Describes a sperm smear stained with iron hematoxylin, where the black-staining condensed head and grey tail are set against the pale acrosome cap. It walks through each part of the spermatozoon in order: head, neck, middle piece with mitochondria, and the long principal and end pieces. It also notes abnormal forms such as double heads, large or pin heads and coiled tails.
Inside: 1 section · 1 min
Topic 124 of 127 in the MU Sofia syllabus for Cytology (Dental Medicine, Year 1). The free AceMed note covers it in 1 section, about 88 words (1 min of reading).
In this note
Introduction
Introduction
A smear of semen shows whole spermatozoa, each about 60 µm long.
Stain
Iron hematoxylin: the head (condensed nucleus) stains black; the tail is grey.
How to recognise it
Head: oval and flattened, about 5 µm long. Its front part is covered by the paler acrosome cap.
Neck: a short, narrow link.
Middle piece: slightly thicker, wrapped in mitochondria.
Principal piece and end piece: the long, thin tail.
Abnormal forms may be seen: two heads, large or pin heads, coiled tails.
Theory: topic 72 (spermatogenesis and the spermatozoon).
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