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Summary.Testicular lymph and regional lymph nodes consistently contained spermatozoa in rams and boars up to 3 months after vasectomy. Such direct access of spermatozoa to lymph nodes is likely to provide a powerful stimulus to the development of anti-sperm autoimmunity.

Summary.Resident mouse peritoneal macrophages when maintained in cell culture phagocytosed and degraded homologous epididymal spermatozoa. The acrosome and its associated antigens were readily degraded, showing degenerative changes within minutes of spermiophagy and being completely destroyed by 1 h. Other components of the spermatozoon were more resistant and fragments of nuclear material and tail axial filaments could still be recognized within some macrophages up to 7 days after phagocytosis. The findings may be relevant to the disposal of spermatozoa in the genital tract in vivo.

Monolayer cultures of porcine aortic endothelial cells were used as a model of the endothelium of large arteries. Linear wounds were produced in such cultures by scraping and the subsequent sequence of events in nearby cells was analysed. The earliest detectable event was cellular spreading at the margins of the wounds (2h) followed by cell migration (starting at 6–8 h) and cell proliferation in regions adjacent to the wound (16 h and later). Cell spreading was associated with the appearance of saccharides selectively at the spreading margins of the cells, which bound the lectins, ConA, LCA and PSA, and were sensitive to a-mannosidase. Terminal a-mannosyl residues were therefore present. The appearance of these saccharides suggests a mechanism by which monocytes might adhere to and/or migrate through the endothelium of vessels at sites of cellular response to injury.

Summary.Obstructive lesions of the efferent and epididymal ducts in man were a common finding at necropsy. Although they demonstrated evidence of resorption of spermatozoa, they did not appear to be associated with the development of spermagglutinating antibodies in most cases. It is concluded that local spermiophagy within the genital tract in men is insufficient to lead to the development of antisperm autoallergy as detected by the tray agglutination test.

Urethral melanoma is very rare and pathological diagnosis is important. The prognosis remains poor irrespective of the treatment modality. Rare cases of long-term survival have been reported, one of them following conservative management. An initial attempt at conservative resection is worth considering to offer a better quality of life to the patient for as long as possible. We describe a technique of organ-sparing resection in the management of urethral melanoma along with the follow-up protocol that we adapted. Copyright 2001 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons