Abstract
Although considerable work has been centered upon the influence of placental hormone upon secondary sexual characters in the female, particularly the rabbit and the guinea pig, little attention has been directed toward its possible effects upon those of the male. Hermann 1 states briefly that he induced development of the mammary glands in the young male rabbit, through injection of the “active substance” of corpus luteum and of placenta, even to the extent of producing milk secretion, and he concludes that this activating substance is of powerful influence in the formation of specific sex characters. No evidence is offered, however, in support of his statements, nor are any particulars of the experiments given. Fellner 2 reports in somewhat more detail 2 cases of a similar nature in young rabbits, in which a slight degree of hypertrophy was induced but, unlike Herrmann, he was unable to produce a secretion of milk.
In connection with some work with the placental hormone, 4 adult guinea pigs were castrated and injected twice daily with 1/2 cc. doses of human placental extract (furnished through the courtesy of Parke Davis & Co., Detroit, under the trade name of “Estrogen”): the total daily dosage amounting to 20-25 rat units. Three control castrates were given equal amounts of normal saline.
After 8 days of extract injection, a swelling of the mammary regions became noticeable; the nipples increased in size and the surrounding areolar areas assumed a turgescent appearance. This hypertrophy continued steadily over a period of some 3 weeks, after which time continued injections produced no further effect. The hypertrophied glands, together with controls, were removed, photographed in toto, and sections were made of nipples and of glandular tissue.
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