A novel method for orthotopic testicular transplantation in rats.

Rat testis transplantation with a segment of donor abdominal aorta end-to-side anastomosed to recipient’s abdominal aorta was first reported by Lee.~1 But thrombus was formed in the donor abdominal aorta segment. Goldsein~2 and Lee~3 (improved this) technique using end-to-side anastomosis of an aortic patch with the testicular artery to the recipient’s aorta and the testicular vein was anastomosed to the vena cava of the recipient. With this method, the animal with the testicular artery and vein paralleling and originating no more than 4 mm apart is considered a suitable donor, which is scarce because of the variability of testicular vessels. This problem limits the wide use of testicular transplantation in rats. Based on these findings, we established a novel testicular transplantation model which was recreated as closely as possible to the normal vascular anatomy of the testis in rats. The functional activities of these transplants were also presented.