Sterological estimation of seminiferous tubular dysfunction in chloroquine treated rats.

We have used the simple-point sampling of linear intercept lengths and the optical dissector method to describe the effects of chloroquine on rat testicular morphology. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with chloroquine phosphate (CQ), an antimalaria and amphiphilic drug known to induce generalized lipidosis. The result showed that CQ (10 mg/kg/day) treatment for 7 weeks significantly reduced (i) the weight of the testis, (ii) the daily sperm production count, (iii) the total spermatoid count per testis and (iv) the star volume of the seminiferous tubules. There was however an increase in the total spermatocyte count per testis. Together, these findings suggest that disruption of spermatogenesis accompanied a decrease in tubular size in CQ treated rats.