Abstract:
Bulls treated with ethylene dibromide (EDB), either by oral administration of 10 doses of 4 mg/kg body weight on alternate days or by a single intraperitoneal injection of 110-120 mg of this compound into the fluid surrounding each testis, exhibited sperm malformations up to total disintegration of the sperm cells. The malformations appeared in the ejaculates collected about 2 wk after the first oral dose or after the injection, and persisted for about 1 and 2 mth after the last oral dose or the injection, respectively. It appears that ethylene dibromide interferes with the normal processes of spermiogenesis and sperm maturation.