ReviewBiology of reproduction2016
Is the Epididymis a Series of Organs Placed Side By Side?
Review in Biology of reproduction, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunoregulatory mechanisms between epithelial clear cells and mononuclear phagocytes in the epididymis.Andrology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Trazodone on Testicular Morphology, Sperm Parameters and Contractility of the Distal Cauda Epididymal Duct in Rats.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Molecular Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Boar Reproductive Fluids.Journal of extracellular vesicles · 2026Article
- Article
- Polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt epididymal initial segment by perturbing NK cell differentiation and epithelial homeostasis.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Article
- The ductal network in the human testis and epididymis: What belongs to which?Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Maternal protein restriction affects the differentiation of cells in the epididymal epithelium lining of 44-day-old rats.Biology open · 2025Article
- A single cell atlas of the mouse seminal vesicle.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Article
- Role of Pannexin 1, P2X7, and CFTR in ATP Release and Autocrine Signaling by Principal Cells of the Epididymis.Function (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Basal and Immune Cells of the Epididymis: An Electron Microscopy View of Their Association.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- A single cell atlas of the mouse seminal vesicle.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- In vivo dynamic volumetric imaging of mouse testis and epididymis with optical coherence tomography†.Biology of reproduction · 2024Article
- The significance of single-cell transcriptome analysis in epididymis research.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2024Article
- Segmental differentiation of the murine epididymis: identification of segment-specific, GM1-enriched vesicles and regulation by luminal fluid factors†.Biology of reproduction · 2023Article
- Conditioned medium and secretome from epididymal epithelial cell cultures improve sperm kinetics and capacitation.Veterinary world · 2023Article
- Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the local cell landscape in mouse epididymal initial segment during aging.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2023Article
- Comparative Analysis of Epididymis Cauda of Yak before and after Sexual Maturity.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Article
- Different roles of cilia in different segmentations of reproductive tract.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2022Article
- Soma-to-germline RNA communication.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The mammalian epididymis is more than a highly convoluted tube divided into four regions: initial segment, caput, corpus and cauda. It is a highly segmented structure with each segment expressing its own and overlapping genes, proteins, and signal transduction pathways. Therefore, the epididymis may be viewed as a series of organs placed side by side. In this review we discuss the contributions of septa that divide the epididymis into segments and present hypotheses as to the mechanism by which septa form. The mechanisms of Wolffian duct segmentation are likened to the mechanisms of segmentation of the renal nephron and somites. The renal nephron may provide valuable clues as to how the Wolffian duct is patterned during development, whereas somitogenesis may provide clues as to the timing of the development of each segment. Emphasis is also placed upon how segments are differentially regulated, in support of the idea that the epididymis can be considered a series of multiple organs placed side by side. One region in particular, the initial segment, which consists of 2 or 4 segments in mice and rats, respectively, is unique with respect to its regulation and vascularity compared to other segments; loss of development of these segments leads to male infertility. Different ways of thinking about how the epididymis functions may provide new directions and ideas as to how sperm maturation takes place.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.