Microvascular transposition of the arterial supply to the testis of the boar.

ABSTRACT

The origin of the arterial supply to a testis was changed in 7 boars with a microsurgical technique. A. testicularis was connected, end to side, to a branch of the femoral artery. The capillary blood flow was unchanged, indicating viable transplants. The temperature difference between testis and body disappeared after the surgery, indicating an interruption of the heat transfer in the pampiniform plexus. The lower values of the histological score and the possibly lower peripheral plasma concentration of testosterone after the arterial by-pass may indicate a physiological importance of the counter current exchange.