The Grasshopper Testis

The Microscopic Anatomy of the Mature Grasshopper Testis

Here you will see several sections of grasshopper testis. First you will see a low power view, followed by detailed views of specific areas of the testis, which are on separate pages linked to from this page.

The Grasshopper Testis - Low Power View

These pictures show sections of the grasshopper testis at a relatively low power. When you are familiar with this, go to the first series of high power images.

The grasshopper testis Closer look
The grasshopper testis, a bit closer

This longitudinal section shows several lobes of the grasshopper's testis. At the bottoms of the lobes (the distal ends), spermatogonia can be seen. Toward the tops of the lobes (the proximal ends), cysts of mature sperm can be seen. In this view, the vas deferens would be located just above the top of the picture. The proximal ends of the lobes open into the vas deferens. This is an enlarged area from the picture on the left. Note how the germ cells aggregate into cysts (one is circled). All the cells within a cyst are at the same stage in their development. Note the arrows show which show more mature cysts containing spermatids. The cysts within the lobe below the arrows contain the spermatocytes.

To the first high power images!

This page is part of the Developmental Biology ONLINE! web site.
Special thanks to Hans Christoffersen for the preparation of this page.

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Send comments to:

Dr. Steven Scadding ( scadding@uoguelph.ca ) or Sandra Frombach (sfrombac@uoguelph.ca),

Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.

Last Revision: August 10, 1998

	Closer look
This longitudinal section shows several lobes of the grasshopper's testis. At the bottoms of the lobes (the distal ends), spermatogonia can be seen. Toward the tops of the lobes (the proximal ends), cysts of mature sperm can be seen. In this view, the vas deferens would be located just above the top of the picture. The proximal ends of the lobes open into the vas deferens.		This is an enlarged area from the picture on the left. Note how the germ cells aggregate into cysts (one is circled). All the cells within a cyst are at the same stage in their development. Note the arrows show which show more mature cysts containing spermatids. The cysts within the lobe below the arrows contain the spermatocytes.