Word: deferentia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Normally sperm are conveyed toward the outside of the body through ducts, the vasa deferentia. In a vasectomy, the ducts are cut, but sperm continue to be manufactured. With the exit passage blocked, the sperm break down and leak into surrounding tissue and possibly into the bloodstream, where they are recognized as "foreign" and attacked by antibodies. Alexander and Clarkson postulate that the resultant sperm-antibody complexes injure the artery walls and accelerate formation of atherosclerotic plaques...
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