Presence of the Sperm Middle-Piece in the Fertilized Egg of the Mouse (Mus musculus) (original) (raw)

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• Published: 16 March 1940

Nature volume 145, page 425 (1940)Cite this article

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Abstract

DURING an investigation of the cytoplasmic inclusions of the fertilized egg of the mouse, the sperm middle-piece, and in some cases the whole tail, was observed in the ooplasm (a and b). The middle-piece usually becomes detached from the sperm-head shortly after the entry of the sperm, but may remain attached until the stage of the pronuclei is reached. The middle-piece is, at first, compact and deeply stained, but soon shows a granular structure. These granules are identified as the mitochondria of the sheath of the axial filament (a, S.M.P.). After the middle-piece is free of the sperm-head the sheath becomes less compact, so that the individual granules can be identified with ease (b, S.M.P.).

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References

1. Lams, H., Arch. Biol., 28 (1913).
2. Levi, G., Arch. Zellforsch., 13 (1915).
3. Van der Stricht, O., Arch. Biol., 33 (1923).
4. Held, H., Arch. Mikr. Anat., 89 (1917).

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1. Department of Zoology, University of Edinburgh,
   R. A. R. GRESSON

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1. R. A. R. GRESSON
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GRESSON, R. Presence of the Sperm Middle-Piece in the Fertilized Egg of the Mouse (Mus musculus).Nature 145, 425 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145425b0

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• Issue Date: 16 March 1940
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145425b0

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