A Study of the Ultrastructure of the Uterovaginal Sperm-Storage Glands of the Hen, Gallus Domesticus , in Relation to a Mechanism for the Release of Spermatozoa

Summary. The general ultrastructure of the storage tubules for spermatozoa at the junction of the uterus with the vagina in the domestic fowl at various stages in the egg-laying cycle has been examined. Secretions were produced by tubule cells but no evidence was observed of a cyclic secretion of material into the lumen of tubules corresponding with the movement of ova in the oviduct and with the time of oviposition. Thus, a mechanism for the periodic flushing of spermatozoa from the tubules before the fertilization of ova in the upper region of the oviduct was considered unlikely to occur.