Histopathological changes in testes of house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

To detect the effect of heavy metals such as lead,nickel,cadmium,copper and zinc in the testis tissue,we used the house sparrow (passer domesticus) as a bio-indicator of pollution by metals. the house sparrows (passer domesticus) were caught in the city of mitrovica (contaminated area,the trepça foundry is closed since the year 2000),in the town of drenas (the area near the ferronickel smelter,also a contaminated area) and in a rural area - control (the village of ujmirë,a non-contaminated area). in these localities,along the month of may,a total number of 60 sparrows were caught and isolated. after isolation,the sparrows testes were cut by microtome and then tissues were inserted into the staining procedure. results showed major histopathological changes in the testes of sparrows which were caught in the city of mitrovica and drenas compared to the testes histology of the control group (ujmirë). the testes histopathology includes degenerative changes such as apoptosis and necrosis of the testicular tubes,karyopyknosis and desquamation of the spermatogen epithelium,depletion of the seminiferous tubules,some seminiferous tubules exhibit some small numbers of spermatozoids - an indication of the lack of active spermatogenesis in the testes. from our results we can conclude that the areas in which the study was carried still pose a danger to the living world (biota) and to the people's health.