Boar spermatozoa within the oviductal environment (I): Sperm reservoir

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved. This chapter is the first part of three chapters dealing with the passage of boar spermatozoa within the oviduct. First, this chapter starts by outlining some aspects of the anatomy, histology and functions of the oviduct, together with the composition and functions of oviductal fluid. Most of the chapter deals with the formation of the sperm reservoir, including the molecular mechanisms and the role of sperm-surface adhering proteins. The interaction between spermatozoa and oviductal epithelium also focuses on the dialogue between oviductal epithelial cells (OEC) and spermatozoa, which comprises both the influence of OEC on sperm function and survival parameters, and the influence of spermatozoa on the oviductal proteome and secretome. The suitability of in vitro and in vivo studies is also discussed.