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'''SECTION C Physiology of the Gonads and Accessory Organs'''


 
=The Mammalian Testis=
 
SECTION C
 
 
 
Physiology of the Gonads
and Accessory Organs
 
 
 
THE MAMMALIAN TESTIS


A. Albert, Ph.D., M.D.  
A. Albert, Ph.D., M.D.  


PROFESSOR OF PHYSIOLOGY, MAYO FOUNDATION, AND HEAD OF
Professor of Physiology, Mayo Foundation, and Head of the Endocrinology Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
THE ENDOCRINOLOGY LABORATORY, MAYO CLINIC,  
 
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA
 
 
 
I. Introduction 305
 
II. Postnatal Development of the
 
Testis 307
 
III. Descent of the Testis 309
 
IV. Breeding Patterns 315
 
V. Architecture of the Testis 317
 
VI. The Circulatory System of the


Testis 318
__TOC__


VII. The Nervous System and the
==I. Introduction==


Testis 321
The function of the {{testis}} is concerned with the preservation of the species. It accomplishes this by producing sperm and hormones. The tubular apparatus is responsible for the manufacture of {{sperm}}, and the interstitial tissue gives rise to the hormones. These two compartments are intimately associated with one another embryologically, anatomically, and functionally. Furthermore, they are controlled by separate gonadotrophic hormones of the anterior pituitary. In turn, the secretion and metabolism of the pituitary gonadotrophins are controlled by the tubules and the Leydig cells. Knowledge of this reciprocal control of pituitary-testis activity was well established by 1940; in general, this reciprocity is the basic frame of reference for the interpretation of all aspects of testicular function. JMore intimate relationships are quite complex and, as will be seen, not completely understood.


VIII. The Excretory Duct System 323


IX. The Seminiferous Epithelium.... 323
It would be gratifying to interpret all aspects of the testis within this fundamental frame of reference. This is not possible at present because the literature is too conflicting and no one has a sufficiently broad experience with testicular endocrinology to sift all of this literature competently. The extreme scatter of literature on the testis furnishes ample evidence for the discontinuity and heterogeneity of effort. Perhaps the main service of this chapter is the compilation in broad categories of the heterogeneous literature of the past 20 years, so that the student may have a handy, albeit incomplete, guide to the subject and to several of the major problems. A preview of the material to be discussed follows.


X. The Interstitial Tissue 329


XI. Hormones of the Testis 332
This chapter pertains to the testis in postnatal life. Acquaintance with the principal facts of the embryology of the testis and with recent developments in fetal endocrinology of the testis is presumed. Only a short description of the postnatal development of the testis is given because encyclopedic coverage is to be expected in other treatises, and because the acquisition of further details of the postnatal development of the testis in various species belongs more to the domain of comparative morphology. The basic lessons already have been learned from a few species, and only the jDrovision of an unusual specimen for study could be expected to aid the endocrinologist.


XII. Effects of the Pituitary on the


Testis 335
Interest in the effects of cryptorchism has shifted in the 20 years following Moore's (1939) summary in the second edition of this book; at that time, the main interest in the cryptorchid testis was in its capacity for hormonal production. At present, the chief concern is with its capacity for spermatogenic function. Despite some labor and much discourse, the treatment of cryptorchism in the human is not satisfactory. Controlled methods of management based on a reasonable working hypothesis have not been evolved, so that a definitive evaluation of results in terms of fertility is impossible.


XIII. Effects OF Steroids ON THE Testis. 337


A. Androgens 338
The architecture of the testis has been described in terms of structural pattern and composition adapted for the formation and transport of sperm and for hormonal production. The influences of the circulatory and the nervous systems on testicular function have received uneven consideration. The former system is essential for testicular function; not only does it bring the necessary gonadotrophic hormones to the testis but, just as important, it provides foodstuffs and oxygen and carries away metabolites. The testis is extremely sensitive to derangement of its blood supply. The peripheral nervous system, however, appears to be relatively unimportant to the postnatal well-being of the testis.


B. Estrogens 343
The compartments of the testis are discussed in two sections of this chapter. The germinal epithelium produces sperm, and it is with regard to this compartment that major advances have been made. Quantitative cytologic studies have unraveled the spermatogenic cycle and have provided detailed information on spermiogenesis. These studies are tedious and require painstaking techniques, but there is at present no other way to obtain quantitative information.


C. Adrenal Steriods 344


I). Miscellaneous Steroids and Mixtures of Steroids 345
The hormonal compartment of the testis has been further clarified by morphologic methods, but the greatest advances have been made by chemists. The biogenesis of male hormone has been worked out and is discussed in detail in the chapter hj Villee. So far, the hormones manufactured by the testis have been shown to include only steroids. A flare of interest in a water-soluble hormone, namely inhibin, was shortlived, and this issue has been dormant in the past decade.


XIV\ Effects of Altered Endocrine


States on the Testis 346
The next two sections of this chapter, the control of the testis by the pituitary, and the effects of male hormone and other steroids on the testis are representative of classic endocrinology. The dual concept of testicular control by means of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) for the tubular apparatus and the Leydig cells, respectively, is less secure than it was believed to be in 1939. Interest in the fractionation of pituitary gonadotrophins waned in the 1940's, and investigators were unable to obtain purified FSH and LH for experimental study. Furthermore, the discovery that testosterone and other steroids maintained spermatogenesis in the complete absence of gonadotrophins became an irritant to the dualist's composure. Intensive effort in this area has removed some difficulties, but it has not solved the problems. Recent studies have shown that male hormone is needed for spermiogenesis and gonadotrophins for copious spermatogenesis, but there the problem rests.


XV. Nonneoplastic Disorders of the


Testis 348
The effect of alterations in the endocrine system on the testis is discussed briefly. Extremely little has been done in this area except for the influence of altered thyroidal states. As will be seen, the thyroid can exert some influence on testicular function, but this depends largely on the species studied. Further understanding will evolve as more species are studied.


XVI. Tumors of the Testis 349


XVII. Conclusion 351
The last sections in the chapter deal with disorders and tumors of the testis. Disorders of the testis, chiefly hypogonadal states, are important in both veterinary and clinical medicine. Study of some of these disorders has greatly clarified normal jihysiology. A brief survey will be given of this aspect to emphasize the pituitary regulation of testicular function as shown by the effects of certain spontaneous disorders of the pituitary. Brief mention will also be made of the awareness of the increasing importance of gene factors and of the fetal endocrine system in basic and clinical problems of the testis. The inherited types of infertility in males seem to be an especially rewarding field of investigation. Spontaneous tumors of the testis supply interesting and instructive material for study in both clinical and veterinary medicine. Tumors induced in the testis by experimental means have contributed nothing unique to the problem of oncogenesis. They have, however, provided material for the concept of hormonal dependence" of certain tumors; therefore, they are of importance in the field of cancer.


XVIII. References 353
Not included in this review are studies on the effects of nutritional deficiency, of radiation, and toxic substances on the testis. The first is discussed in detail in the chapter by Leathern. The second has been purposely omitted because it belongs more to the sphere of interest of the radiation biologist than to that of the endocrinologist. It must not be forgotten, however, that knowledge of the relative sensitivity of the various cells of the testis to injury, the first quantitative information on the spermatogenic cycle, and the mechanism of repopulation of the germinal epithelium after severe damage were contributions of the radiation biologist. The third is a hodgepodge of material which at present defies orderly condensation. Despite this, some of the studies in this area are of potential value in providing unique experimental preparations, i.e., animals with testes containing only Leydig cells, or only Sertoli cells. Finally, a miscellany of papers dealing with the general physiology or with the general biochemistry of the testis has also been omitted.


I. Introduction
==II. Postnatal Development of the Testis==
 
The function of the testis is concerned
with the preservation of the species. It accomplishes this by producing sperm and
hormones. The tubular apparatus is responsible for the manufacture of sperm, and
the interstitial tissue gives rise to the hormones. These two compartments are intimately associated with one another embryologically, anatomically, and functionally.
Furthermore, they are controlled by separate gonadotrophic hormones of the anterior
pituitary. In turn, the secretion and me
305
 
 
 
tabolism of the pituitary gonadotrophins
are controlled by the tubules and the Leydig
cells. Knowledge of this reciprocal control
of pituitary-testis activity was well established by 1940; in general, this reciprocity
is the basic frame of reference for the interpretation of all aspects of testicular function. JMore intimate relationships are quite
complex and, as will be seen, not completely
understood.
 
It would be gratifying to interpret all aspects of the testis within this fundamental
frame of reference. This is not possible at
present because the literature is too conflicting and no one has a sufficiently broad
experience with testicular endocrinology to
sift all of this literature competently. The
extreme scatter of literature on the testis
furnishes ample evidence for the discontinuity and heterogeneity of effort. Perhaps
the main service of this chapter is the compilation in broad categories of the heterogeneous literature of the past 20 years, so
that the student may have a handy, albeit
incomplete, guide to the subject and to
several of the major problems. A preview of
the material to be discussed follows.
 
This chapter pertains to the testis in postnatal life. Acquaintance with the principal
facts of the embryology of the testis and
with recent developments in fetal endocrinology of the testis is presumed. Only a
short description of the postnatal development of the testis is given because encyclopedic coverage is to be expected in
other treatises, and because the acquisition
of further details of the postnatal development of the testis in various species belongs
 
 
 
306
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
more to the domain of comparative morphology. The basic lessons already have
been learned from a few species, and only
the jDrovision of an unusual specimen for
study could be expected to aid the endocrinologist.
 
Interest in the effects of cryptorchism has
shifted in the 20 years following jNIoore's
(1939) summary in the second edition of
this book; at that time, the main interest
in the cryptorchid testis was in its capacity
for hormonal production. At present, the
chief concern is with its capacity for spermatogenic function. Despite some labor and
much discourse, the treatment of cryptorchism in the human is not satisfactory.
Controlled methods of management based
on a reasonable working hypothesis have
not been evolved, so that a definitive evaluation of results in terms of fertility is impossible.
 
The architecture of the testis has been
described in terms of structural pattern and
composition adapted for the formation and
transport of sperm and for hormonal production. The influences of the circulatory
and the nervous systems on testicular function have received uneven consideration.
The former system is essential for testicular
function; not only does it bring the necessary gonadotrophic hormones to the testis
but, just as important, it provides foodstuffs and oxygen and carries away metabolites. The testis is extremely sensitive to
derangement of its blood supply. The peripheral nervous system, however, appears
to be relatively unimportant to the postnatal well-being of the testis.
 
The compartments of the testis are discussed in two sections of this chapter. The
germinal epithelium produces sperm, and it
is with regard to this compartment that
major advances have been made. Quantitative cytologic studies have unraveled the
spermatogenic cycle and have provided detailed information on spermiogenesis. These
studies are tedious and require painstaking
techniques, but there is at present no other
way to obtain quantitative information.
 
The hormonal compartment of the testis
has been further clarified by morphologic
methods, but the greatest advances have
been made by chemists. The biogenesis of
male hormone has been worked out and is
 
 
 
discussed in detail in the chapter hj Villee.
So far, the hormones manufactured by the
testis have been shown to include only
steroids. A flare of interest in a water-soluble hormone, namely inhibin, was shortlived, and this issue has been dormant in
the past decade.
 
The next two sections of this chapter, the
control of the testis by the pituitary, and
the effects of male hormone and other steroids on the testis are representative of
classic endocrinology. The dual concept of
testicular control by means of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) for the tubular apparatus and
the Leydig cells, respectively, is less secure
than it was believed to be in 1939. Interest
in the fractionation of pituitary gonadotrophins waned in the 1940's, and investigators were unable to obtain purified FSH
and LH for experimental study. Furthermore, the discovery that testosterone and
other steroids maintained spermatogenesis
in the complete absence of gonadotrophins
became an irritant to the dualist's composure. Intensive effort in this area has removed some difficulties, but it has not
solved the problems. Recent studies have
shown that male hormone is needed for
spermiogenesis and gonadotrophins for copious spermatogenesis, but there the problem rests.
 
The effect of alterations in the endocrine
system on the testis is discussed briefly. Extremely little has been done in this area except for the influence of altered thyroidal
states. As will be seen, the thyroid can exert
some influence on testicular function, but
this depends largely on the species studied.
Further understanding will evolve as more
species are studied.
 
The last sections in the chapter deal with
disorders and tumors of the testis. Disorders of the testis, chiefly hypogonadal
states, are important in both veterinary
and clinical medicine. Study of some of
these disorders has greatly clarified normal
jihysiology. A brief survey will be given of
this aspect to emphasize the pituitary regulation of testicular function as shown by the
effects of certain spontaneous disorders of
the pituitary. Brief mention will also be
made of the awareness of the increasing im])()rtanco of genie factors and of the fetal
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
30;
 
 
 
endocrine system in basic and clinical problems of the testis. The inherited types of
infertility in males seem to be an especially
rewarding field of investigation. Spontaneous tumors of the testis supply interesting
and instructive material for study in both
clinical and veterinary medicine. Tumors
induced in the testis by experimental means
have contributed nothing unique to the
problem of oncogenesis. They have, however, provided material for the concept of
''hormonal dependence" of certain tumors;
therefore, they are of importance in the field
of cancer.
 
Not included in this review are studies on
the effects of nutritional deficiency, of radiation, and toxic substances on the testis.
The first is discussed in detail in the chapter
by Leathern. The second has been purposely
omitted because it belongs more to the
sphere of interest of the radiation biologist
than to that of the endocrinologist. It must
not be forgotten, however, that knowledge
of the relative sensitivity of the various
cells of the testis to injury, the first quantitative information on the spermatogenic
cycle, and the mechanism of repopulation of
the germinal epithelium after severe damage
were contributions of the radiation biologist.
The third is a hodgepodge of material which
at present defies orderly condensation. Despite this, some of the studies in this area
are of potential value in providing unique
experimental preparations, i.e., animals with
testes containing only Leydig cells, or only
Sertoli cells. Finally, a miscellany of papers
dealing with the general physiology or with
the general biochemistry of the testis has
also been omitted.
 
II. Postnatal Development  
of the Testis  


In the past 20 years, voluminous descriptive information has been compiled on the  
In the past 20 years, voluminous descriptive information has been compiled on the  
Line 291: Line 73:
common phenomenon than is generally apjireciated.  
common phenomenon than is generally apjireciated.  


Tile testes of the cat are descended at  
The testes of the cat are descended at  
bh-th. Testicular growth is slow, the combined weight of the two testes increasing  
bh-th. Testicular growth is slow, the combined weight of the two testes increasing  
from 20 mg. at birth to 100 mg. at weaning.  
from 20 mg. at birth to 100 mg. at weaning.  
Line 315: Line 97:
composed of a single layer of cells without  
composed of a single layer of cells without  
any lumen. The interstitial tissue contains  
any lumen. The interstitial tissue contains  
only mesenchymal cells. At 90 days of age,  
only mesenchymal cells. At 90 days of age, a lumen appears in the tubules and spermatogenesis begins. At 94 days, maturation  
 
 
 
308
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
a lumen appears in the tubules and spermatogenesis begins. At 94 days, maturation  
of the Lej^dig cells is noted, and spermiogenesis occurs. The diameter of the tubules  
of the Lej^dig cells is noted, and spermiogenesis occurs. The diameter of the tubules  
at maturity is about 100 jx, but the tubule  
at maturity is about 100 jx, but the tubule  
Line 354: Line 124:
of 50 to 60 )u, and in the Leydig cells, which  
of 50 to 60 )u, and in the Leydig cells, which  
dedifferentiate into mesenchymal cells. The  
dedifferentiate into mesenchymal cells. The  
presence of mature Leydig cells and of differentiated Sertoli cells in the fetal testis  
presence of mature Leydig cells and of differentiated Sertoli cells in the fetal testis and their involution shortly after birth  
 
 
 
and their involution shortly after birth  
may be related to the secretion of a fetal  
may be related to the secretion of a fetal  
morphogenic substance (c/. chapter by  
morphogenic substance (c/. chapter by  
Line 386: Line 152:
versus secretory activity) .  
versus secretory activity) .  


Some interesting details on the relative




 
Fig. 5.1. Graphic representation of changes in testes of the rliesus monkey during development. Coordinates are body weight and age of animals, and length of testes. (From  
Grams
 
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tubule growth slow
 
Centrol Sertoli nuclei ^^^ s^^^
 
 
y^ Fertile
Sperm
Tubule growth ropid
 
 
eo^V>^
 
 
^^/-"^^'^
 
 
Bosol Sertoli ^ — "^
 
 
^y^ Testis lenqih|n__c|]]_^^_____ — ,^
 
 
^^^^^^
 
 
-^^^^ -^
 
 
'
 
 
 
Cm
 
4
3
2
 
I
 
 
 
Age in Years
 
Fig. 5.1. Graphic representation of changes in testes of the rliesus monkey during development. Coordinates are body weight and age of animals, and length of testes. (From  
G. van Wagenen and M. E. Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)  
G. van Wagenen and M. E. Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)  






MAMMALIAN TESTIS




 
Some interesting details on the relative weight of the testis in primates have been  
309
 
 
 
weight of the testis in primates have been  
supplied by hunting and scientific expeditions. Schultz (1938) studied 87 adult primates. The relative testicular weights (testicular weight divided by body weight X  
supplied by hunting and scientific expeditions. Schultz (1938) studied 87 adult primates. The relative testicular weights (testicular weight divided by body weight X  
100) varied between 0.1 and 0.4 in American monkeys. Considerably more variation  
100) varied between 0.1 and 0.4 in American monkeys. Considerably more variation  
Line 509: Line 207:
the intertubular zones.  
the intertubular zones.  


After maturity is attained, the adult his
After maturity is attained, the adult histologic pattern may be maintained into old  
 
 
tologic pattern may be maintained into old  
age without pronounced changes. Spermatogenic activity varies from tubule to tubule,  
age without pronounced changes. Spermatogenic activity varies from tubule to tubule,  
but an over-all picture shows spermatogenesis proceeding in an orderly fashion, with  
but an over-all picture shows spermatogenesis proceeding in an orderly fashion, with  
Line 534: Line 229:
Roosen-Runge, 1956).  
Roosen-Runge, 1956).  


III. Descent of the Testis  
===III. Descent of the Testis===


The descent of the testis from an abdominal position in the fetus was known to  
The descent of the testis from an abdominal position in the fetus was known to  
Line 552: Line 247:
elephant and stag, whose testes are retracted  
elephant and stag, whose testes are retracted  
in the nonrutting season. Thus, "cryptorchism" is normal for many mammals, and  
in the nonrutting season. Thus, "cryptorchism" is normal for many mammals, and  
the term should be restricted to designate nal cavity. Early work by Moore (reviewed
an abnormal testicular position in those spe- by Moore, 1951) showed that the testes
cies whose testes normally are scrotal. In of rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs become
such species, cryptorchism of sufficient du- atrophic within a few weeks when placed
ration results in an irreversible loss of sper- in the abdominal cavity. Moore wrapped the
matogenic function and in a variable failure testes of the ram with wool batting, with
of hormonal function. the result that the ram was sterilized by its
In most animals the testicular temperature afforded by the scrotum is 1 to 8°C. 5°C. above body temperature to the scrotum
lower than the body temperature. In man of guinea pigs causes temporary sterility,
the testicular temperature is 1.5 to 2.5°C. The deleterious effects of increased temperalower than the temperature of the abdomi- ture also are observed in man. Fever, dia




own body heat. The application of water








Fig. 5 2 Dcx rlopmental stages in tho monkey testis


7 », ;


Fig. 5.3. Developmental stages in the monkey testis {continued from Figure 5.2)




? To^lls of .1 96-(lav fetus Tubules aie shoit and stiaight. diametei is 60 to 70 /j. Oiih
Sertoli cells and a few spermatogonia are present in tubules. Sertoli cells are large and
fill the lumen. Intertubular spaces are wide and contain many cells, some epithelioid.


3. Biopsy of testis at birth (174-day gestation). Tubular diameter is 60 to 80 fj.. Nuclei
of Sertoli cells are basal, and cytoplasmic strands fill tubular lumen. Spermatogonia are
sparse. Iiitertiil)ular tissue is abundant but imdifforentiated.


4. Testis at 3 months. More coiling of tubules is present; diameter is 50 to 60 /i. Cytoplasm of Sertoli cells is developed and still fills the lumen. A few spermatogonia are present. Intertubular spaces are narrow and interstitial cells have regressed.






"^^f;
5. Testis at 3 months and 25 daj's. Considerable increase in length, with coiling of tubules,
has occurred. Tubides are small (50 to 60 n), compact, and filled with the Sertoli nuclei.
There are occasional spermatogonia. The peritubular arrangement of dark-stained nuclei
of intertubular tissue is clearty seen.


6. Testis at 4 months and 24 days. Tubules are small and closely packed. The size has not
changed (50 to 60 m). The Sertoli nuclei fill the lumen, only occasional spermatogonia being seen.


7. Testis at 1 year, 3 months, 24 days. Tubules are still small (40 to 50 fi). Spermatogonia
are now increased in number and size. Nuclei of vmdifferentiated cells fill the lumen. Only
dark-stained nuclei in rows around tubules are seen in narrow peritubular spaces.


<4r ,
S. Testis at 1 year, 8 months, 7 days. Tubules are still small (50 yu). The Sertoli nuclei  
 
continue to crowd the lumen. Intertubular tissue is undifferentiated.  
 
 
 
 
 
»c
 
 
 
.a<v-^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fk. 5 2 Dcx rlopmental stages in tho monkev te=!ti=!
 
? To^lls of .1 96-(lav fetus Tul)ules aie shoit and stiaight. diametei is 60 to 70 /j. Oiih
Sertoli cells and a few spermatogonia are present in tubules. Sertoli cells are large and
fill the lumen. Intertubular spaces are wide and contain many cells, some epithelioid.
 
3. Biopsy of testis at birth (174-day gestation). Tubular diameter is 60 to 80 fj.. Nuclei
of Sertoli cells are basal, and cytoplasmic strands fill tubular lumen. Spermatogonia are
sparse. Iiitertiil)ular tissue is abundant but imdifforentiated.
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS 311
 
the term should be restricted to designate nal cavity. Early work by Moore (reviewed
an abnormal testicular position in those spe- by Moore, 1951) showed that the testes
cies whose testes normally are scrotal. In of rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs become
such species, cryptorchism of sufficient du- atrophic within a few weeks when placed
ration results in an irreversible loss of sper- in the abdominal cavity. Moore wrapped the
matogenic function and in a variable failure testes of the ram with wool batting, with
of hormonal function. the result that the ram was sterilized by its
In most animals the testicular tempera- own body heat. The application of water
ture afforded by the scrotum is 1 to 8°C. 5°C. above body temperature to the scrotum
lower than the body temperature. In man of guinea pigs causes temporary sterility,
the testicular temperature is 1.5 to 2.5°C. The deleterious effects of increased temperalower than the temperature of the abdomi- ture also are observed in man. Fever, dia
4- Testis at 3 months. More coiling of tubules is present; diameter is 50 to 60 /i. Cytoplasm of Sertoli cells is developed and still fills the lumen. A few spermatogonia are present.
Intertubular spaces are narrow and interstitial cells have regressed.
 
5. Testis at 3 months and 25 daj's. Considerable increase in length, with coiling of tubules,
has occurred. Tubides are small (50 to 60 n), compact, and filled with the Sertoli nuclei.
There are occasional spermatogonia. The peritubular arrangement of dark-stained nuclei
of intertubular tissue is clearty seen.
 
