Quantification of germ cells and seminiferous tubules by stereological examination of testicles from 50 boys who suffered from sudden death

Abstract

A stereological study of the development of testicular volume, the germ cell population and the seminiferous tubules was carried out on testes from 50 boys between 0 and 18 years of age who had suffered from sudden unexpected death. Semi-thin sections (0.5 micrometer) of testicular tissue were prepared and examined by point and profile counting using a projection microscope. Testicular weight was recorded in 48 of the cases. Median volume of pairs of testes increased from 1.1 (range 0.3--1.9) to 3.0 cm3 (range 2.8--3.4) during the 0--10 year period, while the median of the total number of germ cells per boy was augmented from 13 x 10(6) (range 4.4--36 x 10(6)) to 83 x 10(6) (range 32--122 x 10(6)) during the same period. The median length of the seminiferous tubules per boy was 181 m (range 27--361) in the 0--1 year period and 411 m (range 277--660) in the group 5--10 years. Mean tubular diameter was unchanged during the first 10 years of life, whereas the mean nuclear diameter of the germ cells showed significant negative correlation to age in boys less than 10 years. After the age of 10 years a more marked growth of testicular volume, an increase in the number of germ cells and the diameter as well as the length of the seminiferous tubules were observed. Thus, the study showed that testicular size, the number of germ cells and the total length of the seminiferous tubules per boy increased not only in puberty but also during the first ten years of life.