الفهرس 
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Abstract
The prostate gland, an androgen-dependent organ, plays a crucial role in male
fertility. Castration is commonly applied for several purposes. Therefore, the present
study aimed to investigate the histological characteristics of the prostate gland,
prostatic ultrasound, and blood testosterone levels after (unilateral and bilateral)
surgical castration of adult male dogs. Twenty-one apparently healthy male mongrel
dogs weighing between 18–20 kg and aged between12–24 months, were divided into
three main groups, group I-Non-Castrated (Control), group II- Unilateral Castrated
group, and group III- Bilateral Castrated group. Then, groups II & III were further
subdivided into three subgroups representing 10-, 20- and 30 days after surgery. The
blood testosterone test and prostate ultrasound were performed on day-0, 10, 20, and
30 after castration. Prostatic tissues were excised at the designated time of each group
followed by histological, histochemical, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and
morphometric procedures. The bilateral orchiectomy resulted in a rapid decline in
serum testosterone levels accompanied by significant prostatic histological alterations
that progressed throughout time after surgery. The main findings were significant
reduction of the epithelial heights which progressed by loss of secretory epithelium
and apoptosis. Also, apparent decrease in the immunostaining affinity of androgen
receptors (AR). Furthermore, there was marked thickening of the interstitium,
characterized by a significant increase in collagen percentage and decrease of α-SMA
immunoexpression. In contrast, unilateral castration preserves the integrity of the
prostatic tissue. In conclusion, bilateral castration causes histological changes in
prostatic architecture along with depletion of blood testosterone levels. While
unilateral procedure conserves the prostatic tissue beside the normal levels of blood
androgen.