6. Testis at 4 months and 24 days. Tubules are small and closely packed. The size has not
changed (50 to 60 m). The Sertoli nuclei fill the lumen, only occasional spermatogonia being seen.
 
7. Testis at 1 year, 3 months, 24 days. Tubules are still small (40 to 50 fi). Spermatogonia
are now increased in number and size. Nuclei of vmdifferentiated cells fill the lumen. Only
dark-stained nuclei in rows around tubules are seen in narrow peritubular spaces.
 
S. Testis at 1 year, 8 months, 7 days. Tubules are still small (50 yu). The Sertoli nuclei  
continue to crowd the lumen. Intertubular tissue is undifferentiated.  


9. Testis at 2 years, 7 months, 6 days. Note that during an entire year no appreciable advance in development has occurred except in multiplication of the Sertoli nuclei and a  
9. Testis at 2 years, 7 months, 6 days. Note that during an entire year no appreciable advance in development has occurred except in multiplication of the Sertoli nuclei and a  
Line 684: Line 335:
231, 1954.)  
231, 1954.)  


19. Testis of 110-day fetus. Note short, uncoiled tubules, with a diameter of 70 to 80 ti.
Cytoiilasm of Sertoli cells is well developed and largely fills the lumen. The broad intertubular spaces contain abundant cells, many of which are enlarged and roun<led.


 
20. Testis of 110-day fetus. This shows tubules in cross section. The orientation of the  
312
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
v *'^^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•'Af
 
 
 
 
 
 
:^r'
 
 
 
22 .. -to-:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 5.3. Developmental stages in the monkey testis {continued jrom Figure 5.2)
 
19. Testis of 110-day fetus. Note short, uncoiled tubules, with a diameter of 70 to 80 ti.
Cytoiilasm of Sertoli cells is well developed and largely fills the lumen. The broad intertubular spaces contain abundant cells, many of which are enlarged and roun<led.
 
20. Testis of 110-day fetus. This shows tubules in cross section. The orientation of the  
interstitial tissue concentrically around the tubules and the enlargement of the cells within  
interstitial tissue concentrically around the tubules and the enlargement of the cells within  
the concentric rings are evident.  
the concentric rings are evident.  
Line 740: Line 352:
23. Right testis 1 month later, at 2 years, 11 months, 1 day. Tubular diameter is 100 to  
23. Right testis 1 month later, at 2 years, 11 months, 1 day. Tubular diameter is 100 to  
140 fi. Sperm cells are present.  
140 fi. Sperm cells are present.  
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
313




Line 903: Line 507:
free in the lumen.  
free in the lumen.  


26 to 2S. Adult testis, age 11 years, 6 months, 20 days. 26. Seminiferous tubule lumen  
26 to 28. Adult testis, age 11 years, 6 months, 20 days. 26. Seminiferous tubule lumen  
lined by j^oung spermatids. 27. Tubule lined by spermatids with spermlike heads. 2S. Tubule  
lined by young spermatids. 27. Tubule lined by spermatids with spermlike heads. 2S. Tubule  
containing mature sperm cells about ready to be shed. (From G. van Wagenen and M. L.  
containing mature sperm cells about ready to be shed. (From G. van Wagenen and M. L.  
Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)  
Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)  


314






PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
(1956j have shown that these Ley dig cells  
 
 
 
(1956j have .shown that these Ley dig cells  
give strong histochemical reactions suggestive of the presence of steroidal materials, it is presumed that the human fetal  
give strong histochemical reactions suggestive of the presence of steroidal materials, it is presumed that the human fetal  
testis produces androgens responsible for  
testis produces androgens responsible for  
Line 964: Line 561:


Rea (1939) concluded erroneously that  
Rea (1939) concluded erroneously that  
the undescended testis is normal until puberty but stated correctly that it rapidly de
the undescended testis is normal until puberty but stated correctly that it rapidly degenerates after puberty. That the retained  
 
 
generates after puberty. That the retained  
testis may not be normal before puberty and  
testis may not be normal before puberty and  
is almost always abnormal after puberty  
is almost always abnormal after puberty  
Line 1,008: Line 602:
after puberty. Dysgenetic tubules were observed in about half of the cases of cryptorchism.  
after puberty. Dysgenetic tubules were observed in about half of the cases of cryptorchism.  


Little doubt exists, therefore, that the fer
Little doubt exists, therefore, that the fertility iiotential of cryptorchid human testis,  
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
31i
 
 
 
tility iiotential of cryptorchid human testis,  
regardless of the cause, is seriously damaged. Sterility is not an inevitable consequence of bilateral cryptorchism in man as  
regardless of the cause, is seriously damaged. Sterility is not an inevitable consequence of bilateral cryptorchism in man as  
indicated by the report of sperm in the ejaculate of bilaterally cryptorchid men (Sohval, 1954). The work of Gross and Jewett  
indicated by the report of sperm in the ejaculate of bilaterally cryptorchid men (Sohval, 1954). The work of Gross and Jewett  
Line 1,060: Line 643:
prostate becomes atrophic in 400 days. This  
prostate becomes atrophic in 400 days. This  
sequence parallels the requirement for androgen; the seminal vesicles need more androgen (2.5 times) than does the prostate  
sequence parallels the requirement for androgen; the seminal vesicles need more androgen (2.5 times) than does the prostate  
for maintenance, and the prevention of cas
for maintenance, and the prevention of castration changes in the anterior pituitary requires twice as much androgen as does  
 
 
tration changes in the anterior pituitary requires twice as much androgen as does  
maintenance of the seminal vesicles (Nelson, 1937). These results were confirmed  
maintenance of the seminal vesicles (Nelson, 1937). These results were confirmed  
by Moore (1942), who added that the  
by Moore (1942), who added that the  
Line 1,101: Line 681:
androgens.  
androgens.  


IV. Breeding Patterns  
==IV. Breeding Patterns==


The breeding pattern of adult male mammals may be divided into two major types  
The breeding pattern of adult male mammals may be divided into two major types  
Line 1,109: Line 689:
mole, hedgehog, and shrew (Asdell, 1946).  
mole, hedgehog, and shrew (Asdell, 1946).  
In these animals, there is a short period of  
In these animals, there is a short period of  
time, the duration of which varies in differ
time, the duration of which varies in different species, in which breeding is at its  
 
 
316
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
ent species, in which breeding is at its  
height. Sperm cells are formed only during  
height. Sperm cells are formed only during  
this period. The accessory sex structures are  
this period. The accessory sex structures are  
Line 1,129: Line 698:
accessory system resembles that of a castrated animal (Fig. 5.4).  
accessory system resembles that of a castrated animal (Fig. 5.4).  


The second type is the continuous  
The second type is the continuous breeder. Rat, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit  
 
(under laboratory conditions) , and man are  
 
 
breeder. Rat, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit  
(under laboratory conditions) , and man are  
well known examples. In this type, the  
well known examples. In this type, the  
testes and accessory sex structures maintain a constant state of activity, and breeding can occur at any time of the year.  
testes and accessory sex structures maintain a constant state of activity, and breeding can occur at any time of the year.  
Line 1,140: Line 705:
The ram is an intermediate type of  
The ram is an intermediate type of  
breeder, in which spermatogenesis is arrested in the nonbreeding season with a  
breeder, in which spermatogenesis is arrested in the nonbreeding season with a  
concomitant decrease in number of Leydig  
concomitant decrease in number of Leydig cells. Abnormal forms of sperm cells appear
 
in the semen, reflecting the degeneration of
 
the germinal epithelium at this time. The
 
volume of the semen decreases, and libido
LATERAL FAT
is depressed. Thus, the ram may be regarded
 
as an annual breeder, but the regression in
 
the nonbreeding season is not complete
 
(Maqsood, 1951a). Even the laboratory
eONVOLUTgO DU
rat shows some evidence of a seasonal
 
rhythm (Gunn and Gould, 1958). The capacity of the dorsolateral prostate to concentrate injected Zn*^^ is greater in February-March and June-July than at other
 
seasons of the year.
 
 
j^'
 
 
 
COWPtR'S
 
 
 
a  
 
 
 
\\
 
 
 
y
 
 
 
 
^S^M^ifS)
 
 
 
EPIDIDYMIS
 
VAS DEFERENS
CONVOLUTED DUCT
PROSTATE
SEMINAL VESICLE
URETHRA
 
COWPER'S OLANO
BULBAR OLANO




Line 1,199: Line 727:




MAMMALIAN TESTIS
317




cells. Abnormal forms of sperm cells appear
in the semen, reflecting the degeneration of
the germinal epithelium at this time. The
volume of the semen decreases, and libido
is depressed. Thus, the ram may be regarded
as an annual breeder, but the regression in
the nonbreeding season is not complete
(Maqsood, 1951a). Even the laboratory
rat shows some evidence of a seasonal
rhythm (Gunn and Gould, 1958). The capacity of the dorsolateral prostate to concentrate injected Zn*^^ is greater in February-March and June-July than at other
seasons of the year.


Various species of squirrels have been  
Various species of squirrels have been  
Line 1,246: Line 757:
place previously.  
place previously.  


V. Architecture of the Testis  
==V. Architecture of the Testis==


The testis of most mammals is divided  
The testis of most mammals is divided  
Line 1,255: Line 766:
a fan-shaped manner from a series of  
a fan-shaped manner from a series of  
spiral canal arches, which arise from the  
spiral canal arches, which arise from the  
rete testis (Fig. 5.5). The tubule is a Ushaped structure, open at two ends to the  
rete testis (Fig. 5.5). The tubule is a Ushaped structure, open at two ends to the rete and running such a constant zigzag
course within the testis that a palisade is
formed. An average tubule is 30 cm. long.
The tubules do not end blindly as a rule.
They rarely fork or bifurcate and they
never communicate with one another (Mliller, 1957; Clermont. 1958).




Fig. 5.5. Architecture of rat testis, showing relationship of tubules to spermatic artery.
and arrangement of the Leydig cell aggregates and capillaries. (From I. MUller, Ztschr,
Zellforsch. mikroscop. Anat., 45, 522, 1957.)


' /




Line 1,265: Line 783:




 
The suitability of architecture of the  
 
i :
 
 
 
Li>t^-^' ^M?-Vtt^^
 
 
 
 
>
 
 
 
 
Fig. 5.5. Architecture of rat testis, showing relationship of tubules to spermatic artery.
and arrangement of the Leydig cell aggregates and capillaries. (From I. MUller, Ztschr,
Zellforsch. mikroscop. Anat., 45, 522, 1957.)
 
 
 
318
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
rete and mnning such a constant zigzag
course within the testis that a palisade is
formed. An average tubule is 30 cm. long.
The tubules do not end blindly as a rule.
They rarely fork or bifurcate and they
never communicate with one another (Mliller, 1957; Clermont. 1958).
 
The suitability of architecture of the  
tubule for the process of spermatogenesis  
tubule for the process of spermatogenesis  
is obvious because it provides an epithelium with a large surface area. The arrangement of the tubules in arcs and palisades  
is obvious because it provides an epithelium with a large surface area. The arrangement of the tubules in arcs and palisades  
Line 1,339: Line 820:
to the Leydig cells. The topography of the  
to the Leydig cells. The topography of the  
capillary system of the rat testis is such  
capillary system of the rat testis is such  
that blood, after contact with the interstitial cells, flows by the g('nerati\'c portion  
that blood, after contact with the interstitial cells, flows by the generatic portion of the testis before entering the general  
 
 
 
of the testis before entering the general  
circuation through the great veins at the  
circuation through the great veins at the  
hilum. This architecture apparently makes  
hilum. This architecture apparently makes  
Line 1,349: Line 826:
to exert local action on the tubule.  
to exert local action on the tubule.  


VI. The Circulatory System  
==VI. The Circulatory System of the Testis==
of the Testis  


The testicular artery of mammals convolutes before reaching the testis. It is surrounded by the pampiniform plexus which  
The testicular artery of mammals convolutes before reaching the testis. It is surrounded by the pampiniform plexus which  
Line 1,391: Line 867:
among different species. A large gradient  
among different species. A large gradient  
ocelli's in the goat, rabbit, rat, mouse, and  
ocelli's in the goat, rabbit, rat, mouse, and  
ram ; a small gradient is i)resent in the monkey, (log, guinea pig. and man. The tcm
ram ; a small gradient is i)resent in the monkey, (log, guinea pig. and man. The temperature gradient depends on many factors,
such as the convolutions of the artery, the
length of the artery, the size of the testis,
the relationship between veins and arteries,
and the activity of the dartos muscle (Harrison and Weiner, 19491.




MAMMALIAN TESTIS
319
.1
^frv
^^fcw^
--^-sffc:




Line 1,433: Line 886:




perature gradient depends on many factors,
such as the convolutions of the artery, the
length of the artery, the size of the testis,
the relationship between veins and arteries,
and the activity of the dartos muscle (Harrison and Weiner, 19491.


Inasmuch as temperature affects the testis  
Inasmuch as temperature affects the testis  
Line 1,446: Line 894:
that heat applied locally is injurious to the  
that heat applied locally is injurious to the  
testis. Moore's experiments in which the  
testis. Moore's experiments in which the  
testes were wrapped in insulating material  
testes were wrapped in insulating material already have been mentioned. In the guinea  
 
 
 
already have been mentioned. In the guinea  
pig, sex activity and fertility are depressed  
pig, sex activity and fertility are depressed  
for 44 to 72 days after exposure to heat  
for 44 to 72 days after exposure to heat  
Line 1,462: Line 906:
another episode of fever induced another  
another episode of fever induced another  
depression. The production of androgen is  
depression. The production of androgen is  
not affected by exposure to high environ
not affected by exposure to high environmental temperature (Stein, Bader, Eliot  
 
 
320
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
mental temperature (Stein, Bader, Eliot  
and Bass, 1949). The local application of  
and Bass, 1949). The local application of  
heat does not markedly suppress the production of androgens, judging from the older  
heat does not markedly suppress the production of androgens, judging from the older  
Line 1,511: Line 944:
scrotum extends and the testes lie lower.  
scrotum extends and the testes lie lower.  
This increases heat exchange, despite ilw  
This increases heat exchange, despite ilw  
absence in certain species (mouse, rat, dog.
absence in certain species (mouse, rat, dog, cat, and rabbit) of scrotal sweat glands  
 
 
 
cat, and rabbit) of scrotal sweat glands  
(Harrison and Harris, 1956). Optimal testicular temperature is also maintained by  
(Harrison and Harris, 1956). Optimal testicular temperature is also maintained by  
means of heat exchange between vessels of  
means of heat exchange between vessels of  
Line 1,557: Line 986:
all tnbulcs except some near the epididymal  
all tnbulcs except some near the epididymal  
pole have been killed. Two weeks later,  
pole have been killed. Two weeks later,  
vacuolation occurs in the Leydig cells, with  
vacuolation occurs in the Leydig cells, with an accumulation of yellow pigment. By the  
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
321
 
 
 
an accumulation of yellow pigment. By the  
end of a month, the interstitium becomes  
end of a month, the interstitium becomes  
invaded by fibroblasts. The tubules, although not yet shrunken, show a thickened  
invaded by fibroblasts. The tubules, although not yet shrunken, show a thickened  
Line 1,596: Line 1,013:
testes occurs, with azoospermia due to obstruction.  
testes occurs, with azoospermia due to obstruction.  


Vn. The Nervous System and  
==VII. The Nervous System and the Testis==
the Testis  


It is difficult to see nerve endings in the  
It is difficult to see nerve endings in the  
Line 1,616: Line 1,032:
course of the arteries to the septula and  
course of the arteries to the septula and  
make contact with the Leydig cells. Three  
make contact with the Leydig cells. Three  
types of contact are made, namely (1) peri
types of contact are made, namely (1) perineural, in which the Leydig cells lie alongside the nerve, (2) intraneural, in which
groups of Leydig cells may be found within
the perineurium, and (3) interdigitational,
in which the course of the nerve breaks a
cluster of Leydig cells into small groups
(Okkels and Sand, 1940-1941). It is not
certain that nerve fibers actually penetrate Leydig cells (Peters, 1957; Gray,
1947). Peters noted that nerve fibrils also run to the walls of the tubules and enter the
membrana propria to reach the Sertoli cells.




Line 1,629: Line 1,053:
border of the testis, entering the parenchyma at e  
border of the testis, entering the parenchyma at e  
to break up into its terminal branches. The vasal  
to break up into its terminal branches. The vasal  
artery (6) passes along the vas to reach the tail  
artery (b) passes along the vas to reach the tail  
of the epididymis, where it anastomoses with the  
of the epididymis, where it anastomoses with the  
descending branch of the artery (d) supplying  
descending branch of the artery (d) supplying  
Line 1,640: Line 1,064:
point Y. (From A. G. Oettle and R. G. Harrison,  
point Y. (From A. G. Oettle and R. G. Harrison,  
J. Path. & Bact., 64, 273, 1952.)  
J. Path. & Bact., 64, 273, 1952.)  
neural, in which the Leydig cells lie alongside the nerve, (2) intraneural, in which
groups of Leydig cells may be found within
the perineurium, and (3) interdigitational,
in which the course of the nerve breaks a
cluster of Leydig cells into small groups
(Okkels and Sand, 1940-1941). It is not
certain that nerve fibers actually penetrate Leydig cells (Peters, 1957; Gray,
1947). Peters noted that nerve fibrils also




322
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
run to the walls of the tubules and enter the
membrana propria to reach the Sertoli cells.


Experimental studies on the significance  
Experimental studies on the significance  
Line 1,704: Line 1,108:
The poor sexual status of Iniinan paraplegics has led many authors to conclude  
The poor sexual status of Iniinan paraplegics has led many authors to conclude  
that the nervous system controls testicular  
that the nervous system controls testicular  
function in man. Apart from the muscular  
function in man. Apart from the muscular disability of male paraplegics, such symptoms and signs as gynecomastia, loss of  
 
 
 
disability of male paraplegics, such symptoms and signs as gynecomastia, loss of  
potency, atrophy of the testes, creatinuria,  
potency, atrophy of the testes, creatinuria,  
proteinuria, a decreased basal metabolic  
proteinuria, a decreased basal metabolic  
Line 1,745: Line 1,145:
histologic picture regardless of cause.  
histologic picture regardless of cause.  


jMental disease and mental stress are said  
Mental disease and mental stress are said  
to affect the testis. Jankala and Naatanen  
to affect the testis. Jankala and Naatanen  
(1955) found that severely disturbed rats,  
(1955) found that severely disturbed rats,  
Line 1,752: Line 1,152:
The severity of this atrophy is evident from  
The severity of this atrophy is evident from  
the finding that only Sertoli cells remained.  
the finding that only Sertoli cells remained.  
Caged dogs, apparently under mental strain,  
Caged dogs, apparently under mental strain, have transient testicular atrophy. Hormonal  
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
323
 
 
 
have transient testicular atrophy. Hormonal  
secretion is not impaired (Huggins, Masina,  
secretion is not impaired (Huggins, Masina,  
Eichelberger and Wharton, 1939). Testicular atrophy has been noted in schizoid patients (Hemphill, 1944; Hemphill, Reiss  
Eichelberger and Wharton, 1939). Testicular atrophy has been noted in schizoid patients (Hemphill, 1944; Hemphill, Reiss  
Line 1,776: Line 1,164:
testis.  
testis.  


VIII. The Excretory Duct System  
==VIII. The Excretory Duct System==


The old concept that vasectomy is followed by hypersecretion of male hormone  
The old concept that vasectomy is followed by hypersecretion of male hormone  
Line 1,808: Line 1,196:
excretory path distal or proximal to the  
excretory path distal or proximal to the  
epididymis is attributable to the function of  
epididymis is attributable to the function of  
the excretory duct system of reabsorbing  
the excretory duct system of reabsorbing fluid needed to carry sperm. Obstructive  
 
 
 
fluid needed to carry sperm. Obstructive  
necrosis of the testis does not occur after  
necrosis of the testis does not occur after  
ligation of the ductus deferens, because  
ligation of the ductus deferens, because  
Line 1,822: Line 1,206:
caused by congenital absence of the ductus deferens.  
caused by congenital absence of the ductus deferens.  


IX. The Seminiferous Epithelium  
==IX. The Seminiferous Epithelium==


Clarification of the spermatogenic cycle  
Clarification of the spermatogenic cycle  
Line 1,857: Line 1,241:
classification of cell types, or the same  
classification of cell types, or the same  
points of reference. Depending somewhat on  
points of reference. Depending somewhat on  
the cytologic detail and somewhat on the  
the cytologic detail and somewhat on the point of reference, the cycle can be divided  
 
 
 
324
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
point of reference, the cycle can be divided  
into 6, 8, 12, or more phases.  
into 6, 8, 12, or more phases.  


Line 1,952: Line 1,324:
insertion to the distal centriole. In stage  
insertion to the distal centriole. In stage  


9, the acrosome granule elongates. In stage  
9, the acrosome granule elongates. In stage 10, the head cap moves toward the caudal  
 
10, the head cap moves toward the caudal  
end of the nucleus, and the apical end is  
end of the nucleus, and the apical end is  
pointed. In stage 11, the nucleus and head  
pointed. In stage 11, the nucleus and head  
Line 1,970: Line 1,340:
centriole separates from the centriole and  
centriole separates from the centriole and  
forms the middle piece. In stage 16, elongation of the finlike membrane occurs. In stage  
forms the middle piece. In stage 16, elongation of the finlike membrane occurs. In stage  
17. the acrosome and head cap move for
17. the acrosome and head cap move forward. In stage 18, the perforatorium appears. In stage 19, the staining capacity
 
of the sperm is sharply reduced.
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
325
 
 
 
 
 




Line 1,997: Line 1,356:




ward. In stage 18, the perforatorium appears. In stage 19, the staining capacity
 
of the sperm is sharply reduced.


The behavior of the remaining cells of  
The behavior of the remaining cells of  
Line 2,010: Line 1,368:
third cycle.  
third cycle.  


This quantitative method has been applied to three areas which are of importance  
This quantitative method has been applied to three areas which are of importance to the experimental or clinical endocrinologist: renewal of stem cells, postnatal degeneration of germ cells, and the effects of  
 
 
 
to the experimental or clinical endocrinologist: renewal of stem cells, postnatal degeneration of germ cells, and the effects of  
hypophysectomy on the germinal epithelium.  
hypophysectomy on the germinal epithelium.  


Line 2,025: Line 1,379:
and Leblond (1953) proposed a new theory  
and Leblond (1953) proposed a new theory  
for the renewal of stem cells. Three types of  
for the renewal of stem cells. Three types of  
spermatogonia are present in the rat and  
spermatogonia are present in the rat and mouse (Fig. 5.9). Type A spermatogonia
 
give rise to either intermediate {{spermatogonia}} or to dormant type A spermatogonia.
 
The intermediate type of spermatogonia
 
gives rise to the type B forms, which produce spermatocytes. The dormant type A
326
spermatogonia are so designated because
they do not divide for 8 stages. At the 9th
stage, the dormant type A spermatogonium
forms 4 large type A spermatogonia. In the
next cycle, one of these 4 type A spermatogonia becomes another dormant type A
spermatogonium; the others form 6 of the
intermediate types of spermatogonia and
eventually 24 spermatocytes. The cytologic
details and the alterations in numbers of the
three types of spermatogonia are illustrated
in Figure 5.10. Full information can only
be obtained by consulting the original papers.




PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
SCHEMAT I C REPRESENT AT I ON
PROGENY or ONE A CELL
Of STAGE VIII
A In B R
FINAL HYPOTHESIS
|b [bIb [bIb [bIb [bIb [bIb
R Ir'rIrirIrirIriR JRiR jfilR iR|RlR!R"|RiRlRiR IrJrIr
0-12
12
12 0-24
24




Line 2,081: Line 1,413:




mouse (Fig. 5.9). Type A spermatogonia
 
give rise to either intermediate spermatogonia or to dormant type A spermatogonia.
 
The intermediate type of spermatogonia
Considerable degeneration of the primary  
gives rise to the type B forms, which produce spermatocytes. The dormant type A
germ cells occurs during development of the  
spermatogonia are so designated because
testis in the mouse and the rat (Allen and  
they do not divide for 8 stages. At the 9th
Altland, 1952). Degeneration usually ceases  
stage, the dormant type A spermatogonium
forms 4 large type A spermatogonia. In the
next cycle, one of these 4 type A spermatogonia becomes another dormant type A
spermatogonium; the others form 6 of the
intermediate types of spermatogonia and
eventually 24 spermatocytes. The cytologic
details and the alterations in numbers of the
three types of spermatogonia are illustrated
in Figure 5.10. Full information can only
be obtained by consulting the original papers.
 
Considerable degeneration of the primary  
germ cells occurs during development of the  
testis in the mouse and the rat (Allen and  
Altland, 1952). Degeneration usually ceases  
on the ninth day of age in the rat. Over the  
on the ninth day of age in the rat. Over the  
next 4 days, however, considerable multiplication occurs, but from day 14 to day 48  
next 4 days, however, considerable multiplication occurs, but from day 14 to day 48  
degenerating cells also may be seen in many  
degenerating cells also may be seen in many  
tubules. Six different types of degeneration  
tubules. Six different types of degeneration  
are evident — loss of cells in layers (exfoliation or shedding) , necrosis, loss of individ
are evident — loss of cells in layers (exfoliation or shedding) , necrosis, loss of individual cells, pyknosis, degeneration of leptotene forms, and abnormal mitosis in stem  
 
 
ual cells, pyknosis, degeneration of leptotene forms, and abnormal mitosis in stem  
cells and spermatocytes.  
cells and spermatocytes.  


Line 2,131: Line 1,445:
days 33 to 50, the Sertoli cells have matured.  
days 33 to 50, the Sertoli cells have matured.  
Because the supporting cells do not divide  
Because the supporting cells do not divide  
after day 15, type B spermatogonia can
after day 15, type B spermatogonia can not arise from supporting cells (Clermont
 
and Perey, 1957).  
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
327
 
 
 
-.J
 
 
 
8 »<
 
 
 
^"'^^^':-> u;-^ 1 ^ ^i^x;:
 
 
 
 
 
 
t» ? i?.- : :St- *:-*^^*to ® ;'-- ©
 
 
 
f*i'%.;-^i#%
 
 
 
>0 -^^l |;_^. -^^, .^^-^^^^.
 
 
 
^ tl'^^' "Xi^''^'^,) ^.¥-'^^- • :^%^«^
 
 
 
\ > 13
 
 
 
 
 
 
^ #^
 
 
 
.*• *»




Line 2,204: Line 1,466:




not arise from supporting cells (Clermont
and Perey, 1957).


It was known that, after hypophysectomy, spermatids disappear but spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and primary spermatocytes remain for long periods and  
It was known that, after hypophysectomy, spermatids disappear but spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and primary spermatocytes remain for long periods and  
Line 2,235: Line 1,495:
of spermatogenesis apparently can take  
of spermatogenesis apparently can take  
place without gonadotrophins ; meiosis suffers severely from gonadotrophic deprivation; and the postmeiotic phase is controlled  
place without gonadotrophins ; meiosis suffers severely from gonadotrophic deprivation; and the postmeiotic phase is controlled  
by androgen. The observation that testos
by androgen. The observation that testosterone can maintain spermatogenesis if it
is administered within a month after hypophyscctomy but cannot if treatment is
delayed more than a month may not be
so puzzling if it is assumed that androgen
protects in some way the serious depletion
of spermatocytes at meiosis.




328






PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Fig. 5.11. Spermiogenesis of the mouse as seen with PAS-hematoxyhn staining of Zenkerformol fixed testis. Drawings are arranged in a spiral to demonstrate stages which overlap  
 
in a cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Orientation of spermatids in relationship to the  
 
 
<.^
 
 
 
^ ; >
 
 
 
 
 
 
1^6 J^
 
 
 
^'^
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
 
 
r
 
 
 
'S
 
 
 
(
 
 
 
C V
 
 
 
Fig. 5.11. Spermiogenesis of the mouse as seen with PAS-hematoxyhn staining of Zenkerformol fixed testis. Drawings are arranged in a spiral to demonstrate stages which overlap  
in a cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Orientation of spermatids in relationship to the  
basement membrane also is shown. ^ to S is the Golgi phase, 4 to 7 the cap phase, 8 to 12 the  
basement membrane also is shown. ^ to S is the Golgi phase, 4 to 7 the cap phase, 8 to 12 the  
acrosome phase, and 13 to 16 the maturation phase. (From E. F. Oakberg, Am. J. Anat.,  
acrosome phase, and 13 to 16 the maturation phase. (From E. F. Oakberg, Am. J. Anat.,  
Line 2,296: Line 1,514:




terone can maintain spermatogenesis if it
 
is administered within a month after hypophyscctomy but cannot if treatment is
delayed more than a month may not be
so puzzling if it is assumed that androgen
protects in some way the serious depletion
of spermatocytes at meiosis.


The plan of spermiogenesis in many species is essentially similar to that in the  
The plan of spermiogenesis in many species is essentially similar to that in the  
Line 2,313: Line 1,526:
constitute complete spermatogenesis and require 34.5 days. Generally, the same plan  
constitute complete spermatogenesis and require 34.5 days. Generally, the same plan  
of spermiogenesis holds for the guinea pig,  
of spermiogenesis holds for the guinea pig,  
cat, bull, dog, ram, monkey (Fig. 5.12), and  
cat, bull, dog, ram, monkey (Fig. 5.12), and man (Leblond and Clermont. 1952b; Clermont and Leblond, 1955) , although many  
 
 
 
man (Leblond and Clermont. 1952b; Clermont and Leblond, 1955) , although many  
differences in cytologic detail exist and have  
differences in cytologic detail exist and have  
been documented (Zlotnik, 1943; Gresson,  
been documented (Zlotnik, 1943; Gresson,  
Line 2,329: Line 1,538:
cases of human infertility have been obtained by quantitative analysis of the  
cases of human infertility have been obtained by quantitative analysis of the  
germinal epithelium (Roosen-Runge and  
germinal epithelium (Roosen-Runge and  
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
329




Line 2,445: Line 1,645:




Barlow, 1953; Eoosen-Runge, jNIarbergcr  
Barlow, 1953; Eoosen-Runge, jNIarbergcr and Nelson, 1957).  
and Nelson, 1957).  


X. The Interstitial Tissue  
==X. The Interstitial Tissue==


Although miscellaneous general information is available on the interstitial tissue  
Although miscellaneous general information is available on the interstitial tissue  
Line 2,495: Line 1,694:
transparency, and finally cannot be distinguished as a Levdig cell (Williams,  
transparency, and finally cannot be distinguished as a Levdig cell (Williams,  
1950).  
1950).  
The life history of the Leydig cell in
man and monkey is in general similar to
330
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
V
vv






#1.




Line 2,527: Line 1,706:




that in the bull. In the human, Leydig cells  
The life history of the Leydig cell in
man and monkey is in general similar to that in the bull. In the human, Leydig cells  
are large polyhedral cells containing a large  
are large polyhedral cells containing a large  
vesicular nucleus, which is not found in  
vesicular nucleus, which is not found in  
Line 2,538: Line 1,718:
types of Leydig cells can be distinguished  
types of Leydig cells can be distinguished  
on the basis of the size and nature of the  
on the basis of the size and nature of the  
granules and vacuoles. The medium-sized  
granules and vacuoles. The medium-sized granular cells are believed to be vigorous  
 
 
 
granular cells are believed to be vigorous  
producers of androgen (Sniff en, 1952; Tillinger, Birke, Franksson and Plantin, 1955) .  
producers of androgen (Sniff en, 1952; Tillinger, Birke, Franksson and Plantin, 1955) .  
It is difficult to determine the absolute number of Leydig cells. However, rough counts  
It is difficult to determine the absolute number of Leydig cells. However, rough counts  
Line 2,552: Line 1,728:
Leydig cells (Fig. 5.15).  
Leydig cells (Fig. 5.15).  


It is generally held that the Leydig cell  
It is generally held that the Leydig cell is the source of androgen. Gonadotrophin
evokes secretion of androgen from the testis
only if the Leydig cells are stimulated.
Tumors of Leydig cells produce large
amounts of androgen. Testes impaired by
heat or x-rays still produce androgen even
though the germinal epithelium may be
destroyed. The parallelism between the
number of Leydig cells, their morphology,
histologic appearance, and histochemical
properties (Wislocki, 1949), on the one
hand, and androgenic secretion as measured
chemically or as determined by the behavior of the secondary sex characteristics,
on the other hand, supports the conclusion
that the Leydig cell produces male hormone (Figs. 5.16 and 5.17).






MAMMALIAN TESTIS


Fig. 5.13. Life history of Leydig cells of the bull testis. 21 to 2S, calf 1 month old. 2.'^,
calf \Vz months old; note threadlike processes extending from angulation of mesenchymal
cell. 25 to 21, cells of interstitium; 25 is a fibroblast, and 26 and 21 are pre-Leydig cells.
2S, bull 4 months old. ;^9 and SO, bull 2 years old, with young Leydig cells. SI and S2, bull
28 months old; note vacuoles. SS to 35, mature Leydig cells in a 5-year-old bull. SQ to S8, bull
15 years old. (From C. W. Hooker, Am. J. Anat", 74, 1, 1944.)




331




Fig. 5.14. Life history of the Leydig cell of the bull. (From C. \V. Hooker, Recent Progr.
Hormone Res., 3, 173, 1948.)


■#\






2!^ 22 23 24


Undifferentioted cells
Fig. 5.15. Schematic summary of thv life history of the human Leydig cell. (From A.
Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N. Lorenz. Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Clin., 29,
368, 1953; 30, 31, 1955.)






P''


==XI. Hormones of the Testis===


The mammalian testis produces androgens and estrogens. Because the chemistry
of the hormones is discussed in Villee's
chapter, only a brief account will be given
here. Testosterone was first obtained from
bull testes and later from horse testes (Tagmann, Prelog and Ruzieka, 1946). However,
difficulties attended the isolation of testosterone from the testes of pigs. Although
not obtained in crystalline form, testosterone was identified bv a characteristic infrared absorption spectrum in extracts of
hog testes (Prelog, Tagmann, Lieberman
and Ruzieka, 1947). Other steroids are
present in hog testes (Ruzieka and Prelog,
1943; Prelog and his associates, 1947). C21ketosteroids, such as allopregnane-3-(^)ol-20-one, allopregnane-3- (a) -ol-20-one,
and 5-pregnane-3-(^)-ol-20-one, have
been identified. Haines, Johnson, Goodwin
and Kuizenga (1948) isolated pregneninolone from hog testes as well as several other
unidentified steroids, some of which had
estrogenic activity. Ketosteroids have been
found in human sperm (Dirschcrl and
Breuer, 1955).


25
The testes of deer, bulls, stallions, and
humans contain estrogens. The amount
present in deer testes is three times that in
bulls (Cunningham, ]\Iay and Gordon,
1942). Estradiol (0.21 mg. per kg. I and
estrone (0.36 mg. per kg. ) wer(> isolated
from 28 kg. of hoarse testes by Beall 1 1940).
Estradiol also has been isolated from hinnan
testes obtained shortly after death (Goldzieher and Roberts, 1952).








Fig. 5.16. Frequency of puberty, measurements of testis and penis, and excretion of hormones during puberty in man. (From A. Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N
Lorenz, Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Clin., 28, 409. 1953.)


 
Fig. 5.17. Stages of sexual development and maturation. (From W. A. Schonfeld, Ai
26 27
J. Dis. Child., 65, 535, 1943.)
 
Differentioting cells
 
 
 
28






Testicular tissue is able to convert acetate into cholesterol (Srere, Chaikoff, Treitman and Burstein, 1950) and also to testosterone in the hog, rat. and human (Brady, 1951). Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) increases the yield of testosterone
from testicular slices incubated with acetate. Estradiol- 17-/? also has been found
in the products obtained by incubating tissue slices with acetate. Human testicular
tumors incubated with labeled acetate form
labeled testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, estradiol, and estrone (Wotiz,
Davis and Lemon, 1955). Mevalonic acid, a
precursor of cholesterol, yields estradiol
when incubated with homogenates of human testis (Rabinowitz and Ragland,
1958). The biogenesis of male hormone as
worked out in the stallion, rat, and human
(Savard, Dorfman and Poutasse, 1952; Savard, Besch, Restivo and Goldzieher, 1958;
Savard, Dorfman, Baggett and Engel, 1956)
by means of radioisotopic methods shows a
common pathway from 17a-hydroxyprogcsterone -^ progesterone -> 4-androstene3,17-dione —^ testosterone. Testosterone has
been identified in the spermatic vein blood
of dogs (West, Hollander, Kritchevsky and
Dobriner, 1952). Also identified were A^androstcno(lione-3-17 and 7-keto-cholesterone.


29
In addition to confirming the presence of several biologically active steroids in the
testis, the studies made in the last two
decades have clarified the biosynthesis of
male hormone. The peripheral metabolism
of testosterone and its biologic actions in
the organism are described in chapters by
Villee and by Price and Williams-Ashman,
respectively.


In addition to these well-known steroid
hormones, the presence of a water-soluble
hormone in the testis has been postulated on
biologic evidence. Vidgoff, Hill, Vehrs and
Kubin (1939) and Vidgoff and Vehrs (1941)
induced atrophy of the testis and accessory
sex organs in the rat by the administration
of aqueous extracts of bull testes. Because
the atrophy was similar to that occurring
after hypophysectomy, it was claimed that
a water-soluble principle in the testis was
capable of inhibiting the gonadotrophic
function of the ])ituitary. This principle was
called "inhibin." The theory was then constructed that the testis secretes two hormones, nnnu'ly a water-soluble hormone
responsible for the integrity of the germinal epithelium by regulating the secretion
of pituitary gonadotrophin, and a fat soluble hormone (testosterone) responsible
for maintaining the accessories. The observations of Vidgoff and his associates were
disputed by Rubin (1941). The inhibin concept was supported by McCullagh and
Hruby (1949) because testosterone did not
inhibit the excretion of pituitary gonadotrophin and was not effective in correcting
castration changes in the pituitary of cryptorchid rats at doses that were sufficient
to stimulate the accessories. Inhibin was
now identified with estrogen, and the source
of estrogen was claimed to be the Sertoli
cell. The new evidence for this modified concept will now be considered.


McCullagh and Schaffenburg (1952)
stated that estrogen is much more effective
than androgen in suppressing gonadotrophin and that estrogen is present in saline
extracts of bull and human sperm. Estrogen
is found in the testes, but localization of its
production to the Sertoli cells is uncertain
(Teilum, 1956), and is doubted by Morii
(1956) and Ballerio (1954). The almost
complete absence of Sertoli cells in Klinefelter's syndrome, in which values for urinary gonadotrophin are high, also is
considered as evidence that estrogen is manufactured by the Sertoli cells. The high excretion of gonadotrophin in Klinefelter's
syndrome can be interpreted, at least in
part, by the concept of Heller, Paulsen,
^lortimore, Jungck and Nelson (1952) that
the amount of urinary gonadotrophin varies
inversely with the state of the germinal epithelium. Utilization of gonadotrophins by
the germinal epithelium could explain the
levels of this hormone in various syndromes
as satisfactorily as the lack of a hypothetic
testicular inhibitory hormone. Furthermore,
if the Sertoli cells secrete an inhibitory
hormone, patients who have germinal
aplasia (Sertoli cells only in the tubules)
should have normal values for urinary
gonadotrophin, whereas it is well known
that this hormone is greatly increased in
these patients. The proponents of the inhibin theory claim that aqueous extracts of
testes prevent the castration changes but do
not repair the accessories, whereas testosterone corrects the accessories but does not
restore the normal histologic appearance of
the pituitary. However, Nelson showed that
cryptorchid testes produce less androgen than normal and that the order in which the
above structures are affected represents differences in the degree of their sensitivity
to the amount of androgen produced. The
efficacy of aqueous extracts on the cytologic
appearance of the pituitary has not been
confirmed. Thus, evidence deduced from
cryptorchism that an inhibitory hormone is
produced by the germinal epithelium is
inadequate.


/^J)
==XII. Effects of the Pituitary on the Testis==
 
 
 
//
 
 
 
ti^^
 
 
 
V / ^0 ^' .  
 
Young Leydig cells
 
 


/
Little information has been added in the
past 20 years to the effects of acute hypophyseal deprivation on the mammalian
testis. Smith (1938, 1939) had shown in the
rat that spermatocytes as well as spermatogonia and Sertoli cells remain for a long
time after hypophysectomy. However, in
the monkey, and possibly in man, all cells
of the germinal line except the spermatogonia and the Sertoli cells disappear. Even
though hypophysectomy has been employed
for several years as a palliative procedure
in inoperable carcinoma of the prostate, no
data have been obtained concerning the
effects of hypophysectomy on the testis
in otherwise normal man. In the dog, the
testes decrease to about one-third their
normal weight after surgical removal of the
pituitary. Only a single row of spermatogonia remains (Fig. 5.18). The Leydig cells
are reduced in size and contain abundant
quantities of fat. The lack of complete involution of the Leydig cells in the dog as
a result of hypophysectomy is somewhat
unusual, because marked involution of these
cells occurs in all other mammals thus far
studied. With respect to the behavior of the
germinal epithelium, the dog (Huggins and
Russell, 1946) seems to be more like the
monkey and man than like the rat and
mouse. The total relative decrease in testicular weight of the dog is intermediate between that observed in the cat (50 per cent)
and that in the rat, guinea pig, and rabbit
(75 per cent). With respect to histologic
features, the guinea pig and ferret are intermediate between the rat and the monkey,
because occasional spermatocytes remain in
addition to spermatogonia and Sertoli cells.
In the mouse, the testicular weight decreases
for 25 days after hypophysectomy. Mess (1952 ( showed that early differentiation of
spermatids in the rat is affected first by
hypophysectomy. Spermatids degenerate,
tubuhir fluid is lost, and atrophy of the
germinal epithelium finally takes place
(Gothie and Moricard, 1939).




Fig. 5.18. Testis of dog 60 days after hypophysectomy. (From C. Huggins and P. S.
Russell, Endocrinology, 39, 1, 1946.)


32






V-^


Some recent studies on compensatory
hyi)ertrophy of the remaining testis after
unilateral orchiectomy have been made.
Old investigations showed that compensatory hypertrophy occurs in boars, rabbits,
and hedgehogs. Compensatory hypertrophy
does not occur in mature guinea pigs or man
(Calzolari, Pulito and Pasquinelli, 1950;
Pasquinelli and Calzolari, 1951; Zide,
1939). In the prepubertal guinea pig and
rat, however, the remaining testis shows
accelerated development. The volume of the
remaining testis increases in the adult rat
after unilateral orchiectomy (Grant, 1956).
Since the compensatory hypertrophy is
suppressed by testosterone, it appears likely
that the accelerated development of the
remaining testis is mediated by gonadotropliins.


The effects of gonadotrophins on testicular structure and function have been studied
in many species. Injection of anterior jHtuitary extract or implantation of fragments
of the anterior pituitary into the testis of guinea pigs has resisted in pronounced stimulation and hypertrophy of the Leydig cells (Petrovitch, Weill and Deminatti, 1953; Petrovic, Deminatti and Weill, 1954; Petrovic, Weill and Deminatti, 1954; Marescaux
and Deminatti, 1955). In hypophysectomized mice, May (1955) found that testicular grafts of anterior pituitary tissue repair
the atrojihic tubules and the involuted Leydig cells.


33
The effects of individual gonadotrophins
 
of both pituitary and placental origin have
 
been reviewed by Greep (1937) and Fevold
(1944), and in the chapter by Greep in the
present volume. The established concept,
as worked out in the rat, is that folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) maintains and
repairs the tubular apparatus but does not
affect the function or structure of the Leydig cells. Luteinizing hormone (LH) maintains the functional activity of the Leydig
cells but does not dii-ectly control tubidar
activity.


Mature Leydig ceils
Urinary gonadotrophin from menopausal
women stimulated the tubides (Greep, 1937)
and the Leydig cells (Balm. Lorenz, Bennett and Albert, 1953a-d). Hmnan chorionic
gonadotropiiin (HCG) has little oi' no
effect on tiie tubules, hut it induces ])ronounced stimulation of the Leydig cells.
Pr(>gnaiit marc sci'uni (PMS) stimulates
spermatogenic and endocrine activities of
the testis. Both LH and HCG maintain
spermatogcniesis after hypophysectomy.






Neither FSH nor LH hastens the appearance of sperm in the testis of immature animals. No type of gonadotrophin has induced
the appearance of sperm in the rat earlier
that 35 days of age.


36
Because interest in the chemical fractionation of animal i^ituitary tissue waned after
1945, new studies on the effects of pituitary
gonadotrophins on the testis have not been
performed. Instead, HCG has received attention. The well known hyperemia induced
in the ovary by HCG, which is used as a
pregnancy test, has been reported to occur
also in the testis by Hartman, Millman and
Stavorski (1950). Hinglais and Hinglais
(1951 ) have not confirmed this. HCG causes
increased testicular weight in young rats
(Rubinstein and Abarbanel, 1939). The effect of HCG on the rat testis has been summarized by Gaarenstroom (1941), who
listed the following four main actions: (1)
stimulation of the Leydig cells in both normal and hypophysectomized animals to
produce androgen; (2) increase in growth
of the testis in the normal immature animal; (3) maintenance of testicular tubules
in hypophysectomized animals; (4) potentiation of the effects of i^ituitary gonadotroi)hins in either normal or hypophysectomized animals. All effects are interpreted as
being caused by the increased liberation of
androgen. This explanation probably also
holds for the increased fibrosis in and
around the tubular wall in hypophysectomized rats after administration of HCG, for
the increase in the number of primary
spermatocytes (Muschke, 1953; Tonutti,
1954), and for the slight increase in testicular weight (Diczfalusy, Holmgren and
Westerman, 1950).


The effects of HCG in normal men are
similar to those in animals (Maddock, Epstein and Nelson, 1952; Maddock and Nelson, 1952; Weller, 1954). The Leydig cells
become hyperplastic and produce more estrogen and androgen. This is reflected first
by an increase in urinary estrogen of some
5- to 20- fold and later by an increase in
17-ketosteroids of about 2-fold. The increased secretion of steroids by the Leydig
cells is accompanied by an increase in the
frequency of erections and occasionally by
gynecomastia. The increased levels of estrogen and androgen induce tubular atrophy. The tubular diameter becomes smaller,
spermatogenesis ceases, and there is an increase in necrosis and sloughing of the
germinal cells. The basement membranes
become hyalinized, and peritubular fibrosis
develops. In certain eunuchoidal persons
( hy{)ogonadotrophic hypogonadism ) , use of
HCG induces differentiation of the Leydig
cells and hastens maturation of the Sertoli
cells. Some spermatogenesis is obtained
(Heller and Nelson, 1947, 1948; Maddock,
Epstein and Nelson, 1952). If FSH also is
administered to such eunuchoidal men, complete spermatogenesis occurs (Heller and
Nelson, 1947).


