Morphogenesis of the fibrous sheath in the marsupial spermatozoon.PDFVIP

J. Anat. (2005) 207, pp155–164 Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. Morphogenesis of the fibrous sheath in the marsupial spermatozoon M. Ricci and W. G. Breed Department of Anatomical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, S.A., Australia, 5005 Abstract The spermatozoon fibrous sheath contains longitudinal columns and circumferential ribs. It surrounds the axoneme of the principal piece of the mammalian sperm tail, and may be important in sperm stability and motility. Here we describe its assembly during spermiogenesis in a marsupial, the brush-tail possum, and compare its structural organiza-