Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of the Turkish German Gynecology Association, cilt.6, sa.3, ss.204-209, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
Although spermatozoa is an extremely small cell, most of the metabolic pathways which are normally present in living organisms, are included in it. However, because of its very scarce cytoplasm, explaining the transport of metabolic end-products to other parts of the cell by classical knowledge is difficult. Recent studies suggest that metabolism of the spermatozoa is limited to certain parts of the cell. The most proper definition of this concept is "compartmentalization". The meaning of compartmentalization here is the occurrence of different sperm reactions, with respect to timing of sperm functions, in different parts of the cell. Two physical barriers, posterior ring and annulus, are evidences of compartmentalization of spermatozoa. These physical barriers divide the spermatozoa into both physical and functional compartments. If we divide the spermatozoa into three parts as head, mid-piece and principle-piece, it is understood that different metabolic pathways work in each part. For this reason, while analysing sperm morphology, morphologies of different parts should be indicated and interpreted separately. By this way, the treatment modality may be established much more specifically.