Abstract
It is generally agreed that injections of estrin cause an atrophy of the gonads 1 and an increase in the weight of the hypophysis with a decrease in its gonad-stimulating power. 2 Wade and Doisy, 3 however, state that Theelin, in dosages up to 6.6 gamma daily, in the male does not cause an interruption of spermatogenesis, and in the female similar doses do not interfere with normal reproductive processes.
Adult normal males and females and female castrates were divided into 2 series, A and B. In Series A, 5 R.U. of estrin 4 were given daily for 3 weeks and 20 R.U. daily the fourth week. In Series B, the same dosage was given as in Series A but injections of 20 R.U. daily were continued for 4 weeks more. Each series included 3 groups with 10 rats in each group: 1, normal males, 2, normal females, and 3, ovariectomized females. An adequate number of controls was used.
Results. I. Effect of estrin on body weight. Normal males and castrate females showed a progressive loss of weight while normal females maintained their weight.
II. Effect of estrin on sex organs. A. Male. The testes in Series A weigh only 65%, those of Series B only 23% of the control weights. In the animals of Series B no spermatids or spermatozoa were found, and the tubules contained no secondary, and only a few primary spermatocytes. However, numerous mitotic figures were present in the spermatogonia. The interstitial tissue was considerably reduced. The last breeding in which females were impregnated with these males occurred 19 days after commencement of the injections.
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