Lower temperature of the cauda epididymidis facilitates the storage of sperm by enhancing oxygen availability

Abstract

The temperature coefficients for the oxygen consumption rate of sperm from the rat, mouse, bull, and sea urchin were measured to be within a range of 2.7 to 3.0. For a reduction in temperature from 37°C to 30°C, the respiration rate of mammalian sperm declined by a factor of approximately 2.1. Hence, the availability of oxygen to sustain these sperm substantially increased over this temperature range. In addition, the solubility of oxygen in cauda epididymidal fluid increased by 7.6% for a decline in temperature from 37°C to 30°C. The increased availability of oxygen to sperm at the lower temperature is related to the increased storage capacity of the cauda epididymidis in scrotal mammals. In this context, it is suggested that the evolutionary migration of the cauda epididymidis to a cooler, extra-abdominal location may have been influenced by the increased availability of oxygen to sperm and hence resulted in an increased capacity to sustain and thereby store more sperm per unit volume of duct.