PMS acts on the rat testis in a manner
intermediate between that of HCG and FSH
(Creep, 1937; Kemp, Pedersen-Bjergaard
and Madsen, 1943). Tubular growth and
hyperplasia of the Leydig cells result. Interstitial cell hyperi)lasia also occurs in mice
(Bishop and Leathern, 1946, 1948) , although
the testicular weight does not increase after
the use of PMS, as it does in rats. In the
opossum, PMS does not induce secretion of
androgen until the the animals are 70 days
of age (Moore and Morgan, 1943). PMS is
able to maintain the monkey testis after
hypoi)hysectomy l)ut only for 20 days, after
which involution occurs. If given to a hypophysectomized monkey in which testicular atrophy already is present, PMS causes
formation of spermatocytes, but it does not
induce the formation of spermatids or sperm
cells (Smith, 1942). In man, PMS causes an
increase in testicular weight (Hemphill and
Reiss, 1945).


(f^
Unfractionated extracts of pituitaries of
 
sheep or horses induce both tubular maturation and androgenic formation (Sotiriadou,
 
1941 ) . Preparations of FSH in mice produce
slightly heavier testes but do not cause
androgenic secretion (Moon and Li, 1952).
Purified preparations of LH produce atrophy of the tubules and stimulation of the
Leydig cells in infantile rats, and maintenance of germinal epithelium and Leydig
cells in hypophysectomized rats (Zahler,
1950).


Leydig cells from oid animoi


==XIII. Effects of Steroids on the Testis==


Between 1930 and 1940, rapid advances
were made in the understanding of pituitarv
and gonadal interrelationships, and the concept of a servomechanism controlling pituitary-testis activities was well established.
According to this concept, male hormone
was considered to have its major effect on
the testis by inhibiting the secretion of pituitary gonadotrophins. However, it was
difficult to fit into this concept the report
by Walsh, Cuyler and McCullagh (1934)
that testosterone was capable of maintaining spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. If testosterone were the medium
by which spermatogenesis was maintained
normally, the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis would be in
jeopardy. As can be imagined, this finding
stimulated much research. By 1940 the fact
that spermatogenesis is maintained in hypophysectomized rats, mice, and rabbits by
testosterone was amply established (Cutuly
and Cutuly, 1940) .


^:\
38


===A. Androgens===


The varied effects obtained by injecting
male hormone into normal and hypophysectomized rats depend on the nature of the
androgen, the dose, the length of the treatment period, and the age of the animals
when injections are begun. Inasmuch as
most of the experimental work has been
done with the rat and rats of various ages
and sizes were employed, it is obvious that
the dose of hormone is an important factor.
Doses of testosterone of 100 /xg. per day or
less can be regarded as small doses, whereas
doses of 1 mg. or more can be considered as
large. These definitions pertain only to the
doses employed in studying the action of
androgen on the testis and do not necessarily have any relationship to the physiologic levels of testosterone produced by the
rat testis, which is not known, or to the
effects of testosterone on the accessory sex
organs (Moore, 1939).


Fig. 5.13. Life history of Leydig cells of the bull testis. 21 to 2S, calf 1 month old. 2.'^,  
In general, testosterone has no action on
calf \Vz months old; note threadlike processes extending from angulation of mesenchymal
the undifferentiated gonad of the mouse, rat,
cell. 25 to 21, cells of interstitium; 25 is a fibroblast, and 26 and 21 are pre-Leydig cells.  
opossum, or guinea pig (Moore and Morgan,  
2S, bull 4 months old. ;^9 and SO, bull 2 years old, with young Leydig cells. SI and S2, bull
1942). In the immature rat small doses of  
28 months old; note vacuoles. SS to 35, mature Leydig cells in a 5-year-old bull. SQ to S8, bull
testosterone propionate depress the testicular weight (Zahler, 1947; Dischreit, 1939;
15 years old. (From C. W. Hooker, Am. J. Anat", 74, 1, 1944.)
Greene and Burrill, 1940). However, if
small doses are continued for long periods,
incomplete supi:)ression results. Because the
testicular inhil^ition induced by small doses
of testosterone apparently results from suppression of gonadotrophins, it seems that
greater ciuantities of gonadotrophins are
formed as rats grow; hence, escape from
suppression may occur (Biddulph, 1939).  
The work of Rubinstein and Kurland (1941)
indicates that even small doses of testosterone, as already defined, may produce
dift'erent effects in the rat. These investigators compared the effects of administration of 5 and 50 fxg. testosterone propionate
per day in young animals. Young rats receiving the former dose showed increased
testicular weight without, however, any
hastening of maturation of sperm cells. The
larger dose decreased testicular weight.  


The effect of androgen on mature rats is
also dependent on dose. Small doses cause
atrophy of the mature testis because of
suppression of gonadotrophins. Large doses
have the same suppressing effect, but this
is overridden by a direct stimulating effect
of androgen on the testis, and atrophy does
not occur. In both instances, the Leydig
cells are atrophic (Shay, Gershon-Cohen,
Paschkis and Fels, 1941). Large doses of
testosterone have a direct action on the
testis as indicated by the protective effect
exerted on the experimentally induced
cryptorchid testis (Hamilton and Leonard,
1938) and on the transplanted testis (Klein
and Mayer, 1942) .


The aftereffects of androgenic administration also depend on the age of the animal
and the duration of therapy. Using fecundity, libido, potency, and the state of the
reproductive tract as indices of testicular
function, Wilson and Wilson (1943) examined rats 3 to 5 months after a 28-day
period of injection of androgen. In rats age
1 to 28 days, androgen severely affected the
reproductive system. Low libido, absence of
fecundity, and atrophic accessories were
noted 3 to 5 months after testosterone therapy was discontinued. However, the later
this treatment was instituted in the life of
the rat, the more normal was the reproductive system 3 to 5 months after administration of the hormone was stopped.


- ^ - ^ — ( O U #:v;(^:;-yv:;(^
Nelson and Merckel (1937), in a series of
 
extensive experiments, confirmed the earlier
finding that various androgens maintain
spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. Furthermore, they showed that the
Leydig cells are atroj^hic in the face of active spermatogenesis in the androgentreated, hypophysectomized rat. Comparing
such steroids as testosterone, androsterone,
dehydroisoandrosterone, androstenedione,
and various isomers of androstenediol, they
concluded that the ability of androgens to
maintain spermatogenesis is not related to
their androgenicity. In fact, the weaker the
androgen the better is the maintenance of
spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy.
This observation is important for it shows
that maintenance of spermatogenesis is not
due to the induction by androgen of a favorable scrotal environment for the testis. In
further studies, Nelson (1941) showed that
spermatogenesis could be maintained for 178 days after hypophysectomy by testosterone propionate. No difference was observed between spermatogenesis under these
conditions and that which occurs normally.
Motile sperm were formed, and the animals
could copulate with and impregnate females.
The only difference was that the testes in
the hypophysectomized animals treated
with testosterone were only one-sixth normal size.


As is true of other effects of androgens on
the testis, the time at which rats are hypophysectomized seems to be a critical factor in the ability of testosterone to maintain
spermatogenesis. Leathern (1942, 1944)
showed tliat troatmcnt witli tostosterone in rats Itypophysectomized at 27 days of age
resulted in the production of spermatids,
but spermatogenesis did not occur. However, if the animals were operated on at 33
days of age, testosterone induced the formation of sperm. Furthermore, if the atrophic
testes of hypophysectomized rats were stimulated by a gonadotrophin (PMS), testosterone also maintained the spermatogenesis
thus induced.


Fig. 5.14. Life history of the Leydig cell of the bull. (From C. \V. Hooker, Recent Progr.
Hormone Res., 3, 173, 1948.)




Fig. 5.19A. Effect of testosterone on the testis of the rat. 4, normal rat, 30 days of age.
S, normal rat, 60 days of age. 6, 30-day-old rat given 10 ^g- of testosterone propionate daily
for 30 days (no inhibition of spermatogenesis). 7, 30-day-old rat given 100 ^ig. of testosterone
propionate daily for 30 days (suppression of spermatogenesis).


332






PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS


It is not known exactly how testosterone
maintains spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. It seems that the "maintenance
type" of spermatogenesis is not the same as
spermatogenesis resulting from gonadotrophin, because the seminiferous tubules
of the androgenically maintained testes in
hypophysectomized rats are small. The effect of androgen is not produced simply by
the maintenance of sperm cells already present in the testis at the time of hypophysectomy because Nelson (1941) showed that
spermatogenesis can be reinstituted in the
testis of a hypophysectomized rat in spite of
delaying treatment with testosterone for 3
to 4 weeks after hypophysectomy. This interval of time exceeds the normal sojourn of
sperm cells in the epididymis; thus the
results in terms of siring young cannot be
attributed to sperm cells already present in
the accessory duct system at the time of
hyjjophysectomy (Figs. 5.19, A and B, and
5.20).


The dose of testosterone propionate necessary for maintenance of spermatogenesis
in the rat seems to be around 80 fig. per day.


Numbers


of


Leijdigl
Fig. 5.19B. 8, 3U-day-old mt given 1000 /ug. of testosterone propionate daily for 30 days
 
(no suppression of spermatogenesis). .9, 30-day -old rat given 8.4 mg. of estradiol daily for 30
cells
days (])ronoun(ed inhibition of spermatogenesis). 10, 30-day-old rat given 8.4 ng. of estradiol
and 1000 mS- of lestosterone i)ro])ic)nale for 30 days (no inhir)ition of spermatogenesis).
(From D. J. Jjudwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)






Fig. 5.20. Klicct oi Ti-siostcioiic on testis oi li\|M)pli\-,~(i lomi/i d lat //, testis of norm.al
rat, 30 days of age. 12, testis of 60-day-old rat li^popli^x ( tomizcd at 30 days of age. 13,
testis of 60-day-old rat hypophysectomized at 30 (la.\s of age and given 1000 /lig. testosterone
propionate daily for 30 days. (From D. J. Liidwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)


Fig. 5.15. Schematic summary of thv life history of the human Leydig cell. (From A.
Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N. Lorenz. Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Clin., 29,
368, 1953; 30, 31, 1955.)




However, larger doses generally have been
used in experiments on the maintenance of
spermatogenesis. These doses are far greater
than those necessary to maintain the accessory sex organs of castrated animals. Tubules can be maintained by much smaller
doses of testosterone. Dvoskin (1944) implanted pellets of testosterone intratesticularly; approximately one-tenth of the
amount of testosterone needed by the parenteral route was effective by this route.


is the source of androgen. Gonadotrophin
The concept that testosterone maintains
evokes secretion of androgen from the testis
spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats
only if the Leydig cells are stimulated.  
was challenged by Simpson, Li and Evans
Tumors of Leydig cells produce large
(1942, 1944) and by Simpson and Evans
amounts of androgen. Testes impaired by
(1946a, b). These investigators found that
heat or x-rays still produce androgen even
gonadotrophins, including interstitial cellstimulating hormone (ICSH), maintained
though the germinal epithelium may be  
spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats
destroyed. The parallelism between the  
at doses far lower than those needed to maintain the Leydig cells and the accessories. The testes remained in the scrotum,
number of Leydig cells, their morphology,  
and motile sperm cells were produced. Inasmuch as testosterone propionate can maintain the tubules only at doses effective in
histologic appearance, and histochemical
maintaining the accessories, it was doubted
properties (Wislocki, 1949), on the one
that maintenance of spermatogenesis occurred by way of the direct tubular action
hand, and androgenic secretion as measured
of androgen. In addition to casting some
chemically or as determined by the behavior of the secondary sex characteristics,
doubt on the accepted mechanism of the
on the other hand, supports the conclusion
spermatogenic action of androgen, this work
that the Leydig cell produces male hormone (Figs. 5.16 and 5.17).  
raised doubt concerning the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis.
Maintenance of the testis by ICSH after
hypoj^hysectomy suggests that one gonadotrophic hormone may be sufficient to maintain testicular function in mammals. However, these findings may be interpreted
conventionally; i.e., that ICSH caused the  
Leydig cells, even though they were not repaired morphologically, to secrete androgen
which by virtue of its local action on the  
tubules maintained spermatogenesis (Ludwig, 1950).  


XI. Hormones of the Testis
Testosterone maintains spermatogenesis
in other species. In hypophysectomized
ground squirrels, the testes are atrophic,
aspermatic, and abdominal (Wells, 1942;
1943a). Hypophysectomized animals given
testosterone propionate (0.5 mg. per day for
15 to 25 days) show growth of the testes,
sperm formation, and testicular descent.
Leydig cells remain atrophic. Because sperm
formation ceases after hypophysectomy in
the ground squirrel, as it does in the monkey, rat, guinea pig, mouse, cat, and ferret, it is obvious that androgen initiated spermatogenesis.


The mammalian testis produces androgens and estrogens. Because the chemistry
of the hormones is discussed in Villee's
chapter, only a brief account will be given
here. Testosterone was first obtained from
bull testes and later from horse testes (Tagmann, Prelog and Ruzieka, 1946). However,
difficulties attended the isolation of testosterone from the testes of pigs. Although
not obtained in crystalline form, testosterone was identified bv a characteristic in




frared absorption spectrum in extracts of
hog testes (Prelog, Tagmann, Lieberman
and Ruzieka, 1947). Other steroids are
present in hog testes (Ruzieka and Prelog,
1943; Prelog and his associates, 1947). C21ketosteroids, such as allopregnane-3-(^)ol-20-one, allopregnane-3- (a) -ol-20-one,
and 5-pregnane-3-(^)-ol-20-one, have
been identified. Haines, Johnson, Goodwin
and Kuizenga (1948) isolated pregneninolone from hog testes as well as several other
unidentified steroids, some of which had
estrogenic activity. Ketosteroids have been
found in human sperm (Dirschcrl and
Breuer, 1955).


The testes of deer, bulls, stallions, and
Fig. .').21. KIT(H't of .iihlhitiMi HI ,( liypophysoctomized inoiikoj-. 1, biop-x -iniiincn from a normal
humans contain estrogens. The amount
8-kg. rhesus monkey. .'. liiii|i-\ specimen from a
present in deer testes is three times that in
hypophysectomized monkey .ifici- 56 da.ys, during
bulls (Cunningham, ]\Iay and Gordon,  
which 1.4 gm. of testosterone propionate was administered at a daily dose of 25 mg. 3, state of
1942). Estradiol (0.21 mg. per kg. I and  
testis 20 days after use of testosterone was discontinued. Note atrophy of tubules. The Sertoli
estrone (0.36 mg. per kg. ) wer(> isolated
cells and spermatogonia remain. (From P. E.
from 28 kg. of hoarse testes by Beall 1 1940).  
Smith, Yale J. Biol. & Me.l., 17, 281, 1944.)  
Estradiol also has been isolated from hinnan
testes obtained shortly after death (Goldzieher and Roberts, 1952).


Testicular tissue is able to convert acetate into cholesterol (Srere, Chaikoff, Treitman and Burstein, 1950) and also to testosterone in the hog, rat. and human (Brady,
1951). Human chorionic gonadotrophin






MAMMALIAN TESTIS
Testosterone propionate maintains the
spermatogenic activity of the testis of the
hypophysectomized monkey for 20 to 50
days (van Wagenen and Simpson, 1954). A
dose of about 20 mg. per day is required.
When medication is discontinued, marked
involution of the testis occurs within the
ensuing 3 weeks. Testosterone is effective
even after a lapse of 50 days between hypophysectomy and the institution of therapy. Spermatogenesis can be restored and
formation of motile sperm cells induced. As
in the rat, the testes maintained by androgen
are smaller than normal. Pellets of testosterone implanted locally exert a strong local action. Thus, the essential findings in the rat
are duplicated in the monkey (Fig. 5.21).


In man the effects of testosterone on the
testis have been studied by Hotchkiss
(1944a), and by Heller, Nelson, Hill, Henderson, Maddock, Jungck, Paulsen and Mortimore (1950). The main effects were disappearance of the Leydig cells, atrophy of
the tubules, arrest of spermatogenesis, and
pronounced hyalinization of the basement
membrane (Fig. 5.22). Complete recovery
of the testis occurred 17 months after cessation of therapy. In fact, the testes were
histologically more normal than before
treatment. The improvement in sperm production after preliminary depression of the
testis by administration of testosterone has
been used widely in the treatment of male
infertility. Heckel, Rosso and Kestel (1951)
and Heckel and McDonald (1952a, b) obtained an increase in spermatogenic activity, as determined by sperm counts and
biopsy, after cessation of treatment. This
increase was termed a "rebound phenomenon"; during it, increased fertility, as determined by an increased incidence of pregnancy among infertile couples, was reported.
The improved quality and quantity of
sperm following therai)y with testosterone
are transient. Furthermore, they occur in
only a small i^-oportion of men so treated
(Getzoff, 1955; Heinke and Tonutti, 1956).
The suppressive effect of androgen on the
human testis results from inhibition of pituitary gonadotrophin as evidenced by measurement of the amount of urinary gonadotrophin before, during, and after use of testosterone. The mechanism by which gonadotrophin is inhibited always has been
assmned to be a direct effect of androgen on
the pituitary. It is interesting in this regard
that Paulsen (1952) showed that the use of
testosterone, w^iile reducing urinary gonadotrophin, increases the amount of urinary
estrogen 20-fold. Estrogen is by far the
most powerful suppressant of gonadotrophin
secretion known; hence, it is possible that
the atrophy of the testis observed during
testosterone therapy in man may be caused
by estrogen. No reports of maintenance of
spermatogenesis in men with pituitary insufficiency or after hypophysectomy are
available.




333
60- * 30


Fig. 5.22. Elluci ul iC5io.stcruiie on the testis of a man with infertiUty caused by adult
tubular failure. Testicular biopsies, showing the pronounced degree of sclerosis and hyalinization that occurs when an initially very poor testis is subjected to the administration of 91
consecutive injections of testosterone propionate, 25 mg. each. A, before treatment; B, at
end of 91 days of treatment; C, 17 months after cessation of treatment. Note, in C, the
disappearance of hyalinization, the increase in size of the seminiferous tubules, and the
appearance of fairly orderly spermatogenesis. Leydig cells, not shown here, were present
17 months after treatment was stopped. (From C. G. Heller, W. O. Nelson, I. B. Hill,
E. Henderson, W. O. Maddock, E. C. Jungck, C. A. Paulsen and G. E. Mortimore, Fertil &
Steril., 1, 415, 1950.)






V'
===B. Estrogens===


Various natural and synthetic estrogens
have been given to rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, bulls, boars, and man. In all
forms, estrogen induces atrophy of the male
gonad. The histologic appearance of the
atrophic rat testis after estrogen therapy
has been described by Dischreit (1940). In
young rats, estradiol prevents testicular
descent, produces atrophy, and inhibits
spermatogenesis (Pallos, 1941; Gardner,
1949). Two weeks following atrophy induced by estradiol or stilbestrol, regeneration of the testis begins (Bourg, Van Meensel and Compel, 1952) and is complete
wuthin 6 weeks (Lynch, 1952). However,
Snair, Jaffray, Grice and Pugsley (1954)
noted that the accessory sex organs recover before spermatogenesis resumes. The
same inhibiting effects have been obtained
with methylbisdehydrodoisynolic acid
(Tuchmann-Duplessis and Mercier-Parot,
1952) and hydroxypropiophenone (Lacassagne, Chamorro and Buu-Hoi", 1950). In
general the effect of estrogen in the rat is
to induce atrophy of the Leydig cells and
germinal epithelium, so that only spermatocytes, spermatogonia, and Sertoli cells
remain.


Hormone assays in normal boys
Uncertainty exists concerning the general
(Data of Greulich el al )  
effects of estrogen in guinea pigs. Lynch
(1952) noted that the Leydig cells are normal in animals treated with estrogen, but
Marescaux (1950) and Chome (1956) noted
that the Leydig cells are atrophic. Marescaux, in studying hypophysectomized guinea
pigs, concluded that estrogen has a direct
stimulating effect on the Leydig cell. Massive tubular damage occurs in the guinea
pig after administration of estrogen. In the
hamster. Bacon and Kirkman (1955) found
that various estrogens induce testicular
atrophy. In occasional animals, hyperplasia
of interstitial and Sertoli cells occurs and is
attributed to direct effects of estrogen. In
general, atrophy of the germinal epithelium is nearly complete; only a few spermatocytes remain in addition to the Sertoli cells.


The testis of the immature cat is unaffected by estrogen (Starkey and Leathem,
1939j . Severe tubular atrophy and involution of the Leydig cells are noted in bulls
(Ferrara, Rosati and Consoli, 1953) and
boars (Wallace, 1949j after feeding with
stilbestrol.


Although Haschek and Gutter (1951)
found no effect of estrogen on the testis, the
consensus is that any kind of estrogen produces profound involution of the human
testis. Temporary sterility is induced, of
course, as well as impotence and gynecomastia (Heckel and Steinmetz, 1941). Most
of the information in man has been obtained
from the therapeutic administration of estrogen in cases of prostatic carcinoma
(Chome, 1956; de la Baize, Mancini and
Irazu, 1951 ; de la Baize, Bur, Irazu and
Mancini, 1953; de la Baize, Mancini, Bur
and Irazu, 1954; Schwartz, 1945; Schiiltz,
1952, to mention only a few) and from the
administration of estrogen to hypersexual
and homosexual men (Dunn, 1941). Estrogen induces atrophy of the tubules and the
Leydig cells ; the latter revert to fibroblasts.
The germinal epithelium shows an increase
in lipids and a decrease in glycogen. Unless
other disease is present, the atrophy proceeds so that only the Sertoli cells remain in
the tubules; even these cells may disappear
with the induction of peritubular hyalinization and sclerosis.


===C. Adrenal Steroids===


. Androgen
Tubular diameter in the testis of the
 
mature rat remains normal despite the presence of severe hypercortisonism resulting
"" Gonadotropin
fi'oiii administration of 3 mg. cortisone per
 
day for 6 weeks (Winter, Silber and Stoerk,
1950) or of 5 to 10 mg. per day (Ingle,
1950) . A few reports indicate that cortisone
stimulates growth of the testes of young
rats (Leroy, 1951) or causes degeneration
of the germinal ei)ithelium of the rat (Leroy, 1952) and mouse (Antopol, 1950). A
careful study by Hanson, Blivaiss and
Rosenzweig (1957) showed that the relative
growth of the testis is stimulated only
slightly by cortisone.


Extremely little infoi-mation is available on the maintenance of spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats by cortisone. Leroy and Domm (1952) reported maintenance at doses of 5 mg. per day. The Leydig
cells involuted, and the secondary sexual
apparatus was atrophic. However, these
findings were not confirmed by Aterman
( 1956) , who used 5 mg. hydrocortisone per
day after hypophysectomy. The scrotum became atrophic and the testes retracted. The
histologic appearance of the testes of the
cortisone-treated animals was indistinguishable from that of the hypophysectomized
controls. In rabbits Arambarri (1956) reported only small changes in the relative
weight after prolonged use of cortisone. In
man, fairly large doses of cortisone given to
patients with rheumatoid arthritis do not
affect the histologic appearance of the testes
(Maddock, Chase and Nelson, 1953). Cortisone does bring about rapid testicular maturation in boys who have congenital adrenal hyperjjlasia, but only if the bone age
is near the age of puberty (Wilkins and
Cara, 1954). This must not be construed
as a direct effect of cortisone on testicular
maturation. The action of cortisone in this
instance is to inhibit the excessive release
of corticotrophin (ACTH) from the pituitary, thus reducing the amount of 17-ketosteroids produced by the abnormal adrenals.
Removal of the inhibiting effect of the
androgenic steroids allow^s the formation of
gonadotrophin, with resulting maturation
of the testes.


