Abstract
Summary
Eleven 21-day old female albino rats (Holtzman) were subjected to bilateral lesions of the area from the mammillary body to the ventromedial nucleus. These animals showed definite signs of delayed puberty, reproductive immaturity, viciousness and imminent obesity. Five had vaginae that never opened. It appears evident that in the prepuberal rat, factors (neurosecretory substances), which prod the pituitary into a functional secretory state, and which permit the mammal to attain reproducive maturity, are not present, or, are in a state of preparation. The results indicate the importance of hypothalamic function to puberal onset, and to the structural and physiological success of the reproductive-sex complex.
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