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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica logoLink to Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
. 1966 Dec 15;7(1):1–20. doi: 10.1186/BF03547094

Studies on the Dna Content, Dry Mass and Optical Area of Morphologically Normal and Abnormal Bull Spermatozoal Heads

Untersuchungen über DNA-Gehalt, Trockengewicht und Fläche morphologisch normaler und anomaler Spermatozoenköpfe von Bullen

Undersökningar över DNA-mängd, torrvikt och cellyta av morfologiskt normala och abnorma spermiehuvuden hos tjur

Barton L Gledhill 1,
PMCID: PMC8823521  PMID: 5949525

Abstract

Quantitative microspectrophotometric, microinterferometric and microplanimetric techniques were used to compare morphologically normal and abnormal bull spermatozoal heads with respect to DNA content, total dry mass and optical area. Spermatozoa were obtained from ejaculates of two young bulls with disturbances in spermatogenesis. U. v. microspectrophotometric results exhibited no difference in mean amounts of DNA between normal and abnormal spermatozoal heads. Apparently contradictory results were found with Feulgen microspectrophotometry and were discussed. Highly significant differences in mean values were observed between the normal and abnormal heads for total dry mass and optical area. The only cytophotometric parameter in which a significant difference existed between the variances of the two morphological groups was optical area.

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Footnotes

These studies were supported by funds from the Swedish Agricultural Research Council, the Wallenberg Foundation and the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund. The author was the holder of a Public Health Service fellowship (1-F2-GM-14, 733-01A2) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Public Health Service while performing this investigation.

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