| dc.description.abstract | Pangolin is solitary animal with slow reproductive rate. Due to increasing exploitation of pangolin as market demand, especially from China, there was poaching in nature that caused the population in wild decreases dramatically. Reproductive organ is one of the important things in the conservation of species, especially for species that is already endangered such as pangolin (M. javanica). It required an effort of conservation, so the pangolin populations can be maintained and developed further. Recently, information of the morphological characteristics of male reproductive organs of pangolin, both macroanatomy and mikroanatomy, is still limited. Therefore, the study aims to find out the morphological characteristics of the male reproductive organs of pangolin (M. javanica) at macroscopic and microscopic level which were needs to provide basic information to support breeding activity. Five male reproductive organs of pangolin were used in the study. For macroscopic observation, data were collected for in situ position and morphometry, which includes measurements of length, width, and thickness of each part of the reproductive organs and added measurements of weight of testes. For microscopic observation, samples of each part of the reproductive organs was processed by histological techniques with paraffin method. Block paraffin were cut 3-5 μm and stained with hematoxylin eosin staining (HE), Masson's trichrome (MT), and Alcian blue (AB) pH 2.5 and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) for observation of general structure, connective tissue, and distribution of neutral and acidic carbohydrates at each accessories gland respectively. The data were analyses descriptively and was performed as tables and pictures. The reproductive organs of the pangolin consisted of a pair of testes, epididymis and deferent duct which leads to the urethra in the penis. A pair of ascrotal testes was located in subcutis of inguinal area. The shape and size of right and left testes was relatively similar. The average size of the testes was 3.78±0.12 cm in length, 1.24±0.02 cm in width, 0.90±0.03 cm in thick and 5.64±0.04 g in weight. Epididymis formed head, body and tail which running oblique craniomedial at the body testis with average of length was 4.78±0.02 cm. The deferent duct measured of average length was 8.98±0.31 cm. The average size of length and diameter of penis was 5.39±1.63 cm and 0.64±0.03 cm respectively. The finding of ascrotal testes in subcutis of inguinal was an interesting result of the study which thought to be related to the behavior of pangolin to rolling up the body. The testes were composed of seminiferous tubules separated by interstitial tissue. Seminiferous tubules composed of basal membrane, germinal cells (spermatogonium, spermatocyte and spermatid) and Sertoli cells. Epididymis was composed of ciliated simple columnar epithelium surrounded by loose connective tissue. The deferent duct epithelium was composed of ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium surrounded by loose connective tissue and smooth muscle layers. The size of penis was small, short, have not bulbus glandis, and was muscolocavernosus type. The accessories gland of male reproduction organs of pangolin was consists of vesicular gland and prostate that were observed macroscopically and bulbourethral glands which were observed microscopically. The average of length and thickness of vesicular gland, was 1.07 cm and 0.41 cm, and the length and thickness of the prostate was 1.17 cm and 0.54 cm. The accessories gland were lobulated with thick connective tissues inserted into each lobes and lobules. The vesicular gland was serous type, the prostate was seromucous type with the mucous was dominantly, whereas the bulbourethral gland was mucous type. The secretion of vesicular gland was containing of neutral carbohydrate at weak intensity and was not an acidic carbohydrates. The prostate secreted both neutral and acidic carbohydrates with moderate and weak intensity respectively. While the bulbourethral gland secreted both neutral and acidic carbohydrates with strong intensity. It presumed that the vesicular gland and prostate were served to produce the plasma cement, while the bulbourethral gland was served as the plasma cement producer and as rinses the urethral duct. | en |
