Abstract
Fussgänger 1 first discovered that the capon comb is very sensitive to the direct application of dissolved androgen. McCullagh and Osborn 2 use this method for the determination of androgens in the blood of men. Butz and Hall have taken advantage of the sensitivity of this method in a recent study 3 wherein they showed that more of the androgen in bull's urine was found in the “cholestenone” than in the “cholestanone” fraction when the Anchel-Schoenheimer fractionation procedure was applied. None of the above authors has described fully the methods or the dose-response relationship for androsterone.
In an attempt to standardize the conditions in the use of this method and to understand the factors that influence the response, more than nine hundred individual tests have been made over a period of a year and a half. We have reported elsewhere 4 that season, previous use, age after 6 months, and initial comb size were not detectable factors in the response. Continuous artificial light tried only in the fall of the year caused lessened response. 5
The capons used in the experiment here reported were all of one strain, single comb, White Leghorn, all hatched at the same time and canonized at between 28–32 days of age. They were housed together and were on the same diet. The androsterone† was dissolved in tricaproin and so made up that the desired amount was contained in 1/8 cc‡ A 1 cc tuberculin syringe was used. When filled, it is, of course, sufficient for 8 applications and since the administration is repeated for 5 days on birds picked from the group at random, it is felt that the error in measuring 1/8 cc in the syringe graduated in 32nds is within the limits of the accuracy claimed for this method.
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