Question

What is the function of epididymis?

Answer 1

Hint: The epididymis is an important organ of the male reproductive system in mammals which connects the testes to the vas deferens. It has four regions which are the initial segment, caput (known as head), corpus (known as body) and cauda (known as tail).

Complete answer:
The epididymis is the organ of the male reproductive system in mammals which is responsible for the maturity of the sperms as well as for the transport of the sperms to the vas deferens. Besides these functions, the epididymis has the following functions:
1. It maintains the concentration of the sperms in the semen, which affects the fertility of the male organisms.
2. It also protects the sperms cells when they travel from the testes to the vas deferens by high metabolism which helps them to survive adverse environmental conditions.
3. The epididymis also stores the sperm cells which have matured for a temporary period.
4. The sperms cells are immotile when they are produced by the testes. It is because they do not get the environment for their motile capabilities to be triggered. However, the epididymis has the conditions to make the sperms motile.
5. The epididymis also provides the right environment for the enhancement of the fertilization capabilities of the sperms. The acrosome gets fully developed in the epididymis which is used to kill the outer membrane of the ovum during fertilization.

Note:
Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicles which, along with the apoptotic bodies and micro-vesicles are used for cell-to-cell communication. The exosomes of the epididymis are known as Epididymosomes.