Testicular changes in acute alcoholism in man and their relationship to blastophthoria

Abstract

The blastophthoric effect of acute and chronic intoxications has been studied in the past chiefly by means of breeding experiments, in the course of which it has been shown that such agents as alcohol and lead can produce a definite blastophthoria without histologically demonstrable lesions in the germinal epithelium. By the same and other workers, it has been shown, however, that if the intoxication with these agents be increased, or if the subject be peculiarly susceptible, the germinal epithelium (male) may be made to exhibit degenerative changes, shown by atypical spermatogenesis or even by marked vacuolar degeneration and complete aspermatogenesis. It must be assumed as a working hypothesis that with any agent producing such demonstrable changes in the spermatogenetic process there is an earlier period in which spermatozoa showing less morphological deviation from the normal and capable of fertilizing are produced. Of great importance in this connection is the work of Widakowich 1 who has shown that the semen of syphilitics often contains increased numbers of atypical spermatozoa showing two, three or four heads; two, three or four tails, or combinations of such failures to divide. He notes also the occurrence of microcephalic and macrocephalic types.

In human material it is almost impossible to determine the relative effects of chronic and of acute alcoholism; so that, while the earlier literature specifies in almost all cases that the changes found are those of chronic alcoholism, the more acute degenerative changes and disturbances in spermatogenesis that have been described may be chiefly due to the acute exacerbations.

In investigation of this point five coroner's autopsies were selected having in common the facts that death occurred in, or immediately after a period of severe alcoholic intoxication and that the testes did not show interstitial or vascular fibroid changes such as might be expected if a severe intoxication of any sort had been long operative.