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The fluid within the lumen of the epididymis contains a variety of proteins. Some of these proteins are derived from the rete testis fluid, others such as albumin and transferrin traverse from the blood stream to the epididymal lumen. However, from a functional point of view, the most important proteins are likely to be those epididymal-specific proteins which are synthesized by the epididymal epithelium itself and then secreted into the epididymal lumen. Within the lumen these proteins may become associated with the sperm surface or in some other way modify the luminal milieu and hence contribute to the process of sperm maturation which occurs during passage through the epididymal duct. Characterization of these proteins and elucidation of the mechanisms regulating their secretion would therefore seem to be of particular importance in understanding the phenomenon of epididymal sperm maturation.

Blood rheology encompasses the flow properties of blood cell suspensions in plasma throughout the vasculature from small capillaries where cells must pass single file up to large vessels where several thousand cells occupy a cross section of the flow.