Abstract
Injections of extracts of follicle-stimulating urine† in hypophysectomized males induce a marked proliferation and a maturation of the germ cells but do not affect the interstitial tissue of the testes or the accessory genital organs. This action has been shown in a series of experiments in male rats which were hypophysectomized when immature. In part of the series (immediate treatment) injections were begun at the time of hypophysectomy, in the other series (postponed treatments) a post-operative period of 7–40 days elapsed before beginning injections. Series of littermates were used. In the immediate treatments in each series there was a reference control (autopsied at the time of operation), usually an unoperated control (killed at the termination of the experiment) and one or more rats injected with F.-S.U. extract, P.U. extract,†† and a mixture of these two extracts. In the postponed injections, 1 testis was ablated from each animal before beginning the various treatments.
Immediate Treatments. Five series, 19 hypophysectomized immature rats, age at operation 26–42 days. Duration of treatment 14–25 days. In every case the injection of F.-S.U. extract caused a marked proliferation of the germ cells. In certain of the tubules the secondary spermatocytes appear not to be normal, however, having vacuolated signet-ring nuclei. In the animals hypophysectomized at the younger ages, spermatids, and in the older ages, spermatozoa, were formed. Some of the latter were motile. In no case did the interstitial cells show hypertrophy and the accessory genital organs remained infantile in type.
In the combined injections (F.-S.U. + P.U.) sperm formation was increased over the F.-S.U. treatment alone. There was some, though not a marked response of the interstitial cells and the accessories were greatly enlarged. In both types of treatment in the younger animals the testes show a marked increase in size.
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