File:Mouse- seminiferous tubule histology.jpg

Mouse Seminiferous Tubule Histology

The seminiferous tubule of the testis (a cross-section): the Sertoli cells provide support and nutrients for the developing germ cells.

Sertoli cells also form the blood–testis barrier between adjacent Sertoli cells, which functionally divide the seminiferous epithelium into the basal and luminal compartments.

Spermatogonia, the self-renewing stem cells of the testis, are associated with the basement membrane of the tubule. As the germ cells develop, from spermatocytes to spermatids, they move progressively closer to the lumen of the tubule where they are released in a process known as spermiation.

Original File Name: Figure 1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816191/figure/DMP032F1/ (A extracted from full figure)

Reference

<pubmed>19758979</pubmed>| PMC2816191 | Hum Reprod Update.

From: Hum Reprod Update. 2010 Mar–Apr; 16(2): 205–224. Published online 2009 September 15. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmp032.

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