Repeated assessment of changes in testes size in canaries by X-ray computer tomography

• Published in: General and comparative endocrinology Vol. 310; p. 113808
• Main Authors: Lallemand, François, Chiver, Ioana, Barros dos Santos, Ednei, Ball, Gregory F., Balthazart, Jacques
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2021; Academic Press Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Canaries; Computers; CT scan; Life sciences; Male; Neurosciences & behavior; Neurosciences & comportement; Sciences du vivant; Sciences sociales & comportementales, psychologie; Serinus; Social & behavioral sciences, psychology; Songbirds; Testes size; Testis - diagnostic imaging; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; X ray; X-Rays; Zoologie; Zoology; Testes size; Songbirds; CT scan
• ISSN: 0016-6480; 1095-6840; 1095-6840
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113808

[Display omitted] •Computer tomography (CT) scanner can easily visualize testes in songbirds.•Changes in testes volume can in this way be measured in a non-invasive manner.•A full body scan takes less than 5 min.•Measures can be frequently repeated since they induce very little stress.•CT scanning is cheaper, easier and faster than Magnetic resonance imaging. Numerous studies have evaluated changes in time of testicular development in birds by exploratory laparotomy or post-mortem autopsy. The invasive nature of these approaches has obviously limited the frequency at which these measures can be collected. We demonstrate here that accurate assessment of gonadal size can be reliably and repeatedly obtained by computer-assisted X-ray tomography (CT scans). This approach provides images of the testes in the three orthogonal planes that allow measuring either the largest diameter or even the volume of the testes, providing results that match those obtained by surgical approaches.