epididymis

American  

[ep-i-did-uh-mis] / ˌɛp ɪˈdɪd ə mɪs /

noun

Anatomy.

epididymides plural

1. an elongated organ on the posterior surface of a testis that stores sperm while they mature and constitutes the convoluted beginning of the vas deferens.

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epididymis British  

/ ˌɛpɪˈdɪdɪmɪs /

noun

1. anatomy a convoluted tube situated along the posterior margin of each testis, in which spermatozoa are stored and conveyed to the vas deferens

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• epididymal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• epididymides
  plural

Etymology

Origin of epididymis

1600–10; < Greek epididymís; see epi-, didymous

Example Sentences

"Our study shows that sperm exposed to a high-fat diet in the mouse epididymis led to offspring with an increased tendency to metabolic diseases," says Raffaele Teperino.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

For this investigation, the researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences used samples of testicles, epididymis and vas deferens from 118 freshly slaughtered bulls of reproductive age.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2024

When the sperm have developed flagella and are nearly mature, they leave the testicles and enter the epididymis, shown in Figure 34.10.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Once those RNA packages arrive at the epididymis, the hypothesis goes, they prompt a of cascade of changes at conception that evade the stripping, or rebooting, process and the subsequent reshuffling during early development.

From New York Times • Dec. 10, 2018

Ms. is the mesonephros, some or all of which becomes the epididymis in the male of types possessing that organ, and is connected with G. by the vasa efferentia.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)