Abstract
The contractions and tonicity of various surviving excised genito-urinary organs were studied in vitro: firstly, under normal conditions, and secondly, after the addition of prostatic extracts to the medium in which the tissues were suspended. The following organs were examined: Uterus and Fallopian tube, bladder and ureters, and vas deferens and seminal vesicle. Aqueous saline extracts of the ram's, dog's, bull's, steer's and human prostate glands were used. It was found that all of the above organs are stimulated in vitro by prostatic extracts, provided a sufficient dose is used; but that different organs require different doses of the glandular extract. The uterus and tubes were found to respond to the smallest quantities of prostatic extract; the bladder and ureters came next in the order of their response to such treatment; while the vas deferens and seminal vesicles required the largest doses of the extracts to give evidence of any physiological effect. As a result of the experiments, the authors conclude that the prostatic extracts cannot be regarded as having any specific or marked influence on the tonus and contractions of the bladder in vitro. Fuller data will appear in due time in the Journal of Urology.
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