Estrogz
The consensus is that cortisone does not
cause any change in the histologic appearance of the testis (Cavallero, Rossi and
Borasi, 1951 ; Soulairac, Soulairac and Teysseyre, 1955; Baumann, 1955). Furthermore,
it causes no change in the accessory structures, or in the secretion of androgen by the
testis. Cortisone has no direct effect on the
prostate or seminal vesicles in castrated animals (Moore, 1953). It is doubtful whether
cortisone can maintain spermatogenesis
after hypophysectomy. The bearing of these
studies on normal testicular physiologic
function is questionable. Cortisone has been
the main adrenal steroid studied in the rat
but the rat adrenal secretes corticosterone,
not cortisone.


Desoxycorticosterone has been administcicfl to rats in various doses. Arvy (1942)
and Overzici' (1952) reported that the development of the testis of the iiinnature rat
was arrested by prolonged injections of this
steroid. Effects from desoxycorticosterone
are not evident in adrenalectomized animals
(Migeon, 1952). Adult rats show atrophy of
both the tubular apparatus and the Leydig
cells (Naatanen, 1955; Selye and Albert,
1942a, b). Maintenance of spermatogenesis
after hy])ophysectomy was described by
Overzier (1952).


Because cortisone even in massive doses
has little effect on the testis, it would seem
unlikely that ACTH would have any dramatic effects. Li and Evans (1947) repoi'ted
that ACTH depresses testicular weight and
the weight of the accessories in young rats,
has no effect in old rats, and does not maintain spermatogenesis or the accessories in
hypophysectomized rats. Baker, Schairer,
Ingle and Li (1950) reported a small reduction in testicular weight in adult rats, but
spermatogenesis proceeded satisfactorily.
Large doses of ACTH produced atrophy of
the Leydig cells. Asling, Reinhardt and Li
(1951) stated that large doses depress the
weight of the accessory sex organs. However, Moore (1953) found that administration of 5 mg. ACTH per day for 10 days has
no effect on the testis of young or old rats
and has no extratesticular effect on the production of androgen.


.^-^
===D. Miscellaneous Steroids and Mixtures of Steroids===
 
 
 
10 is
 
 


16 20 22 24
Masson (1945, 1946) studied 16 different
steroids for their ability to maintain spermatogenesis. Androstenediol, methylandrostenediol, methylandrostanediol, A'^-pregneninolone, and dehydroisoandrosterone are
the most active compounds in maintaining
spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. No
relationship is apparent between the ability
to maintain spermatogenesis and the androgenic activity of the compound as measured
by stimulation of the seminal vesicles or the
progestational activity (progesterone is effective in maintenance but ethinyl testosterone is not).


One compound, A^-pregneninolone, was
studied in detail. It prevents testicular atrophy after hypophysectomy or following
therapy with estradiol or testosterone; it
does not produce atrophy of the Leydig
cells. In doses of 1 to 2 mg. a day, pregneninolone maintains spermatogenesis in
young and adult hypophysectomized rats,
l)ut it does not repair the tubules or Leydig
cells after a 2-week delay between hypophysectomy and therapy. Pregneninolone
also exerts a protective effect against the
damage evoked by estradiol; however, it
does not affect the regeneration that occurs
after cessation of estradiol treatment. In
this respect, it is different from testosterone,
which hastens the recovery from the estradiol-induced damage. In fact, the acceleration of regeneration by testosterone is inhibited by pregneninolone. The chief
difference between pregneninolone-progesterone and testosterone-androstenediol is
that, whereas spermatogenesis is maintained
by either pair after hypophysectomy, the
former pair cannot restore spermatogenesis,
and the latter can. ]\Iost of these effects of
pregneninolone were confirmed by Dvoskin
(1949). Progesterone and some new progestational compounds have been studied recently in man (Heller, Laidlaw, Harvey and
Nelson, 1958). Progesterone given to normal
men produces azoospermia and slight tubular atrophy, abolishes libido, and reduces
potentia, but has no effect on the Leydig
cells and the excretion of gonadotrophin,
estrogen, and 17-ketosteroids.


Certain doses of desoxycorticosterone or
estradiol have no effect on the testis singly,
l)ut when mixed produce severe depression
of testicular weight (.lost and Libman,
1952). The earlier work of Emmens and
Parkes (1938), showing that testosterone
inhibits the debilitating action of estrone,
was confirmed by Joel (1942, 1945). The
testes of animals treated with estradiol are
one-sixth normal size; however, when testosterone propionate is added to the estrogen, the testicular weight is one-fourth normal. Furthermore, sperm cells are present
in the epididymides of the group receiving
testosterone. Mixtures of small amounts of
androstenediol and estradiol in a constant
proportion produce more profound atrophy
than large doses given in the same constant
proportion (Selye and Albert, 1942a, b;
Selye, 1943). Furthermore, androstenediol
and pregneninolone prevent the atrophy induced by small doses of testosterone. Plence,
this protective action is not related to testoid activity, because the first compound is a weak androgen ; the second has no androgenic action. The protective effect possibly is
due to interference with the inhibiting action
of testosterone on pituitary gonadotrophin.


2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
==XIV. Eflfeets of Altered Endocrine States on the Testis==
 
A§e in years
 
Fig. 5.16. Frequencj- of puberty, measurements of testis and penis, and excretion of hormones during puberty in man. (From A. Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N
Lorenz, Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Clin., 28, 409. 1953.)


Apart from the pituitary, alterations in
the endocrine system do not have pronounced effects on the testis. The thyroid
has been studied extensively with regard to
testicular function (Maqsood, 1952). It is
difficult to generalize with respect to the
total impact of the thyroid on the testis
except to state that there is great variability
not only from species to species, but also in
different individuals of any one species.
Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a)
suggested that the range of thyroid activity within which normal testicular function
is possible is rather wide. This may explain
why many effects on the testis of altered
thyroid function are marginal and why so
many reports are exceedingly conflicting.
Furthermore, it seems reasonable that animals having a naturally high level of thyroid activity may be impaired with respect
to reproductive performance when made
hypothyroid; conversely, species or individuals functioning normally at relatively
low levels of thyroid activity may be adversely affected with regard to testicular
activity when made hyperthyroid (Young,
Rayner, Peterson and Brown, 1952b).


In laboratory animals, hypothyroidism is
induced by thyroidectomy, by feeding of
antithyroid substances, by administering
radioiodine, or by combination of these
methods. Hyperthyroidism is induced by
feeding desiccated thyroid or various artificial thyroproteins, or by injecting thyroxine or triiodothyronine. Because it does
not seem to matter, as far as testicular
physiology is concerned, how hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are induced, dotails of the method of altering thyroidal
status will not be given.


334
Hypothyroid rats show decreased spermatogenesis and have smaller accessory
 
structures than normal rats (Smelser,
 
1939a). However, Jones, Delfs and Foote
 
(1946) found that adult hypothyroid rats
PHYSIOLOGY OF GOKADS
sire litters. Young animals, made hypothyroid at birth or shortly thereafter, may show delay in sexual maturation (Scow and Marx,
1945 ; Scow and Simpson, 1945) , or may have
normal reproductive tracts (Goddard, 1948).
Hyperthyroid rats show testicular degeneration associated with a decrease in sperm production and androgen secretion. The deleterious effects of hyperthyroidism are attributed to an incapacity of the testis to
respond to gonadotrophin. The atrophy of
the accessory structures is attributed to the
decrease in androgen production and to
their increased requirement for androgen in
states of hyperthyroidism (Smelser, 1939b).
A nonendocrine explanation offered by
Cunningham, King and Kessell (1941) is
that testicular degeneration occurs because
of the increased body heat of the animals
in the hyperthyroid state. Richter and
Winter (1947), however, stated that hyperthyroidism has a stimulating effect on the
rat testis and accelerates the transfer of
sperm through the genital ducts. Lenzi and
Marino (1947) wrote that experimental hyperthyroidism causes a decrease in the number and volume of Leydig cells. Mixtures of
thyroxine and testosterone in doses that
have no effect on the rat testis when given
singly, produce severe atrophy in normal
rats (Masson and Romanchuck, 1945).
Small doses of testosterone augment the debilitating effect of hyperthyroidism; large
doses protect the testis (Roy, Kar and
Datta, 1955). Changes in thyroidal status
also appear to affect the responsiveness of
the testis to gonadotrophins. Meites and
Chandrashaker (1948) stated that hyperthyroidism decreases the responsiveness of
the rat testis to exogenous gonadotrophin
(PMS) whereas hypothyroidism increases
it. The reverse holds for mice.


In growing mice, sexual development is
retarded by hypothyroidism and accelerated
by mild liyperthyroidism (Maqsood and
R('inek(\ 1950). Moreover, the effectiveness
of testosterone on the seminal vesicles of
mice is increased by the concomitant administration of thyroxine (Masson, 1947).
indicating an increased responsiveness of
the accessory reproductive tract to male
hormone in the hyperthyroid state.


Hyperthyroid guinea pigs have small testicular tubules and fewer sperm in the seminiferous tubules. As in the rat, Richter
(1944) found that hyperthyroidism in the guinea pig was associated with a rapid discharge of sperm through the genital ducts.
Hypothyroidism was found to have no effect on the structure of the testis, on the
structure of the sperm cells in the ejaculate,
or on fertility (Shettles and Jones, 1942).
Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a,
b ) , however, observed that the degree of fertility of hypothyroid guinea pigs was slightly
reduced but in general the strength of the sex
drive was not altered significantly by either
hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.


Other laboratory animals studied include
the rabbit and the dog. Hypothyroidism in
beagle puppies has no effect on spermatogenesis (Mayer, 1947j, whereas Maqsood
(1951b) found atrophy of the seminiferous
tubules and signs of decreased sexual drive
in hypothyroid rabbits.


In male farm animals, alterations in thyroid function are associated with variable
effects on the reproductive system. Atrophy
of the tubules and Leydig cells occurs in
the hypothyroid ram. Reduction of libido
is noted in the hypothyroid ram, goat, and
bull (Maqsood and Reineke, 1950). "Summer sterility" of sheep is explained as being
due to depression of thyroid activity
brought about by hot weather. Feeding
thyroidal materials increases libido and
spermatogenesis in bulls (Reineke, 1946;
Petersen, Spielman, Pomeroy and Boyd,
1941). The reduction in testicular activity
during hypothyroidism is attributed to an
altered secretion of trophic hormones by
the pituitary ; the excess secretion of thyrotrophin induced by thyroid deficiency in
some way reduces the secretion of gonadotrophins (De Bastiani, Sperti and Zatti,
1956).


1
In man, Marine (1939) reported atrophy
of the Leydig cells in a case of myxedema
and atrophy of the tubules in a case of exophthalmic goiter; however, examination of
the accompanying photomicrographs is not
convincing. Many conflicting claims of the
effect of thyroidal materials in infertile men
have been made (c/. Dickerson, 1947) but
these studies are uncontrolled and deserve
no further comment. A recent study by
Farris and Colton (1958), if verified, indicates that the nature of the thyroid substance used may be important after all.
Thyroxine and triiodothvronine were administered to normal and subfertile men.
Thyroxine depressed the number and activity of the sperm cells in the ejaculate,
whereas triiodothyronine had a beneficial
effect on the quality and motility of the
spermatozoa.


Very little can be found on the effect of
altered adrenal function on the testis. During the alarm reaction induced by the injection of formalin, no changes are evident
in the testis when the adrenal cortex is undergoing its usual response (Croxatto and
Chiriboga, 1951, 1952). Chronic hyperadrenalism produced by injections of epinephrine is accompanied occasionally by
testicular atrophy and usually by regression
of the accessories (Perry, 1941). Adrenalectomy in dogs, cats, and man is not followed
by alteration in testicular structure (Morales and Hotchkiss, 1956) .


2
In rats rendered diabetic by removal of
 
95 per cent of the pancreas, a slight decrease
 
was observed in testicular weight. In the
3
final stages of diabetic cachexia, however,
 
severe testicular atrophy occurs (Foglia,
 
1945). Horstmann (1949, 1950) concluded
4
that the impotence of diabetic men results
from the combined effects of decreased
androgen production and of increased androgen destruction. This conclusion was, however, denied by Bergqvist (1954). Impotency and loss of libido are encountered
frequently in association with uncontrolled
diabetes; both may be corrected by adequate therapy. However, men more than 35
years of age whose diabetes is well controlled may have irreversible loss of libido
and potentia. Histologic evidence of atrophy in the testes of such diabetic men can
be found in the literature. The atrophy
described seems no greater than that which
may occur spontaneously in normal men at
various ages, however.


The pineal body has long been thought
to be involved in the regulation of the
testis. The following conflicting statements
have been made: (1) administration of
pineal extracts inhibits testicular development, (2) pinealectomy causes testicular
hypertrophy, (3) the concentration of cholesterol esters in the testis is lowered by
administration of pineal extracts, and (4)
none of the above results are obtained
(Simonnet and Sternberg, 1951; Simonnet and Thieblot, 1951 ; Alcozer and Costa,
1954, Alcozer and Cliordano, 1954; Bailo,
1955). The reader is referred to a recent
book which summarizes the literature on
the pineal body (Kitay and Altschule, 1954 ) .
Extensive hepatic disease is associated
with testicular atrophy. Morrione (1944)
induced cirrhosis in male rats by means of
carbon tetrachloride. The testes of the
cirrhotic rats were not affected. However,
when estrogen was administered, severe
testicular atrophy occurred, much greater
than that induced by the same amount of
estrogen in control, noncirrhotic animals.
Testicular atrophy is said to occur in 70 per
cent of men who have cirrhosis of the liver
(Bennett, Baggenstoss and Butt, 1951).
There is no critical information from which
one could conclude that the atrophy of the
testis in cirrhotic men is caused by failure
of the diseased liver to inactivate estrogen.


5
==XV. Non-neoplastic Disorders of the Testis==


Study of certain hypogonadal disorders
of man has provided information of general
interest and bearing on the physiology of
the mammalian testis. For an index to the
large clinical literature on pituitary-testis
relationships, the reader may consult Heller
and Nelson (1948) and Albert, Underdahl,
Greene and Lorenz (1953-1955). A group of
spontaneously occurring disorders shows
clearly the control of the testis by gonadotrophin. In pituitary dwarfism, the testis
remains infantile even as late as 30 or 40
years of age, and perhaps for the entire life
span of the individual so afflicted. Leydig
cells are not jirescnt, and the tubules contain only undifferentiated cells and occasional spermatogonia. Pituitary dwarfism is
a form of hypopituitarism in which all hormones of the anterior lobe may be absent.
Anotiiei' type of hyi)ogonadism in man is
restricted to the loss of only the gonadotrophic function of the pituitary. In this
syndrome, the testis does not contain mature Leydig cells or mature tul)ules. This
syndrome represents a condition that cannot be duplicated in lower animals. A few
instances of a selective type of gonadotropliir insuflficiency have been described in
which tubular maturation proceeds, with differentiation of the Sertoli cells and the formation of sperm. However, Leydig cells
are not present. This syndrome ("fertile
eunuchs"), if interpreted in terms of the
dualistic concept of pituitary control of the
testis, is explainable on the basis that formation and secretion of FSH have occurred
but that LH is absent. If pituitary lesions
occur before puberty, the testes remain immature. Pituitary lesions occurring after
maturity cause atrophy of the seminiferous
epithelium, not immaturity. The adult tubule of man cannot dedifferentiate as does
the mature Leydig cell following hypol^hysial deprivation. The atrophy may vary
in severity from hypospermatogenesis to
complete sclerosis. Lack of gonadotrophin in
the adult also results in thickening of the
tubular wall and atroph}^ of the Leydig cells.


6
The most common defect in the human
 
testis is failure of the seminiferous tubules.
 
In contrast to the pituitary deficiencies,
HAIRIINE
which generally result in both tubular and
FACIAL HAIR
androgenic failure, disorders of sj^ermatogenesis lead only to infertility. The Leydig
 
cells are normal, and androgenic function is
 
unimpaired. The disordered spermatogenesis
 
and the presence of cellular debris in the
 
lumen are reflected by an abnormal spermogram. Depression of the sperm count to the
 
point of azoos]M'rmia, abnormal sperm cells,
 
and poor motility are characteristic findings. Another type of primary testicular disorder associated with azoospermia is germinal aplasia, in which the tubules contain
 
only Sertoli cells. The Leydig cells are normal; hence, androgenic function is normal.
 
Klinefelter's syndrome also is associated
 
with azoospermia but the function of the
O
Leydig cells is variable, ranging from severe insufficiency, in which the afflicted persons are eunuchoidal, to mild insufficiency,
 
in which the liabitus is normal or almost so.
w
 


e
Testicular disorders are not restricted to
man. They occur in common laboratory animals and in veterinary practice. Their similarity to some of the clinical entities just
described will be evident.


A genito-urinary abnormality occurs in
20 per cent of males of the A x C rat (Vilar
and H(n-tz, 1958). On one side, the testis is
atroi)hic and the kidney, ureter, ductus
deferens, epididymis, and seminal vesicle
are absent; however, the coagulating gland
is |)r('scnt. The testis is normal preepubertally u}) to 10 days of age. The lumenlcss tubules
contain two types of cells; one is a small
cell with one nucleolus; the other is a large
round cell containing two or three nucleoli.
Oval cells resembling Leydig cells are present in the interstitium. At 19 to 24 days of
age, both testes are ecjual in weight. The
diameter of the tubules increases, a lumen is
present, and the tubular wall becomes differentiated. Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, and
spermatocytes are evident, and the Leydig
cells are maturing. At 30 to 38 days of age,
the testis on the abnormal side is noticeably
smaller. The Leydig cells remain normal,
but the tubules are decreased in size. Between 45 and 47 days of age, spermatogenesis ceases and the tubules become atrophic.
Thick collagenous and elastic fibers are
found in the tubular wall. This disorder
seems to be an inherited defect with delayed
somatic manifestations. In some aspects, the
pathogenesis of this testicular disorder in
rats resembles that in Klinefelter's syndrome.


©
Congenital spermatogenic hypoplasia occurs in guinea pigs (Jakway and Young,
 
1958) . It ranges from germinal aplasia in
 
most of the seminiferous tubules to a condition in which the appearance of the tubules
VOICE (Loryn,)
is almost normal and the percentage of fertile matings is only slightly reduced. When
sterility is present, the testes are smaller
than those of normal males. The hormonal
production, as reflected by the size of the
penis and seminal vesicles and by sexual
behavior, is normal.


The mule has a J-shaped chromosome
which is contributed by the ass (Makino,
1955). Spermatogenesis in the mule does
not proceed beyond meiotic prophase, degeneration occurring without formation of
the metaphase of the first division. Hence,
sperm cells will not form. The testes become
atroi^hic, and only a few^ spermatogonia remain. The Leydig cells are normal.


T
Different types of hypogonadism, some of
which are inherited, are encountered in
bulls. Hypoplasia associated wuth urate
crystals in the semen probably results from
disintegration of the seminiferous epithelium
(Barron and Haq, 1948) . Idiopathic necrosis
of the tubule also may cause massive testicular calcification (Barker, 1956). Seven
cases of hypogonadism in Belgian bulls were reported as a form of congenital sterility
(Derivaux, Bienfait and Peers, 1955) ; photomicrographs of the testes in these cases
are similar to those of germinal aplasia in
the human. Testicular hypoplasia occurs
also in goats (Rollinson, 1950).


Captive wild animals become sterile.
Bushman, the famous gorilla at the Chicago
Zoo, died at the age of approximately 22
years. Necropsy revealed neuropathy, cardiopathy, hemosiderosis, and testicular sclerosis (Steiner, Rasmussen and Fisher, 1955).
No cells of the germinal epithelium were
present except occasional Sertoli cells. The
Leydig cells were normal. The testicular
atrophy of Bushman was similar to that of
Bobby, at the Berlin Zoo. Whether this degenerative testicular lesion is caused by nutritional deficiency or by the "stress" of
captivity is not known.


==XVI. Tumors of the Testis==


Testicular tumors are more common
among lower animals than in man (Innes,
1942). Spontaneously occurring Sertoli-cell
and Leydig-cell tumors of animals have
been studied more than seminomas presumably because of the greater endocrinologic interest attached to them. Huggins and
Pazos (1945) found 64 testicular tumors in
41 dogs; of these, 33 were Leydig-cell tumors, 19 were seminomas, 9 were tubular
adenomas, and 3 were undifferentiated tumors. Zuckerman and McKeown (1938)
found tumors in 35 of 243 dogs. A few of
these were Sertoli-cell tumors which were
associated with metaplasia of the prostate.
The life span of dogs varies from 8 to 15
years, and testicular tumors occur most frequently at 7 years of age or older; in fact,
more than half of old dogs are found to have
such tumors (Scully and Coffin, 1952). The
most common tumor of the dog testis is a
Leydig-cell tumor. Five per cent of testicular tumors in dogs occur in undescended
testes. The neoplasms in cryptorchid testes
are usually Sertoli-cell tumors (Greulich
and Burford, 1936; Coffin, Munson and
Scully, 1952; Mulligan, 1944).


m
The veterinary diagnosis (Blum, 1954) of
If
Sertoli-cell tumors is easily made, because
 
the dogs become feminized. For this reason,
 
the chief comjilaint of the owners is that
 
normal male dogs, after a brief olfactory reconnaissance, attempt to mount their afflicted pets. In addition to the feminization,
 
evidence that Sertoli-cell tumors produce
■«*
estrogen comes from the finding of estrogen
 
in the urine of tumor-bearing animals and
 
from the extraction of estrogen from the
tumor itself (Berthrong, Goodwin and Scott,
1949). In terms of estradiol, the concentration of estrogen extracted from a Sertoli-cell
tumor (Huggins and Moulder, 1945) was
twice that found in the ovary from an estrous bitch. Sufficient estrogen appears to be
produced to cause such changes as loss of
hair, depression of libido, cystic hyperplasia
of the mammary glands, and atrophy of the
testis.


Interstitial cell tumors in dogs are usually nonfunctional, but they may produce
estrogen (Laufer and Sulman, 1956; Kahan,
1955). Leydig-cell tumors have been reported in the mule, the Brahma bull, and
the saddle horse (Smith, 1954). Significantly, in the last instance, an interstitial
cell tumor occurred in the undescended testis of a 7-year-old horse, the descended testis having been removed early in life.


