Abstract
Houssay and Lascano-Gonzalez, 1 using Bufo marinus males, demonstrated that hypophyseal removal causes degeneration and hypophyseal implantation causes hypertrophy of the testes. O. M. Wolfe 2 implanted pituitary glands subcutaneously to induce amplexus in Rana pipiens and Rugh 3 showed that extracts of mammalian anterior pituitary (antuitrin-S or whole sheep gland) would induce amplexus in toads but not in frogs.
The standard technique for securing developing frog's eggs 4 does not require pituitary treatment of males. Functional sperm are available at all times during hibernation simply by cutting up the testes of mature, hibernating frogs in spring water. However, anterior pituitary injection of hibernating male frogs not only induces amplexus (with ovulating females of the same species, only) but releases from the Sertoli cells all mature spermatozoa. This can be demonstrated by subjecting hibernating males from which single testes have been removed to anterior pituitary treatment. Amplexus anterior pituitary injection shows all of the mature sperm liberated into the lumen of the seminiferous tubule (Fig. 2). This effect can be achieved only by anterior pituitary treatment, the controls having received other frog organs and having been subjected to temperature changes from 4°C. to 28°C. The reaction is comparable to the follicle changes induced in females by anterior pituitary treatment 5 except that in the female the egg is released into the body cavity.
In sections of the kidney adjacent to the stimulated testis, spermatozoa may be seen in the uriniferous tubules, Bowman's capsule, and ureter (Figs. 3 and 4). The exact path of these spermatozoa, through the kidney, is being worked out for Rana pipiens, Rana catesbiana, Bufo fowieri, and Hyla crucifer.
Studies are at present being made to determine the source of the male gonad hormone, and the seasonal differences in maturation exhibited by Rana pipiens and Rana catesbiana.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.