Morphological alterations to the testes of the offspring of rats caused by ethanol used during pregnancy

The effects of ethanol given during pregnancy, on body and testis weights in the neonatal period of the offspring of rats and the histological alterations in the testicle tissue were investigated. Six pregnant rats in the experimental group and six pregnant rats in the control group were used in this study. The body and testis weights of the offspring of the rats in the control and the experimental group were compared and analysed by the Student t test. The lower values in the experimental group compared with the control group were statistically significant (p <0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficient indicated the relationship between the body and the testis weights and was evaluated by analysis of variance, but this relationship was not statistically significant (p >0.05). Degeneration in the spermatogenic cells in the seminiferous tubules, a decrease in the number of Leydig cells, lipid accumulation, the appearance of vacuole-like structures, alterations in the Sertoli cells, and fibrosis, were observed.