and squamous epithelium of the rete testis. 

The epithelium is unilaminar (composed of only one layer) and composed of ciliated cells (Pic. 5) and non-ciliated cells:

  • columnar ciliated cells - serve to stir the luminal fluids, possibly to help ensure homogeneous absorption of water from the fluid produced by the testis, which results in an increase in the concentration of luminal sperm (sperms inside the ductules)
  • non-ciliated cells - which are apparently absorptive.

Find more about related issues

Diagnoses
Anejaculation

The pathological inability to ejaculate in males, with (orgasmic) or without (anorgasmic) orgasm.

Testes
Testes

Male gonads which produce both sperm and androgens, such as testosterone, and are active throughout the reproductive lifespan of the male.

Gallery
Show all 5 images

Sources

“Anatomy of the Male Reproductive System” ―sourced from Lumen licensed under CC BY 4.0
“Efferent ducts” ―sourced from Wikipedia licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
“Figure 28 01 03” ―sourced from OpenStax College licensed under CC BY 3.0
“Male anatomy en” ―by Tsaitgaist licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
“Histology of the Male Reproductive System” ―sourced from Slideshare licensed under CC BY- SA 3.0
“Gray1149” ―by Carter licensed under CC0 1.0
Print
Save as PDF
Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, involving multiple copyrights under different terms listed in the Sources section.