BREASTS
In man the proportion of various types of
testicular tumors is different from that in
lower animals. Seminomas and embryonal
carcinomas are the most frequent neoplasms. Interstitial cell tumors have been
recorded in less than two dozen instances in
the world literature. Several cases of Leydig-cell tumor have been studied by Venning (1942) , Cook, Gross, Landing and Zygmuntowicz (1952), Hertz, Cohen, Lewis and
Firminger (1953), and Jungck, Thrash, Ohlmacher, Knight and Dyrenforth (1957).
This tumor causes isosexual precocity in
boys. Signs of androgenic activity are evident in the large penis ; scrotal maturation ;
the appearance of pubic, facial, and axillary
hair, and acne; increased bodily growth;
maturation of the larynx; and increased
excretion of 17-ketosteroids. All these findings occur when sufficient amounts of
testosterone are injected into normal prepubertal boys. This tumor cannot conceivably be related to the secretion of LH (see
subsequent material on experimental tumors), because the neoplasms are usually
unilateral and the contralateral normal testis shows no activation of the Leydig cells.


Neoplasms classified as Sertoli-cell tumors are rich in lipids and are thought to
secrete estrogen (Teilum, 1950). However,
the histogenesis of these tumors is not clear,
and there is doubt that Sertoli-cell tumors
actually occur in man.


1
Testicular tumors have been induced in
 
rats by transplantation of immature testes
 
to the spleen of castrated adult animals
 
(Biskind and Biskind, 1945) and by radiation, carcinogens, and other means (Peyron
 
and Samsonoff', 1941). Transplantation of
^
day-old rat testes to the spleen of castrated
 
adult rats, normal male rats, and castrated
 
adult female rats resulted in the formation
of encapsulated and sharply circumscribed
tumors. Of 29 tumors thus produced, 16
were composed entirely of interstitial cells
and 13 contained other testicular elements
as well. One of the tumors was transplantable into the spleen of a castrated animal.
Because hyperplasia of the interstitial cells
was seen in most of the transplanted testes,
it was thought that the neoplasia followed
the hyperplasia induced by the excess of
gonadotrophin in the castrated host
(Twombly, Meisel and Stout, 1949). Such
Leydig-cell tumors produce estrogen (Fels
and Bur, 1956).


In contrast with the rat, experimental tumors in the mouse are not induced by any
of the methods already mentioned (Gardner,
1953). Spontaneous tumors of the testis in
mice do occur, however. Slye, Holmes and
Wells (1919) found 28 testicular tumors in
some 9000 male mice. None formed metastatic lesions. Hummel (1954) reported a
spontaneous tumor in an 18-month-old
mouse of the BALBC strain; this neoplasm
was transplantable for three generations in
normal or gonadectomized adult males or
females. This was a functioning tumor as
evidenced by masculinization of the submaxillary glands, mucification of the vagina,
hypertrophy of the clitoris, and an increase
in size of the uterus of the female host and
of the accessory sex organs of the male host.
All these findings indicate estrogenic and
androgenic secretion. In general, however,
interstitial cell tumors in mice are strainlimited, occurring particularly in the AC
and JK strains. Spontaneous interstitial cell
tumors also occur in hybrids and are associated with mammary tumors (Gardner,
Pfeiffcr, Trentin and Wolstenholme, 1953).


«
This association indicates that estrogen is
involved in the formation of the tumor; indeed, it is chiefly by the use of estrogen that
experimental tumors in mice have been provoked.


Various natural and synthetic estrogens
are effective. For example, Hooker, Gardner
and Pfeiffer (1940) and Hooker and Pfeiffer
(1942) using estradiol and stilbestrol have
been able to produce interstitial cell tumors in the A and C strains of mice, with
an incidence of 50 and 90 per cent respectively. Treatment for 8 months with 16.6 to
50 fjig. of estradiol dibenzoate or 0.25 /xg.
stilbestrol weekly produces tumors, some of
which metastasize to the renal, lumbar, and
mediastinal lymph nodes. These tumors are
transplantable if the hosts are given estrogen. They are inhibited by the simultaneous
injection of testosterone. Tumors also may
be induced by implantation of pellets of
stilbestrol and cholesterol. The implantation
of a 4- to 6-mg. pellet of 10 to 25 per cent
stilbestrol in cholesterol induced tumors
within 5 months (Shimkin, Grady and Andervont, 1941). Of the various natural and
synthetic estrogens the triphenylethylene
derivatives appear to be the most potent.
Bonser (1942) and Gardner (1943) produced transplantable tumors in the JK, the
A, and the C 3H strains by triphenylethylene. Tumors thus induced are generally composed of interstitial cells. They
are transplantable only in the same strain
of mice and only when the hosts are given
estrogen. After several generations, however, the tumor may be transplanted without administration of estrogen in normal
and in hypophysectomized mice (Gardner,
1945; Andervont, Shimkin and Canter,
1957).


1 .' --.  
The tumors arise from hyperplastic interstitial cells. The Leydig cells enlarge, become foamy, and degenerate. JMacrophages
 
or, at least, cells containing a brown pigment appear and phagocytose the exhausted
 
Leydig cells. A new crop of interstitial cells
AXILLARY HAIR
appears from the mesenchyme. These may
BODY
grow faster in one zone than in another. The
faster-growing Leydig cells thus constitute
a nodule. The Leydig cells in the nodule also
become hyperplastic and foamy. These nodules appear as white spots and cause pressure atrophy of the tubules. Leydig cells in the tumor thus result from three generations, since the second crop of Leydig cells
is followed by a third generation containing
small primitive and hyperchromatic cells.
These contain brown pigment and hence
give the brown color to the tumor. At this
stage, the tumor may become necrotic, may
metastasize by way of lymph or blood, or
may invade locally. Such tumors secrete
both estrogen and androgen. The consensus
is that estrogen induces interstitial cell tumors in mice by liberation of LH (Gardner,
1953).


The assumption that LH induces interstitial cell hyperplasia and finally a tumor
has received support from studies by Simpson and van Wagenen (1954) on young
monkeys. These investigators gave ICSH for
53 days. Hyperplasia of the Leydig cells
took place and nodules resulted. These nodules were composed of concentric laminated
peritubular cells and arose from the same
type of mesenchymal cell that yields the
Leydig cell under normal conditions. Under
the influence of HCG, the nodules secreted
androgen.


f?'
==XVII. Conclusion==
 
 
 
 
 
 
\'^
 
 
 
 
III
 
 
CONFICUtATION
 
BODY HAIR
 
 
(i)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PUBIC HAIR


The postnatal development of the mammalian testis follows a fairly definite pattern. Development is slow for the variable
period of prepubertal life. The testis then
undergoes rapid evolution during puberty,
remains fairly constant in adult life, then
regresses somewhat in old age. The rapid development of the testis during puberty is
brought about by the onset of gonadotrophic
function of the pituitary. This developmental pattern is fixed for each species, but
can be modified by genie and environmental
factors. Once the adult status is attained,
secretory controls of androgenic and spermatogenic functions are established. A
steady state of testicular function is maintained in continuously breeding species. In
those mammals which show a seasonal
breeding cycle, these secretory controls, particularly those of the pituitary gland, are
periodically activated and deactivated.


The testes of many eutherian mammals
migrate from the abdomen during fetal life
to the scrotum. This migration is regulated
by hormones of the fetus, presumably arising from the fetal testis. It is not clear just why the testes occupy the scrotum. The explanation that scrotal residence provides
"optimal testicular temperature" is not satisfying because one then wishes to know
why the male gonad requires the cooler environment afforded by the scrotum. Failure
of the testes to descend may occur as a
consequence of defects in the testes, probably of genie origin ; or because of anatomic
obstacles, representing embryologic defects,
inadvertently placed along its prescribed
narrow path. In either event, the testis is
damaged, mildly in its endocrine function,
and seriously in its spermatogenic function.
Impairment of spermatogenesis of the
misplaced testis is due to the relatively high
temperature of the abdomen. Temperature
affects the germinal epithelium directly. It
also affects the testis indirectly through the
circulatory system. The effect of temperature, or for that matter, of any type of injurious agent whether it be chemical or
physical, is atrophy of the seminiferous
epithelium. The response of the germinal
tissue to deprivation of pituitary gonadotrophin likewise is atrophy. Quantitative
variation among different species does of
course exist, but qualitatively, atrophy is
the universal response to injury. Obviously,
a common denominator must exist for this
fairly general reaction on the part of the
germinal epithelium. If various chemical
and physical stimuli act on the testis by
means of suppression or interference with
the action of gonadotrophins, atrophy of
the Leydig cells would also result. However,
many chemical and physical agents affect
only the germinal epithelium, leaving the
Leydig cells unscathed. Thus, the germinal
epithelium can be damaged directly and
the variable damage to the components of
the spermatogenic epithelium must be due
to different sensitivities of its cellular components. The Sertoli cell is much more resistant than the cells of the germinal line,
and of the seminiferous elements, the type
A spermatogonia are the most resistant. Of
great importance in the interpretation of
the damage induced by many substances or
occurring as a result of disease is the characteristic of the germinal epithelium to
reproduce in a fixed order and sequence. It
follows that the extent of injury to spermatogenesis as a whole would be determined by the relative susceptibility of the various
germinal cells as well as by the nature of
the noxious agent. If only sperm cells are
affected, spermatogenesis will proceed
through the formation of spermatid. However, if spermatogonia are injured, full differentiation of the germinal epithelium will
fail, and only Sertoli cells will be found in
the tubule. Thus, it is possible that all sorts
of injury to the testis, if sufficiently great,
may result in the same end stage of testicular atrophy. In spite of this common
reaction pattern to severe injury, many substances induce what seem to be specific lesions in the testis. However, these represent
intermediate or partial injuries, and do not
necessarily constitute exceptions to the general pattern of testicular response to injury.
As more is learned about the biochemistry
of the germinal epithelium, it may be possible to induce specific lesions.


Quantitative studies on spermatogenesis
have greatly clarified the role played by
the pituitary gland. Spermatogenesis does
proceed in hypophysectomized animals but
only at a low rate. Also it appears that androgen, not gonadotrophin, is responsible
for the maturation of the spermatid. However, it must be remembered that the formation of androgen is dependent on pituitary
gonadotrophic function. Thus spermatogenesis is regulated entirely by pituitary
gonadotrophins, which exert direct supervision over the rate of the mitotic and
meiotic activity of germ cells and indirect
supervision by way of the Leydig cell over
spermatid maturation, or spermiogenesis.
The effectiveness of androgen in sperm formation is hardly equal to that of the pituitary. Addition of trophic hormones (except
gonadotrophin) or of hormones of the target
glands (tliyi'oid, adrenal cortical hormone,
etc. I will ])robably not improve the effectiveness of androgen. The best evidence
that this surmise may be correct is obtained
from jnitients with hypogonadotroi)hic hyl)ogonadism. These i)atients have normal
function with respect to the other trophic
hormones of the pituitary and, therefore,
normally functioning peripheral glands, but
do not have sperm.


The quantitative studies on the spermatogenic cycle have important bearing on other
|)i'o]»lciiis wliicli have been i)uzzling to endocrinologists. jMany unsuccessful attempts
have been made to induce precocious sperm
formation in the rat by chronic or massive
use of various gonadotrophins. The time of
a complete spermatogenic cycle is not accurately known. Estimates ranging from 20
to 40 days have been given, which reflects
the difficulties and errors of present methods. If one adds to the time at which sperm
formation normally occurs in common
strains of the laboratory rat (around 35
days of age ) , about 10 days borrowed from
fetal life, the time of a complete spermatogenic cycle is probably between 45 and
50 days. Hence, no amount of exogenous
gonadotrophin could be expected to produce
precocious spermatogenesis, because a certain irreducible minimum of time may be
recjuired for the series of divisions which in
toto constitutes a spermatogenic cycle.
However, if the interval between birth and
maturity is much longer than the time of a
complete spermatogenic cycle, precocious
spermatogenesis could be experimentally
achieved, as is again indicated by an example from clinical endocrinology, i.e., the
spontaneous occurrence of isosexual precocity in boys.


In another clinical area, the application
of quantitative techniques to the study of
testes of iKitients afflicted with infertility
has so far not yielded helpful information.
Restoration of fertility in men with adult
seminiferous tubular failure has not been
accomplished. Infertility, however, is receiving increasing attention, especially from
the standpoint of genie factors. It is in this
area that the only startling development of
knowledge on the testis in the past 20 years
has occurred, i.e., the discovery that men
with Klinefelter's syndrome are "genetic females." One may, with good reason, question the suitability of the term "genetic females." It arose from the application of
Barr's discovery of sex dimorphism in the
heterochromatin of somatic cells (Barr,
1956; Barr and Bertram, 1949; Moore and
Barr, 1955) . Normal females are "chromatin
positive"; normal males are "chromatin
negative." This, however, may not be absolute. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome are
chromatin positive, and if chromatin positivity reflects genie constitution, it is likely
that the sterility of men with this syndrome (one of its outstanding features) represents
an abnormality of chromosomal division
or number during gametogenesis of one of
their parents. Generally similar situations
may occur in lower animals; hence, the role
of genie factors in fertility can be studied
experimentally.


Great advances have taken place in
knowledge of the biosynthesis of male hormone by the testis. Illumination of the
chemical pathway over which simple precursors (acetate) or more complex ones
(cholesterol) are transformed to testosterone represents a major contribution in biochemistry. The enzymatic control of the
various chemical steps will undoulitedly be
disclosed before long.


==XVIII. References==


-.-,.  
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
 
LoRENz, N. 1953a. Male hypogonadism. I.
 
The normal testis. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo
 
Clin., 28, 409.
 
PENIS
 
 
Y


Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
LoRENz, N. 1953b. Male hypogonadism. II.
Classification. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Clin.,
28, 557.


?
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
LoRENZ, N. 1953c. Male hypogonadism. III.
The testis in pituitary dwarfism. Proc. Staff
Meet., Mayo Clin., 28, 698.


Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .\nd
LoRENz, N. 1954a. Male hypogonadism. IV.
The testis in prepubertal or pubertal gonadotrophic failure. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Chn.,
29, 131.


¥
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .^nd
LoRENZ, N. 1954b. Male hypogonadism. V.
The testis in adult patients with multiple defects of pituitary function. Proc. Staff Meet.,
Mayo Clin., 29,317.


Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .od
LoRENz, N. 1954c. Male hypogonadism. VI.
The testis in gonadotrophic failure in adults.
Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Chn., 29, 368.


t
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .\^d
 
LoRENz, N. 1955. Male hypogonadism. VII.
The testis in partial gonadotrophic faihne during puberty (lack of luteinizing hormone onlv).
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Alcozer, G., and Costa, U. 1954. Comportamento delle frazioni colesteroliche nel testicolo
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355.


Alcozer, G., and Giordano, G. 1954. Rapporti
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dopo somministrazione di estratto acquoso di
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e clin., 9, 433.


T '. ^
Allex, E., and Altland, P. D. 1952. Studies of
degenerating sex cells in immature mammals.
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Alnor, p. 1951. Zur Frage der Beeinflussung der
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LENGTH (cm.)
Andervont, H. B., Shimkin, M. B., axd Canter,
H. Y. 1957. Effect of discontinued estrogenic
stimulation upon the development and growth
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Inst., 18, 1.  


Anthony, a. 1953. Seasonal reproductive cycle
in the normal and experimentally treated male
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Antliff, H. R., .and Young, W. C. 1957. Internal
secretory capacity of the abdominal testis in
the guinea pig. Endocrinology, 61, 121.


Antopol, W. 1950. Anatomic changes produced
in mice treated with excessive doses of cortisone. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 73, 262.


Arambarri, M. L. 1956. Die Wirkung von holen
Cortisondosen auf das Hodenzwischengewebe
des Kaninchens. Ztschr. ges. exper. Med., 127,
227.


Arvy, L. 1942. L'hypophyse et I'acetate de desoxvcorticosterone. Compt. rend. Soc. bioL,
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AsDELL, S. A. 1946. Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction. Ithaca: Comstock Publishing
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Asling, C. W., Reinhardt, W. O., and Li, C. H.
1951. Effects of adrenocorticotrophic hormone
on body growth, visceral proportions, and
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Aterman, K. 1956. Cortisol and spermiogenesis.
Acta endocrinol., 22, 371.


Bacon, R. L., and Kirkman, H. 1955. The response of the testis of the hamster to chronic treatment with different estrogens. Endocrinology, 57, 255.


v^
Badenoch, a. W. 1945. Descent of the testis in relation to temperature. Brit. M. J., 2, 601.


Bahn, R. C, Lorenz, N., Bennett, W. A., and Albert, A. 1953a. Gonadotrophins of the pituitary gland and the urine of the adult human
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Vl/
Bahn, R. C, Lorenz, N., Bennett, W. A., and Albert, A. 1953b. Gonadotrophins of the pituitary gland and urine of the adult hinnan
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Bahn, R. C, Lorenz, N., Bennett, W. A., and Albert, A. 1953c. Gonadotrophins of tlio pituitary gland during infancy and early cliildhood. Endocrinologj', 52, 605.


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3.«.  
Baker, B. L., Schairer, M. A., Ingle, D. J., and Li,
C. H. 1950. The induction of involution in
the male reproductive system by treatment
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345.  


Ballerio, L. 1954. Sulla supposta produzione di
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45-9,  
Bandmann, F. 1950. Weitere Beobachtungen liber
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Barker, C. A. V. 1956. Some observations on
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45-12
Barr, M. L. 1956. The sex chromatin and its
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8-15
Barron, N. S., and H.-^q, I. 1948. Ammonium
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Baumann, W. 1955. Die Wirkimg von hohen
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9-15
Beall, D. 1940. The isolation of a-estradiol and
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1293.


Bennett, H. S., Baggenstoss, A. H., and Butt, H.
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:105K
Bergqvist, N. 1954. The gonadal function in
male diabetics. Acta endocrinol., Suppl. 18, 3.


Berthrong, M., Goodwin, W. E., and Scott, W. W.
1949. Estrogen production by the testis. J.
Clin. Endocrinol., 9, 579.


CKCUMFtlENCI
Biddulph, C. 1939. The effect of testosterone
propionate on gonadal development and gonadotrophic hormone secretion in young male
rats. Anat. Rec, 73, 447.


(cm.)
Bishop, D. H., and Leathem, J. H. 1946. Response of prepubertal male mice to equine
gonadotrophin. Anat. Rec, 95, 313.  


Bishop, D. H., and Le-athem, J. H. 1948. Effect
of equine gonadotrophin on prepubertal male
mice. Exper. Med. & Surg., 6, 28.


m
Biskind, M. S., and Biskind, G. R. 1945. Tumor
of rat testis produced by heterotransplantation
of infantile testis to spleen of adult castrate.
Proc Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 59, 4.


Blair, J. H., Sniffen, R. C, Cranswick, E. H.,
Jaffee, W., and Kline, N. S. 1952. The question of histopathologic changes in the testes of
schizophrenics. J. Ment. Sc, 98, 464.


m
Blum, A. G. 1954. Sertoli cell tumor in a dog.
Vet. Med., 49, 343.


• "°
Bond, C. R. 1945. The golden hamster {Cricetus auratus); care, breeding, and growth. Physiol.
Zo51., 18, 52.


BoxsER, G. M. 1942. Malignant tumors of the
interstitial cells of the testis in Strong A mice
treated with triphenylethylene. J. Path. &
Bact., 54, 149.


• '°
BoRS, E., Engle, E. T., Rosexquist, R. C, .and HolLiGER, V. H. 1950. Fertility in paraplegic
males; a preliminary report of endocrine studies. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 10, 381.


BouRG, R., Van Meensel, F., and Gompel, G. 1952.
Action des doses massives de benzoate d'oestradiol au niveau des testicules du rat adulte.
Ann. endocrinol., 13, 195.


^^-105
Brady, R. O. 1951. Biosynthesis of radioactive
testosterone in vitro. J. Biol. Cheni., 193, 145.


Burgos, M. H., .and Fawcett, D. W. 1955. Studies on the fine structure of the mammalian
testis. I. Differentiation of the spermatids in the cat (Felis domestica) . J. Biophys. & CvtoL, 1, 287.


TESTES (cc)
Calzolari, G., Pulito, G., and Pasquinelli, F. 1950. Ricerche biometriche sul comportamento del testicolo residuo dopo asportazione del'altro nella cavia. I. II comportamento del piso. Boll. Soc. ital. biol. sper., 26, 467.


Carmon, J. L., and Green, W. W. 1952. Histologic study of the de\elopment of the testis of
the ram. J. Anim. Sc, 11, 674.


>.
Cavallero, C., Rossi, L., .and Borasi, M. 1951.
Studio sperimentale sugli effetti del cortisone.
III. Effetti morfologici sulle ghiandole endocrine del ratto. Sperimentale, 101, 226.  


Challice, C. E. 1953. Electron microscope studies of spermiogenesis in some rodents. J. Roy.
Microscop. Soc, 73, 115.


T75^
Charny, C. W., Constin, A. S., and Meranze, D.
R. 1952. Testicidar developmental histology.
Ann. New York Acad. Sc, 55, 597.


Chome, J. 1956. Influence des oestrogenes de synthese sur la structure histologitiue du testicule.
Presse med., 64, 971.


17^B
Clermont, Y. 1954. Cycle de I'epithelium seminal
et mode de renouvellement des spermatogonies
chez le hamster. Rev. canad. biol., 13, 208.


Clermont, Y. 1958. The morphology of the seminiferous tubules and their distribution in the
testis of one adult albino rat (Abstr.). Anat.
Rec, 130, 287.


^■■«
Clermont, Y., and Leblond, C. P. 1953. Renewal
of spermatogonia in the rat. Am. J. Anat., 93,
475.


Clermont, Y., and Leblond, C. P. 1955. Spermiogenesis of man, monkey, ram, and other mammals as shown by the "periodic acid-SchitT"
technique. Am. J. Anat., 96, 229.


6 2(^A
Clermont, Y., and Morgentaler, H. 1955. Quantitative study of spermatogenesis in the hypophysectomized rat. Endocrinology, 57, 369.


Clermont, Y., and Perey, B. 1957. Quantitative
study of the cell population of the seminiferous
tubules in immature rats. Am. J. Anat., 100,
241.


"•
Coffin, D. L., Munson, T. 0., and Scully, R. E.
1952. Functional Sertoli cell tumor with metastasis in a dog. A. Vet. M. A. J., 121, 352.


Cook, C. D., Gross, R. E., Landing, B. H., and
Zygmuntowicz, a. S. 1952. Interstitial cell
tumor of the testis; study of a 5-year-old boy
with pseudoprecocious pubertv. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 12, 725.


Cooper, E. R. A. 1929. The histology of the retained testis in the human subject at different
ages, and its comparison with the scrotal testis.
J. Anat., 64, 5.


Cooper, I. S., and Hoen, T. I. 1949. Gynecomastia
in paraplegic males; report of seven cases. J.
Clm.Endocrmol.,9,457.


OR
Cooper, I. S., and Hoen, T. I. 1952. Metabolic
disorders in paraplegics. Neurology, 2, 332.


Cooper, I. S., Rynearson, E. H., B.ailey, A. A., and
MacCarty, C. S. 1950. The relation of spinal
cord diseases to gynecomastia and testicular
atrophy. Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Clin., 25,
320.


Cooper, I. S., Rynearson, E. H., MacCarty, C. S.,
AND Power, M. H. 1950. Metabolic consequences of spinal cord injurv. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 10, 858.


CoujARD, R. 1952. Effets sur le testicule et 1 epididyme de la phenolisation des fibres ner\euses.
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 146, 704.


Couj.ARD, R. 1954. Contribution a letude des
voies nerveuses sympathiques du testicule.
Arch. anat. microscop., 43, 321.


Croxatto, O. C, AND Chiriboga, J. 1951. Estudio
anatomico de suprarrenales, bazo y testiculos
de cobayos durante la reaccion de alarma y
fase de resistencia. An. Cated. pat. y clin. tuberc, 13, 103.


