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

Nouns

• epididymides
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of epididymis

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

epididymis epididymides

"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

Sperm travel through the epididymis during their final maturing process.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2018

The left one did not come near the testicle; the right one only came close to it, but did not terminate in the body called the epididymis.

From Cattle and Their Diseases Embracing Their History and Breeds, Crossing and Breeding, And Feeding and Management; With the Diseases to which They are Subject, And The Remedies Best Adapted to their Cure by Robert Jennings

Figure 27.2 Male Reproductive System The structures of the male reproductive system include the testes, the epididymides, the penis, and the ducts and glands that produce and carry semen.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Sternotherus, Terrapene, and Thamnophis are alike in completing spermatogenesis late in the season and storing spermatozoa, in the seminiferous tubules or in the epididymides, during hibernation.

From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler

Sperm expelled from the epididymides in autumn matings are seemingly replaced by others from the seminiferous tubules; the epididymides become much smaller when their supply of sperm is nearly exhausted after spring mating.

From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler

Averages of the 2 epididymides from each bull are given in Table 3; the samples from bulls 5 and 6 were combined.

From Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures by M. E. Friedman

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