ObjectiveTo search for potential therapeutic targets for epididymal obstructive azoospermia (EOA) secondary to epididymal infection by observing the pathologic features and analyzing the possible pathophysiologic mechanisms of the disease.

METHODSEleven 28－53 years old infertile men with the history of epididymal infection were enrolled in this study, all diagnosed with azoospermia by routine semen examination and centrifugation. EOA was confirmed by further examinations of reproductive hormones and seminal plasma biochemical markers and scrotal ultrasonography, followed by surgical exploration and observation of the pathological characteristics of the epididymis.

RESULTSThe gross epididymal specimen showed fluid accumulation in the epididymal tube to be the main pathologic feature. Under the microscope, the epididymal duct lumen was structurally intact but distended and with no sperm. Most of the cases revealed no inflammatory cell invasion in the wall of the duct. A small number of the patients with a longer course of disease exhibited cell infiltration in the lumen, hyperblastosis and glassy degeneration of the interstitial fibers, and scattered infiltration of lymphocytes and acidocytes in addition to expansion of the epididymal duct.

CONCLUSIONSEOA secondary to epididymal infection is pathologically characterized mainly by fluid accumulation in the epididymal duct, and its pathogenesis remains to be further studied.