J^
Croxatto, 0. C, AND Chiriboga, J. 1952. Estudio
anatomico de suprarrenales, bazo y testiculos
de cobayos durante la reaccion de alarma y
fase de resistencia. Medicina, Buenos Aires,
12, 37.


CUNNINGHAM, B., KiNG, J. T., AND KeSSELL, H. R. 1941. Hyperthyroidism and sterility in the white rat (Abstr.). Anat. Rec, suppl., 81, 31.


-^1
CUNNINGHAM, B., MaY, J., AND GoRDON, S. 1942. Presence of estrogenic hormone(s) in testicular material. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 49,
130.


CuTULY, E., .AND CuTULY, E. C. 1940. Observations on spermatogenesis in rats. Endocrinology, 26, 503.


PROSTATE
D.AOUST, R., AND Clermont, Y. 1955. Distribution
of nucleic acids in germ cells during the c.ycle
of the seminiferous epithelium in the rat. Am.
J. Anat., 96, 255.


D.AViDsoN, H. A. 1954. Treatment of male subfertility; testicular temperature and varicoceles. Practitioner, 173, 703.


Deanesly, R. 1954. Spermatogenesis and endocrine activity in grafts of frozen and thawed
rat testis. J. Endocrinol., 11, 201.


De Bastiani, G., Sperti, L., and Zatti, P. 1956.
Effetti della tiroidectomia e della somministrazione dell'ormone tireotropo ipofisario sulFattivita delle gonadi. nella cavia. I. Testicoli.
Boll. Soc. ital. biol. sper., 32, 393.


-"■^
DE LA Balze, F. a.. Bur, G. E., Irazu, J., and Mancini, R. E. 1953. Etude des changements morphologiques et histochimiques produits par
les oesterogenes dans les testicules adultes humains. Ann. endocrinoL, 14, 509.


DE LA Balze, r. A., Bur, G. E., Scarpa-Smith, F.,
AND Irazu, J. 1954. Elastic fibers in the
tunica propria of normal and pathologic human testes. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 14, 626.


-^^^  
DE la Balze, F. A., Mancini, R. E., Bur, G. E., and
Irazu, J. 1954. Morphologic and histochemical changes produced bj^ estrogens on
adult human testes. Fertil. & Steril., 5, 421.


DE LA Balze. F. a., M.\ncini, R. E., and Irazu, J.
1951. Cancer de prostata-accion de los estrogenos sobre los testiculos. Rev. argent, urol.,
20,241.


Derivaux, J., Bienfait, v., and Peers, W. 1955.
L'hvpogonadisme male chez les bovides.
Bruxelles-med., 35, 1642.


Dickerson, D. L. 1947. Some aspects of thyroid
function in relation to infertility. West. J.
Surg., 55, 343.


DiczFALUSY, E., Holmgren, H., and Westerman, A.
1950. The action of human chorionic gonadotrophin preparations on the adrenals and testicles of hypophysectomized immature rats.
Acta endocrinoL, 5, 43.


Dirscherl. W., and Breuer, H. 1955. Uber Steroide des menschlichen Spermas. Acta endocrinoL, 19, 30.


PRE.  
DiscHREiT, J. 1939. Wirkung des Testikelhormonpraparates Erugon auf den juvenilen Rattenhoden. Klin. Wchnschr., 18, 1493.  


DiscHREiT, J. 1940. Studien iiber Follikelhormonwirkung auf die Keimdriisen juveniler
mannlicher Ratten. Monatsschr. Kinderh., 84,
137.


Dunn, C. W. 1941. Stilbestrol induced testicular
degeneration in hypersexual males. J. Clin.
EndocrinoL, 1, 643.'


DvoSKiN, S. 1944. L(.c;il m.-iiulniancc of sprnnatogenesis by inlr.iicstirulai ly nri|ilaiiiiM| |irllets of testosterone m liyiiophyscctuiiiizcd rats.
Am. J. Anat., 75, 289.


DvosKiN, S. 1949. The effect of pregnenolone on
re-initiation and maintenance of spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats. Endocrinology, 45, 370.


Emmens, C. W., and Parkes, A. S. 1938. The
estrogens of the testis and of the adrenal in
relation to the treatment of enlarged prostate
with testosterone propionate. J. Path. & Bact.,
47, 279.


POST
Engberg, H. 1949. Investigations on the endocrine function of the testicle in cryptorchidism.
Proc. Roy. Soc. Med., 42, 652.


Engle, E. T. 1955. Aspects of aging as reflected
in the hiunan ovary and testis. Recent Progr.
Hormone Res., 9, 291.


Farris, E. J., and Colton, S. W. 1958. Effects of
L-thyroxine and liothyronine on spermatogenesis (Abstr.). Anat. Reo., 130, 407.


PUBESCENCE
Farris, E. J., and Griffith, J. Q. (Kdilois). 1949.
The Rat in Laboratory In r< si n/,, I /,,,,, Jul. 2.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincol i Coin]. any.


Fels, E., and Bur, G. E. 1956. Tumores del injerto testicular en el bazo de la rata castrada.
Rev. Soc. argent, biol., 32, 115.


Ferner, H., and Runge, W. 1956. Histochemische
Untersuchungen zur Frage der endokrinen Aktivitiit der Hodenzwischenzellen Wahrend der
Fetalzeit beim Men.schen. Ztschr. Zellforsch.
mikroskop. Anat., 45, 39.


Ferr.ara, B., Rosati, P., .'vnd Consoli, G. 1953.
Azione degli stilbenici sul testiculo; ricerche
sperimentali in ovis aries. Boll. Soc. ital. biol.
sper., 29, 66.


PUBESCENCE
Fevold, H. L. 1944. The gonadotrophic function
of the pituitary gland. In The Chemistry and
Physiology of Hormones, F. R. Moulton, Ed.,
p. 152. Washington, D. C: American Association for the Advancement of Science.


Finkel, M. p. 1945. The relation of sex hormones to pigmentation and to testis descent
in the opossum and ground squirrel. Am. J. Anat., 76, 93.


PUBESCENCE
FoGLiA, V. G. 1945. El peso de los organos de la
rata diabetica. Rev. Soc. argent, biol., 21, 45.


Gaarenstroom, J. H. 1941. An analysis of the
effect of chorionic gonadotrophic hormone on
the rat testis. Arch, internat. pharmacodvn.,
66, 121.


Gardner, J. H. 1949. Effects of inunction of
a-estradiol on testes and thyroids of albino
rats. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 72, 306.


Fig. 5.17. Stages of sexual development and maturation. (From W. A. Schonfeld, Ai
Gardner, W. U. 1943. Testicular tumors in mice
J. Dis. Child., 65, 535, 1943.)
of several strains receiving triphenylethylene.  
Cancer Res., 3, 92.  


Gardner, W. U. 1945. Some influences of hormones on the growth and persistence of transplanted testicular tumors. Cancer Res., 5, 497.


Gardner, W. U. 1953. Hormonal aspects of experimental tumorigenesis. Proc. Am. A. Cancer Res., 1, 173.


(HCG) increases the yield of testosterone
Gardner, W. IT., Pfeiffer, C. A., Trentin, J. L., and  
from testicular slices incubated with acetate. Estradiol- 17-/? also has been found
WoLSTENHOLME, J. T. 1953. Hormonal factors in experimental carcinogenesis. In The  
in the products obtained by incubating tissue slices with acetate. Human testicular
Physiopathology oj Cancer; A Treatise for Investigators, Physicia7is and Students, F. Homburger, and W. H. Fishman, Eds., p. 225. New
tumors incubated with labeled acetate form
York: Paul B. Hoeber, Inc.  
labeled testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, estradiol, and estrone (Wotiz,
Davis and Lemon, 1955). Mevalonic acid, a
precursor of cholesterol, yields estradiol
when incubated with homogenates of human testis (Rabinowitz and Ragland,
1958). The biogenesis of male hormone as
worked out in the stallion, rat, and human
(Savard, Dorfman and Poutasse, 1952; Savard, Besch, Restivo and Goldzieher, 1958;
Savard, Dorfman, Baggett and Engel, 1956)
by means of radioisotopic methods shows a
common pathway from 17a-hydroxyprogcsterone -^ progesterone -> 4-androstene3,17-dione —^ testosterone. Testosterone has
been identified in the spermatic vein blood
of dogs (West, Hollander, Kritchevsky and
Dobriner, 1952). Also identified were A^androstcno(lione-3-17 and 7-keto-cholesterone.  


In addition to confirming the presence of
Getzoff, p. L. 1955. Clinical evaluation of testicular biopsy and the rebound phenomenon.
Fertil. & Steril., 6, 465.


Glover, T. D. 1956. The effect of scrotal insulation and the influence of the breeding season
upon fructose concentration in the semen of
the ram. J. Endocrinol., 13, 235.


GoDDARD, R. F. 1948. Anatomic and physiologic
studies in young rats with propylthiouracilinduced dwarfism. Anat. Rec, 101, 539.


several biologically active steroids in the
GoLDZiEHER, J. W., AND RoBERTS, I. S. 1952. Identification of estrogen in the human testis. J.
testis, the studies made in the last two
Clin. Endocrinol., 12, 143.  
decades have clarified the biosynthesis of
male hormone. The peripheral metabolism
of testosterone and its biologic actions in  
the organism are described in chapters by
Villee and by Price and Williams-Ashman,  
respectively.  


In addition to these well-known steroid
GoTHiK, S., AND MoKiCARD, R. 1939. Etudc biometricjue de la regression testiculaire chez le rat hvpoplivsectomise. Compt. rend. Soc. biol.,  
hormones, the presence of a water-soluble
131, 196.
hormone in the testis has been postulated on
biologic evidence. Vidgoff, Hill, Vehrs and
Kubin (1939) and Vidgoff and Vehrs (1941)
induced atrophy of the testis and accessory
sex organs in the rat by the administration
of aqueous extracts of bull testes. Because
the atrophy was similar to that occurring
after hypophysectomy, it was claimed that
a water-soluble principle in the testis was
capable of inhibiting the gonadotrophic
function of the ])ituitary. This principle was
called "inhibin." The theory was then constructed that the testis secretes two hormones, nnnu'ly a water-soluble hormone
responsible for the integrity of the germinal epithelium by regulating the secretion
of pituitary gonadotrophin, and a fat


Grant, J. H. 1956. The effects of unilateral
orchidectomy on the rat testis. In Studies on
Fertility, R. G. Harrison, Ed., p. 27. Springfield, 111.: Charles C Thomas.


MAMMALIAN TESTIS
Gray, D. J. 1947. The intrinsic nerves of the
testis. Anat. Rec, 98, 325.


Greene, R. R., .and Burrill, M. W. 1940. The
recovery of testes after androgen-induced inhibition. Endocrinology, 26, 516.


Greene, R. R., and Burrill, M. W. 1941. Effects of large amounts of androgen on the
testes of the prepubertal rat. Endocrinolog^v,
29, 64.


335
Greep, R. O. 1937. Pituitary regulation of the
male gonad. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia
Quant. Biol., 5, 136.


Gresson, R. a. R. 1950. A study of the male
germ-cells of the rat and the mou.se by phasecontrast microscopv. Quart. J. Microscop. Sc,
91, 73.


Gresson, R. a. R., and Zlotnik, I. 1945. A comparative study of the cytoplasmic components of the male germ-cells of certain mammals.
Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, ser. B, 62, 137.


soluble hormone (testosterone) responsible
Gresson, R. A. R., and Zlotnik, I. 1948. A study
for maintaining the accessories. The observations of Vidgoff and his associates were
of the cytoplasmic components during gametogenesis of Bos taurus. Quart. J. Microscop. Sc, 89, 219.
disputed by Rubin (1941). The inhibin concept was supported by McCullagh and  
 
Hruby (1949) because testosterone did not
Greulich, W. W., and Burford, T. H. 1936.
inhibit the excretion of pituitary gonadotrophin and was not effective in correcting
Testicular tumors associated with mammary,
castration changes in the pituitary of cryptorchid rats at doses that were sufficient
prostatic, and other changes in cryptorchid  
to stimulate the accessories. Inhibin was
dogs. Am. J. Cancer, 28, 496.  
now identified with estrogen, and the source
of estrogen was claimed to be the Sertoli
cell. The new evidence for this modified concept will now be considered.  


]\IcCullagh and Schaffenburg (1952)
Gross, R. E., and Jewett, T. C, Jr. 1956. Surgical experiences from 1222 operations for imdescended testis. J. A. M. A., 160, 634.  
stated that estrogen is much more effective
than androgen in suppressing gonadotrophin and that estrogen is present in saline
extracts of bull and human sperm. Estrogen
is found in the testes, but localization of its
production to the Sertoli cells is uncertain
(Teilum, 1956), and is doubted by Morii
(1956) and Ballerio (1954). The almost
complete absence of Sertoli cells in Klinefelter's syndrome, in which values for urinary gonadotrophin are high, also is
considered as evidence that estrogen is manufactured by the Sertoli cells. The high excretion of gonadotrophin in Klinefelter's
syndrome can be interpreted, at least in
part, by the concept of Heller, Paulsen,
^lortimore, Jungck and Nelson (1952) that
the amount of urinary gonadotrophin varies
inversely with the state of the germinal epithelium. Utilization of gonadotrophins by
the germinal epithelium could explain the
levels of this hormone in various syndromes
as satisfactorily as the lack of a hypothetic
testicular inhibitory hormone. Furthermore,
if the Sertoli cells secrete an inhibitory
hormone, patients who have germinal
aplasia (Sertoli cells only in the tubules)
should have normal values for urinary
gonadotrophin, whereas it is well known
that this hormone is greatly increased in
these patients. The proponents of the inhibin theory claim that aqueous extracts of
testes prevent the castration changes but do
not repair the accessories, whereas testosterone corrects the accessories but does not
restore the normal histologic appearance of
the pituitary. However, Nelson showed that
cryptorchid testes produce less androgen


GuNN, S. A., AND Gould, T. C. 1958. The presence of an inherent reproductive cycle in the male laboratory rat. J. Endocrinol., 17, 344.


H.\iNES, W. J., Johnson, R. H., Goodwin, M. P.,
AND KuiZENGA, M. H. 1948. Biochemical
studies on hog testicular extract. I. Isolation
and identification of 5-pregnen-3(;8)oL-20-one.
J. Biol. Chem., 174, 925.


than normal and that the order in which the
Hamilton, J. B., and Leonard, S. L. 1938. The  
above structures are affected represents differences in the degree of their sensitivity
effect of male hormone substance upon the  
to the amount of androgen produced. The  
testes and upon spermatogenesis. Anat. Rec,  
efficacy of aqueous extracts on the cytologic
71, 105.  
appearance of the pituitary has not been
confirmed. Thus, evidence deduced from
cryptorchism that an inhibitory hormone is
produced by the germinal epithelium is
inadequate.  


XII. Effects of the Pituitary on the  
HANES, F. M., and Hooker, C. W. 1937. Hormone production in the undescended testis.
Testis
Proc Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 35, 549.


Little information has been added in the
Hanson, R. O., Blivaiss, B. B., and Rosenzweig,  
past 20 years to the effects of acute hypophyseal deprivation on the mammalian
R. E. 1957. Sexual development in male rats
testis. Smith (1938, 1939) had shown in the
treated with cortisone. Am. J. Phvsiol., 188,  
rat that spermatocytes as well as spermatogonia and Sertoli cells remain for a long
281.  
time after hypophysectomy. However, in
the monkey, and possibly in man, all cells
of the germinal line except the spermatogonia and the Sertoli cells disappear. Even
though hypophysectomy has been employed
for several years as a palliative procedure
in inoperable carcinoma of the prostate, no
data have been obtained concerning the
effects of hypophysectomy on the testis
in otherwise normal man. In the dog, the
testes decrease to about one-third their
normal weight after surgical removal of the
pituitary. Only a single row of spermatogonia remains (Fig. 5.18). The Leydig cells
are reduced in size and contain abundant
quantities of fat. The lack of complete involution of the Leydig cells in the dog as
a result of hypophysectomy is somewhat
unusual, because marked involution of these
cells occurs in all other mammals thus far
studied. With respect to the behavior of the
germinal epithelium, the dog (Huggins and
Russell, 1946) seems to be more like the
monkey and man than like the rat and
mouse. The total relative decrease in testicular weight of the dog is intermediate between that observed in the cat (50 per cent)
and that in the rat, guinea pig, and rabbit
(75 per cent). With respect to histologic
features, the guinea pig and ferret are intermediate between the rat and the monkey,  
because occasional spermatocytes remain in
addition to spermatogonia and Sertoli cells.
In the mouse, the testicular weight decreases
for 25 days after hypophysectomy. Mess


Harris, R., and Harrison, R. G. 1955. The effect of low temperature on the guinea pig
testis. In Studies on Fertility, R. G. Harrison,
Ed., vol. 7, p. 23. Springfield, 111.: Charles C
Thomas.


H.arrison, R. G. 1948a. Vascular patterns in the
testis, with particular reference to Macropus.
Nature, London, 161, 399.


336
Harrison, R. G. 1948b. The blood supply of the
testis in relation to problems of sterility. In
Conference on Infertility, p. 14. London: Family Planning Association.


Harrison, R. G. 1949a. The distribution of the
vasal and cremasteric arteries to the testis and
their functional importance. J. Anat., 83, 267.


Harrison, R. G. 1949b. The comparative anatomy of the l)lood-supply of the mammalian
testis. Proc Zool. Soc, London, 119, 325.


^,  
Harrison, R. G. 1952. Functional importance of
the vascularization of the testis and epididymis
for the maintenance of normal spermatogenesis. Fertil. & Steril., 3, 366.


Harrison, R. G. 1953a. The effect of ligation of
vasa efferentia on the rat. In Studies on Fertility, R. G. Harrison, Ed., p. 97. Springfield,
111.: Charles C Thomas.


Harrison, R. G. 1953b. Influence of unilateral
orchidectomy on effect of ischemia on contralateral testis. In Studies on Fertility, R. G.
Harrison, Ed., vol. 5, p. 101. Springfield, 111.:
Charles C Thomas.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Harrison, R. G., and Barcl.ay, A. E. 1948. The
distribution of the testicular artery (internal
spermatic arterv) to the human testis. Brit. J.
Urol., 20, 57.


Harrison, R. G., and Harris, R. 1956. Thermoregulation of the testis at high temperatures.
In Studies on Fertility, R. G. Harrison, Ed., p.
76. Springfield, 111.: Charles C Thomas.


Harrison, R. G., and Macmillan, E. W. 1954.
The effects of high epididymal obstruction
upon the Leydig cell volume of the rat testis.
J. Endocrinol., 11, 89.


Harrison, R. G., and Weiner, J. S. 1949. Vascular patterns of the mammalian testis and their
functional significance. J. Exper. Biol., 26, 304.


Hartman, C. G., Millman, N., and St.avorski, J.
1950. Vasodilatation of the rat testis in response to human chorionic gonadotropin. Fertil. & Steril., 1, 443.


Haschek, H., and Gutter, W. 1951. Zur Frage
der Atrophie des menschlichen Hodens nach
Behandlung mit deni Follikelhormonwirkstoff
Relaton. Klin, med., 6, 177.


Heckel, N. J., AND McDonald, J. H. 1952a. The
rebound phenomenon of the spermatogenic activity of the human testis following the administration of testosterone propionate ; further observations. Fertil. & Steril., 3, 49


Heckel, N. J., and McDonald, J. H. 1952b. The
effects of testosterone propionate upon the
spermatogenic function of the human testis.
Ann. New York Acad. Sc, 55, 725.


Heckel, N. J., Rosso, W. A., and Kestel, L. 1951.
Spermatogenic reboimd phenomenon after administration of testosterone propionate. J. Clin.
Endocrinol., 11, 235.


Heckel, N. J., .and Steinmetz, C. R. 1941. The
effect of female sex hormone on the function of
the human testis. J. Urol., 46, 319.


Heinke, E., and Tonutti, E. 1956. Studien zur
Wirkung des Testosterons auf die spermiogenetische Aktivitat des Hodens bei Oligospermie. Deutsche med. Wchnschr., 81, 566.


Heller, C. G., L.aidl.aw, W. M., Harvey, H. T.,
AND Nelson, W. O. 1958. Effects of progestational compounds on the reproductive processes of the human male. Ann. New York
Acad. Sc, 71, 649.


.#•
Heller, C. G., and Nelson, W. O. 1947. Evidence that chorionic gonadotrophic hormone
stimulates Leydig cells to produce androgen and that follicle-stimulating hormone stimulates spermatogenesis in man. In XVIIth International Physiological Congress: Abstracts
of Communication, p. 273. Great Britain.  


Heller, C. G., and Nelsox, W. O. 1948. The
testis-pituitary relationship in man. Recent
Progr. Hormone Res., 3, 229.


Heller, C. G., Nelson, W. O., Hill, I. B., Henderson, E., Maddock, W. 0., JuNGCK, E. C., Paulsen, C. A., AND MORTIMORE, G. E. 1950.
Improvement in spermatogenesis following depression of the human testis with testosterone.
Fertil. & Steril., 1, 415.


Heller, C. G., Paulsen, C. A., Mortimore, G. E.,
JuNGCK, E. C., AND Nelson, W. O. 1952. Urinary gonadotrophins, spermatogenic morphology — their bearing on the utilization hypothesis. Ann. New York Acad. Sc, 55, 685.


Hemphill, R. E. 1944. The significance of atrophy of the testis in schizophrenia. J. Ment.
Sc, 90, 696.


Hemphill, R. E., and Reiss, M. 1945. Serum
gonadotrophin and testis biopsy in the treatment of schizophrenia. J. Ment. Sc, 91, 1.


.,**^,,,i*^
Hemphill, R. E., Reiss, M., and Taylor, A. L.
1944. A study of the histology of the testis in
schizophrenia and other mental disorders. J.
Ment. Sc, 90, 681.


Hertz, R., Cohen, M. L, Lewis, L. G., and Firminger, H. I. 1953. Sexual precocity in a
5-year-old boy with interstitial cell tumor of
the testis. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 13, 1248.


Hinglais, H., and Hinglais, M. 1951. Action du
prolan B sur I'irrigation sanguine du testicule
des rongeurs. Compt. rend. Soc bioL. 145,
178.


* .;
Hooker, C. W. 1944. The postnatal history and
function of the interstitial cells of the testis of
the bull. Am. J. Anat., 74, 1.  


Hooker, C. W. 1948. Biology of interstitial cells
of testis. Recent Progr. Hormone Res., 3, 173.


Hooker, C. W., Gardner, W. U., and Pfeiffer,
C. A. 1940. Testicular tumors in mice receiving estrogens. J. A. M. A., 115, 443.


Hooker, C. W., and Pfeiffer, C. A. 1942. The
morphology and development of testicular
tumors in mice of the A strain receiving estrogens. Cancer Res., 2, 759.


Horstmann, p. 1949. The function of the endocrine glands in diabetes mellitus; a clinical
study of 107 cases. Acta endocrinol., 2, 379.


HoRSTMANN, P. 1950. The excretion of androgens
in human diabetes mellitus. Acta endocrinol.,
5,261.


HoTCHKiss, R. S. 1944a. Effects of massive doses
of testosterone propionate upon spermatogenesis. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 4, 117.


HoTCHKiss, R. S. 1944b. Fertility in Men: A
Clinical Study of the Causes, Diagnosis, and
Treatment of Impaired Fertility in Men.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company.


