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Progestagen Induced Sperm Breakage in the Sheep Vagina

US. Department of Agriculture,¹ Beltsville, Maryland 20705

Abstract

Mature parous ewes were treated with intra-vaginal sponges impregnated with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) and inseminated artificially (mean of 842 million sperm cells) 2 days after the sponges were removed. The vulvo-vaginal junction was ligated to prevent the drainage of semen to the exterior. The ewes were killed 24 hr. later, the vaginae flushed, and intact sperm cells and tailless sperm heads counted.

The number of sperm recovered from the vaginas of 10 control ewes averaged 520 million; 75% of the sperm were intact. The number of sperm recovered from 22 MAP sponge ewes averaged 380 million; only 16% of the sperm were intact. The intensification of sperm breakage by an MAP sponge was due to the progestagen in the sponge and not to the sponge itself, did not require the regression of the corpus luteum before the MAP sponge was removed, and did not vary with the presence of the MAP sponge in the vagina for 1 week or for 2 weeks.

¹ Animal Science Research Division, A.R.S., Agricultural Research Center. The author expresses appreciation to Dr. R. G. Zimbelman, The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan for supplying the MAP sponges.