The long-term reduction of the Aral Sea area has led to an ecological catastrophe and a deterioration in the health of the population. The progressing demographic crisis necessitates research on factors that negatively impact the fertility of the population in the Aral region. To investigate the influence of Aral Sea dust–salt aerosols on rat testicular tissues, we exposed male rats to the inhalation of dust–salt aerosols for 7, 24, 30, 48 and 72 days. The results of the morphometric analysis of the rat testes tissues indicate that aerosols containing salts from the Aral Sea have a detrimental effect on the seminiferous epithelium, causing a depletion of the spermatogenic layer and reduction of seminiferous tubules lumen. The morphological signs of testicular damage in the experimental animal groups included low cellularity of seminiferous tubules, vacuolization of Sertoli cells, and a decrease in the number of Leydig cells in the interstitium. The smallest thickness of the spermatogenic layer and the lowest number of Leydig cells were observed in rats after the longest inhalation exposure to the dust–salt aerosols.

Drying of the Aral Sea is a very significant environmental problem of modern times. Dust particles from the dried seabed are spread over long distances and negatively impact the quality of life of residents in nearby areas. One of the significant problems is the decrease in the fertility of residents of the Aral region, but there is insufficient data about the influence of dust-salt aerosols on the functioning of the reproductive organs of men. We assessed the influence of dust particles from the dried bed of the Aral Sea on the microstructure and some morphometric parameters (tubule diameter and height of epithelium) of the epididymis of rats. In this experimental study, 21 white rats (males) were divided into the following three groups: The first experimental group with a duration of inhalation exposure of seven days and the second experimental group with inhalation of seventy-two days. Inhalation exposure for the white laboratory male rats was conducted for 4 h daily for both experimental groups. For administration purposes, a fine aerosol composed of particles from the dried part of the Aral Sea was employed. The animals were exposed to a toxic dose of sodium chloride (the main component in the aerosol) amounting to 1.5 mg/m³. After the completion of the inhalation exposure, the experimental animals were fixed, epididymides were removed and stained. The microstructure of stained epididymis preparations of the rats from the control and experimental groups was examined in comparison. In the experimental groups, after inhalational exposure to dust-salt aerosols from the Aral Sea, interstitial edema and deterioration in the hemodynamics of the epididymis, destructive changes in the lumen of the tubules, decrease in the height of the epididymal epithelium, a reduction in the number and uneven distribution of spermatozoa in the tubules were observed. Short-term and long-term exposure to dust particles from the dried part of the Aral Sea can cause reproductive dysfunction due to damage to the tissues of the epididymis and disruption of sperm maturation