A pharmacological and ultrastructural study of the rabbit gubernaculum testis.

This study provides an ultrastructural and pharmacological description of the contractile apparatus of the rabbit gubernaculum testis. This organ contained an abundance of innervated striated muscle as well as sparse populations of smooth muscle cells that were associated with blood vessels. Investigation of the pharmacological properties of isolated preparations of rabbit gubernaculum confirmed that striated muscle was the major contractile component in this tissue. Results also indicate that a significant proportion of these muscle fibres contained multiple neuromuscular junction sites. This study supports the suggestion that the gubernaculum testis may be sufficiently contractile to induce testicular descent.