epididymis

American  

[ep-i-did-uh-mis] / ˌɛp ɪˈdɪd ə mɪs /

noun

Anatomy.

plural

epididymides

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

• epididymal adjective

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

This had effects on the reproductive organs of the animals, including the epididymis.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

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

A complex network of small tubes—the seminiferous tubules—travel throughout the testicles, allowing the sperm to reach their next destination: the epididymis.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2018

Ms., the mesonephros, is the epididymis in the male, and is reduced in the female; Ms.d., its duct, is the vas deferens in the male, and persists only as the urinary receptacle in the female.

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