Abstract
The testis has been the natural focus of attention in considering the effects of elevated temperatures on male reproduction. In all mammals studied, including man, the germinal epithelium of the scrotal testis is acutely sensitive to an increase of only a very few degrees, and much effort has been devoted to analysis of this response (Waites and Setchell, 1969; Vandemark and Free, 1970; Harrison, 1975; Kandeel and Swerdloff, 1988). Considerable attention has been given also to the broader biological question as to why the testes of a majority of mammals should need to function at temperatures somewhat below that of the body. However, a focus on the physiology of the testis per se has produced no satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon.
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© 1991 Plenum Press, New York
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Bedford, J.M. (1991). Effects of Elevated Temperature on the Epididymis and Testis: Experimental Studies. In: Zorgniotti, A.W. (eds) Temperature and Environmental Effects on the Testis. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 286. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5913-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5913-5_3
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