Howard, A., and Pelc, S. R. 1950. P"= autoradiograplis of mouse testis; preliminary observations of the timing of spermatogenic stages.
Brit. J. Radiol., 23, 634.


HuGGiNS, C, Masina, M. H., Eichelberger, L., AND Wharton, J. D. 1939. Qualitative studies
of prostatic secretion. I. Characteristics of the
normal secretion; the influence of thyroid,
suprarenal, and testis extirpation and androgen
.substitution on the prostatic output. J. Exper.
Med., 70, 543.


Huggins, C, and Moulder, P. V. 1945. Estrogen
production by Sertoli cell tumors of the
testis. Cancer Res., 5, 510.


Huggins, C, and P.\zos, R., Jr. 1945. Studies on
tumors of the testis. II. Morphology of testicular tumors of dogs. Am. J. Path., 21, 299.


m,gm.  
Huggins, C, and Russell, P. S. 1946. Quantitative effects of hypophysectomy on testis and
prostate of dogs. Endocrinology, 39, 1.  


Hummel, K. P. 1954. A spontaneous transplantable testis tumor in a mouse (Abstr.). Proc A.
A. Cancer Res., 1,21.


Ingle, D. J. 1950. The biologic properties of
cortisone; a review J. Clin. Endocrinol., 10,
1312.


Innes, J. R. M. 1942. Neoplastic diseases of the
testis in animals. J. Path. & Bact., 54, 485.


Jakway, J. S., AND Young, W. C. 1958. An inherited spermatogenic hypoplasia in the
guinea pig. Fertil. & Steril., 9, 533.


Jankala, E. 0., AND Naatanen, E. K. 1955. Effect
of intense mental strain on the morphologic
picture of the testes. Ann. med. exper. et biol.
Fenniae, 33, 231.


Joel, C. A. 1942. Action of gynecogenic and andiogenic hormones on the gonads and pituitary'
gland of mature male rats. Endocrinology, 31,
644.


Joel, C. A. 1945. Degeneration und Regeneration des Hodens unter besonderer Beriicksichtung der Wirkung gynakogener und androgener Wirkstoffe auf Miinnliche Gonaden
Reifer Albino-Ratten. Acta anat., 1, 327.


Jones, G. E. S., Delfs, E., and Foote, E. C. 1946.
The effect of thiouracil hypothyroidism on reproduction in the rat. Endocrinology, 38, 337.


JosiMoviCH, J. B. 1958. Effects of destruction of
the thoracic spinal cord on spermatogenesis in
the mouse (Abstr.). Endocrinology, 63, 254.


Jost, a., and Libman, E. 1952. Atrophie testiculaire sous Taction combinee de la desoxycorticosterone et de I'oestradiol chez le rat. Ann.
endocrinol., 13, 651.


JuNGCK, E. C, Thrash, A. M., Ohlmacher. A. P.,
Knight, A. M., and Dyrenforth, L. Y. 1957.
Sexual precocity due to interstitial cell tumor
of the testis; rej)ort of 2 cases. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 17,291.


Kahan, I. H. 1955. An atypical case of interstitial cell tumor of the testicle in a dog. A.
Vet. M. A. J., 126, 471.


Kemp, T., Pedersen-B.ierga.\rd, K., and M.'VDsen,
G. B. 1943. Effect of gonadotrophic hormones in the male organism. Acta path, et
microbiol. scandinav., 20, 633.


Kevk, J. D., Jr. 1956. Hyperplasia of Leydig
cells in chronic paraplegia. Neurology, 6, 68.


Kimeldorf, D. J. 1948. Excretion of 17-ketosteroids by male rabbits during altered gonadal
function. Endocrinology, 43, 83.




King, A. B., and Langworthy, O. R. 1940. Testicular degeneration following interruption of
the sympathetic pathways. J. Urol., 44, 74.


^
KiRKPATRiCK, C. M. 1955. The testis of the fox
squirrel in relation to age and seasons. Am. J.
Anat., 97, 229.


KiT.AY, J. I., AND Altschule, M. D. 1954. The
Pineal Gland: A Review of the Physiologic
Literature. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.


Klein, M., Fontaine, R., Stoll, G., Dany, A., and
Frank, P. 1952. Modifications histologiques
des testicules chez les paraplegiques. Rev. neurol., 86, 501.


1
Klein, M., and Mayer, G. 1942. Effets pro\oques par des injections de testosterone sur
le testicule en ectopic experimentale. Arch,
physique biol., suppl. 16, 13.


Kment, O. H. 1951. IJber Steigerungen der Geschlechtsfunktionen ein Schliesslich der Spermiogenese nach Novocain-Blockaden des lumbalen Genzstranges. Zentralbl. Chir., 76, 23.


Lacassagne, A., Chamorro, A., and Buu-Hoi, N. P.
1950. Sur quelques actions biologiques de la
4-hvdroxvpropiophenone. Compt. rend. Soc.
bioi., 144, 95.


Fig. 5.18. Testis of dog 60 days after hypophysectomy. (From C. Huggins and P. S.  
Ladman, a. J., and Young, W. C. 1958. An electron microscopic study of the ductuli efferentes
Russell, Endocrinology, 39, 1, 1946.)
and rete testis of the guinea pig. J. Biophys.  
 
& Biochem. CytoL, 4, 219.  


Laufer, a., and Sulman, F. G. 1956. Estrogenic
Leydig-cell tumor with multiple metastases in
a dog; the problem of bisexual hormone production bv gonadal cells. J. Clin. Endocrinol.,
16, 1151.


(1952 ( showed that early differentiation of  
Leathem, J. H. 1942. Effect of testosterone propionate on spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats following the injection of gonadotrophins. Anat. Rec, 83, 579.  
spermatids in the rat is affected first by
hypophysectomy. Spermatids degenerate,
tubuhir fluid is lost, and atrophy of the
germinal epithelium finally takes place
(Gothie and Moricard, 1939).  


Some recent studies on comi^ensatory
Leathem, J. H. 1944. Influence of testosterone
hyi)ertrophy of the remaining testis after
propionate on the adrenals and testes of hypophysectomized rats. Anat. Rec, 89, 155.  
unilateral orchiectomy have been made.
Old investigations showed that compensatory hypertrophy occurs in boars, rabbits,
and hedgehogs. Compensatory hypertrophy
does not occur in mature guinea pigs or man
(Calzolari, Pulito and Pasquinelli, 1950;
Pasquinelli and Calzolari, 1951; Zide,
1939). In the prepubertal guinea pig and
rat, however, the remaining testis shows
accelerated development. The volume of the
remaining testis increases in the adult rat
after unilateral orchiectomy (Grant, 1956).
Since the compensatory hypertrophy is
suppressed by testosterone, it appears likely
that the accelerated development of the
remaining testis is mediated by gonadotropliins.  


The effects of gonadotrophins on testicular structure and function have been studied
Leblond, C. p. 1950. Distribution of periodic
in many species. Injection of anterior jHtuitary extract or implantation of fragments
acid-reactive carbohydrates in the adult rat.  
of the anterior i)ituitary into the testis of
Am. J. Anat., 86, 1.
guinea pigs has residted in pronounced stimulation and hypertr()])hy of the Leydig cells


Leblond, C. P., and Clermont, Y. 1952a. Spermiogenesis of rat, mouse, hamster and guinea
pig as revealed by the "periodic acid-fuchsin
sulfurous acid" technique. Am. J. Anat., 90,
167.


Leblond, C. P., and Clermont, Y. 1952b. Definition of the stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium in the rat. Ann. Xew
York Acad. Sc, 55, 548.


(Petrovitch, Weill and Deminatti, 1953;
Lenzi, E., and Marino, C. 1947. Modificazioni
Petrovic, Deminatti and Weill, 1954; Petrovic, Weill and Deminatti, 1954; Marescaux
istologiche prodotte nel testicolo e nell'ovaio
and Deminatti, 1955). In hypophysectomized mice, May (1955) found that testicular grafts of anterior pituitary tissue repair
dalla tircotossicosi sperimentale sub-acuta e
the atrojihic tubules and the involuted Leydig cells.  
cronica (con particolare riguardo alia biometrica delle cellule interstiziali). Arch, "de Vecchi" anat. pat., 9, 711.  


The effects of in(li\i(lual gonadotrophins
Leroy, p. 1951. Effets de la cortisone sur le
of both pituitary and placental origin have
testicule des mammiferes et des oiseaux.
been reviewed by Greep (1937) and Fevold
Compt. rend. Acad, sc, 233, 976.  
(1944), and in the chapter by Greep in the
present volume. The established concept,  
as worked out in the rat, is that folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) maintains and
repairs the tubular apparatus but does not
affect the function or structure of the Leydig cells. Luteinizing hormone (LH) maintains the functional activity of the Leydig
cells but does not dii-ectly control tubidar
activity.  


Urinary gonadotrophin from menopausal
Leroy, P. 1952. The effect of cortisone on the  
women stimulated the tubides (Greep, 1937)
testes of adult and immature rats. Anat. Rec,
and the Leydig cells (Balm. Lorenz, Bennett and Albert, 1953a-d). Hmnan chorionic
113,590.  
gonadotropiiin (HCG) has little oi' no
effect on tiie tubules, hut it induces ])ronounced stimulation of the Leydig cells.
Pr(>gnaiit marc sci'uni (PMS) stimulates
spermatogenic and endocrine activities of
the testis. Both LH and HCG maintain
spermatogcniesis after hypophysectomy.  


Leroy, P., and Domm, L. V. 1952. Dissociation
spermato-diastematique, sous I'influence de
la cortisone, chez le rat adulte, surrenalectomise et hypoph.ysectomise. Compt. rend. Acad,
sc, 234, 2230.


Li, C. H., and Evans, H. M. 1947. Properties
of growth and adrenocorticotropic hormones.
Vitamins & Hormones, 5, 197.


Ncitlier FSH nor LH hastens the appearance of sperm in the testis of immature animals. No type of gonadotrophin has induced
LuDwiG, D. J. 1950. The effect of androgen on
the appearance of sperm in the rat earlier
spermatogenesis. Endocrinology, 46, 453.  
that 35 days of age.  


Because interest in the chemical fractionation of animal i^ituitary tissue waned after
Lynch, K. M.. Jr. 1952. Recovery of the rat  
1945, new studies on the effects of pituitary
testis following estrogen therapy. Ann. New
gonadotrophins on the testis have not been
York Acad. Sc, 55, 734.  
performed. Instead, HCG has received attention. The well known hyperemia induced
in the ovary by HCG, which is used as a
pregnancy test, has been reported to occur
also in the testis by Hartman, Millman and
Stavorski (1950). Hinglais and Hinglais
(1951 ) have not confirmed this. HCG causes
increased testicular weight in young rats
(Rubinstein and Abarbanel, 1939). The effect of HCG on the rat testis has been summarized by Gaarenstroom (1941), who
listed the following four main actions: (1)
stimulation of the Leydig cells in both normal and hypophysectomized animals to
produce androgen; (2) increase in growth
of the testis in the normal immature animal; (3) maintenance of testicular tubules
in hypophysectomized animals; (4) potentiation of the effects of i^ituitary gonadotroi)hins in either normal or hypophysectomized animals. All effects are interpreted as
being caused by the increased liberation of
androgen. This explanation probably also
holds for the increased fibrosis in and
around the tubular wall in hypophysectomized rats after administration of HCG, for
the increase in the number of primary
spermatocytes (Muschke, 1953; Tonutti,
1954), and for the slight increase in testicular weight (Diczfalusy, Holmgren and
Westerman, 1950).  


The effects of HCG in normal men are
MacLeod, J., AND HoTCHKiss, R. S. 1941. The  
similar to those in animals (Maddock, Epstein and Nelson, 1952; Maddock and Nelson, 1952; Weller, 1954). The Leydig cells
effect of hyperpyrexia upon spermatozoa
become hyperplastic and produce more estrogen and androgen. This is reflected first
counts in men. Endocrinology, 28, 780.  
by an increase in urinary estrogen of some
5- to 20- fold and later by an increase in  
17-ketosteroids of about 2-fold. The increased secretion of steroids by the Leydig
cells is accompanied by an increase in the
frequency of erections and occasionally by
gynecomastia. The increased levels of estrogen and androgen induce tubular atro


Macmillan, E. W. 1956. The immediate effects
of occlusion of superior epididj^mal arteries
in the rat as demonstrated by the use of radiopaque medium. In Studies on Fertility., R.
G. Harrison, Ed., p. 67. Springfield, 111.:
Charles C Thomas.


phy. The tubular diameter becomes smaller,  
Maddock, W. O., Chase, J. D., and Nelson, W. 0.
spermatogenesis ceases, and there is an increase in necrosis and sloughing of the
1953. The effects of large doses of cortisone on
germinal cells. The basement membranes
testicular morphology and urinary gonadotrol)hin, estrogen, and 17-ketosteroid excretion. J.  
become hyalinized, and peritubular fibrosis
Lab. (t Clin. Med., 41, 608.  
develops. In certain eunuchoidal persons
( hy{)ogonadotrophic hypogonadism ) , use of  
HCG induces differentiation of the Leydig
cells and hastens maturation of the Sertoli
cells. Some spermatogenesis is obtained
(Heller and Nelson, 1947, 1948; Maddock,  
Epstein and Nelson, 1952). If FSH also is
administered to such eunuchoidal men, complete spermatogenesis occurs (Heller and
Nelson, 1947).  


PMS acts on the rat testis in a manner
MaDDOCK, W. O., Epstein, M., and Nelson, W.  
intermediate between that of HCG and FSH
0. 1952. The assay of urinary estrogens as
(Creep, 1937; Kemp, Pedersen-Bjergaard
a test of human Leydig cell function. Ann.
and Madsen, 1943). Tubular growth and
New York Acad Sc, 55, 657.  
hyperplasia of the Leydig cells result. Interstitial cell hyperi)lasia also occurs in mice
(Bishop and Leathern, 1946, 1948) , although
the testicular weight does not increase after
the use of PMS, as it does in rats. In the
opossum, PMS does not induce secretion of
androgen until the the animals are 70 days
of age (Moore and Morgan, 1943). PMS is
able to maintain the monkey testis after
hypoi)hysectomy l)ut only for 20 days, after
which involution occurs. If given to a hypophysectomized monkey in which testicular atrophy already is present, PMS causes
formation of spermatocytes, but it does not
induce the formation of spermatids or sperm
cells (Smith, 1942). In man, PMS causes an
increase in testicular weight (Hemphill and
Reiss, 1945).  


Unfractionated extracts of pituitaries of
Maddock, W. O., .^nd Nelson, W. O., 1952. The
sheep or horses induce both tubular maturation and androgenic formation (Sotiriadou,  
effects of chorionic gonadotrophin in adult
1941 ) . Preparations of FSH in mice produce
men; increased estrogen and 17-ketosteroid
slightly heavier testes but do not cause
excretion, gynecomastia, Leydig cell stimulation, and seminiferous tubule damage. J. Clin.
androgenic secretion (Moon and Li, 1952).  
Endocrinol., 12, 985.  
Purified preparations of LH produce atrophy of the tubules and stimulation of the
Leydig cells in infantile rats, and maintenance of germinal epithelium and Leydig
cells in hypophysectomized rats (Zahler,  
1950).  


XIII. Effects of Steroids on the Testis
Makino, S. 1955. Notes on the cytologic feature
of male sterilitv in the mule. Experientia, 11,
224.


Between 1930 and 1940, rapid advances
Manning, W. K. 1950. Biotin deficiency as the
were made in the understanding of pituitarv
causative agent of induced cryptorchidism in  
and gonadal interrelationships, and the eon
albino rats. Science, 112, 89.


Maqsood, M. 1951a. Seasonal Aariations in the
testis histologv of the ram. Vet. Rec, 63,
597.


338
Maqsood, M. 1951b. Influence of thyroid status
on spermatogenesis. Science, 114, 693.


Maqsood, M. 1952. Thyroid functions in relation
to reproduction of mammals and birds. Biol.
Rev., 27, 281.


Maqsood, M., and Reineke, E. P. 1950. Influence
of environmental temperatures and thyroid
status on sexual development in male mouse.
Am. J. Physiol., 162, 24.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Marescaux. J. 1950. Mecanisme d'action de
la folliculine sur le testicule chez le cobaye.
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 144, 1102.


Marescaux, J., AND Deminatti, M. 1955. Nouvelles recherches sur la fonction gonadostimulante de la prehypophyse par la methode
des greffes intratesticulaires combinees d'ovaire
et de pars distalis chez le cobave. Compt.
rend. Soc biol., 149, 1019.


Marine, D. 1939. Atrophj' changes in the interstitial cells of the testes in Gull's disease.
Arch. Path., 28,65.


cept of a servomechanism controlling pituitary-testis activities was well established.
MaRTiNS, T. 1943. Mechanism of the descent of  
According to this concept, male hormone
the testicle under the action of sex hormones.  
was considered to have its major effect on
In Essays in Biology, In Honor of Herbert
the testis by inhibiting the secretion of pituitary gonadotrophins. However, it was
M. Evans Written by "His Friends," Thomas
difficult to fit into this concept the report
Cowles, Ed., p. 389. Berkeley and Los Angeles:
by Walsh, Cuyler and McCullagh (1934)
University of California Press.  
that testosterone was capable of maintaining spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. If testosterone were the medium
by which spermatogenesis was maintained
normally, the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis would be in
jeopardy. As can be imagined, this finding
stimulated much research. By 1940 the fact
that spermatogenesis is maintained in hypophysectomized rats, mice, and rabbits by
testosterone was amply established (Cutuly
and Cutuly, 1940) .  


A. ANDROGENS
Mason, K. E., and Sh.aver, S. L. 1952. Some
functions of the caput epididymis. Ann. New
York Acad. Sc, 55, 585.  


The varied effects obtained by injecting
Masson, G. 1945. Spermatogenic activity of  
male hormone into normal and hypophysectomized rats depend on the nature of the
various steroids. Am. J. M. Sc, 209, 324.  
androgen, the dose, the length of the treatment period, and the age of the animals
when injections are begun. Inasmuch as
most of the experimental work has been
done with the rat and rats of various ages
and sizes were employed, it is obvious that
the dose of hormone is an important factor.  
Doses of testosterone of 100 /xg. per day or
less can be regarded as small doses, whereas
doses of 1 mg. or more can be considered as
large. These definitions pertain only to the
doses employed in studying the action of
androgen on the testis and do not necessarily have any relationship to the physiologic levels of testosterone produced by the
rat testis, which is not known, or to the
effects of testosterone on the accessory sex
organs (Moore, 1939).  


In general, testosterone has no action on
Masson, G. 1946. The spermatogenic activity of  
the undifferentiated gonad of the mouse, rat,
A^-pregnenolone and of its esters. Am. J. M.  
opossum, or guinea pig (Moore and Morgan,
Sc.,212, 1.  
1942). In the immature rat small doses of
testosterone propionate depress the testicular weight (Zahler, 1947; Dischreit, 1939;
Greene and Burrill, 1940). However, if
small doses are continued for long periods,  
incomplete supi:)ression results. Because the
testicular inhil^ition induced by small doses
of testosterone apparently results from sup


Masson, G. 1947. Action de la thyroxine sur
I'effet testoide de la testosterone. Rev. canad.
biol., 6, 355.


pression of gonadotrophins, it seems that
Masson, G., and Romanchuck, M. 1945. Observations sur certain changements morphologiques produits par la thyroxine et la testosterone. Rev. canad. biol., 4, 206.  
greater ciuantities of gonadotrophins are
formed as rats grow; hence, escape from
suppression may occur (Biddulph, 1939).  
The work of Rubinstein and Kurland (1941)
indicates that even small doses of testosterone, as already defined, may produce
dift'erent effects in the rat. These investigators compared the effects of administration of 5 and 50 fxg. testosterone propionate
per day in young animals. Young rats receiving the former dose showed increased
testicular weight without, however, any
hastening of maturation of sperm cells. The
larger dose decreased testicular weight.  


The effect of androgen on mature rats is
May, R. M. 1955. Induction de la spermiogenese dans des testicules atrophies de souris
also dependent on dose. Small doses cause
hypophysectomisees par la greffe brephoplasticjue d'une hypophyse sous leur albuginee.  
atrophy of the mature testis because of
Ann. endocrinol., 16, 375.  
suppression of gonadotrophins. Large doses
 
have the same suppressing effect, but this
MaYER, E. 1947. Inhibition of thyroid function
is overridden by a direct stimulating effect
in beagle puppies by propylthiouracil without
of androgen on the testis, and atrophy does
disturbance of growth or health. Endocrinology, 40, 165.  
not occur. In both instances, the Leydig
cells are atrophic (Shay, Gershon-Cohen,
Paschkis and Fels, 1941). Large doses of  
testosterone have a direct action on the
testis as indicated by the protective effect
exerted on the experimentally induced
cryptorchid testis (Hamilton and Leonard,  
1938) and on the transplanted testis (Klein
and Mayer, 1942) .  


The aftereffects of androgenic administration also depend on the age of the animal
McCuLLAGH, E. P., AND Hruby, F. J. 1949. Testis-pituitary interrelationship; the relative
and the duration of therapy. Using fecundity, libido, potency, and the state of the  
inability of testosterone to reduce urinary
reproductive tract as indices of testicular
gonadotrophin in eunuchoid men. J. Clin.  
function, Wilson and Wilson (1943) examined rats 3 to 5 months after a 28-day
Endocrinol., 9, 113.  
period of injection of androgen. In rats age
1 to 28 days, androgen severely affected the
reproductive system. Low libido, absence of
fecundity, and atrophic accessories were
noted 3 to 5 months after testosterone therapy was discontinued. However, the later
this treatment was instituted in the life of
the rat, the more normal was the reproductive system 3 to 5 months after administration of the hormone was stopped.  


Nelson and Merckel (1937), in a series of  
McCULLAGH, E. P., AND SCHAFFENBURG, C. A. 1952. The role of the seminiferous tubules
extensive experiments, confirmed the earlier
in the production of hormones. Ann. New
finding that various androgens maintain
Y'ork Acad. Sc, 55, 674.
spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. Furthermore, they showed that the
Leydig cells are atroj^hic in the face of


Meites, J., AND Chandrashaker, B. 1948. Effect
of thyroid status on response of the gonads to
pregnant mares' serum in two different species
(Abstr.). J. Amm. Sc, 7, 542.


Mess, B. 1952. Influence of hypoihalniuic injury
on spermatogenesis in .ilhnio rals. .\cla niorphol., 2, 275.


MAMMALIAN TESTIS
MifiEON, C. J. 1952. Pvffoct of cortisone on lipids
of serum, li\er, and testes in intact and
adrenalectomizcd rats. Pioc. Soc. Exper. Biol.
& Med., 80, 571.


Moon, H. D., and Li. (\ H. 1952. ElToct of follicle-stimulating honiioiic on gonads of immature C57 black mice. Proc Soc. Exper.
Biol. & Med., 79, 505.


Moore, C. R. 1937. Testis hormone secretion
and some effects of the liormoiic in I lie organism. Cold Spring Jlarbor Symposia (^uant.
Biol., 5, 115.


339
MooRK, C. R. 1939. Biology of the testes. In
Sex and Internal Secretioiis, 2nd ed., E. Allen,
C. II. Danfoith and E. A. Doisy, Eds., p. 353.
Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkins Company.


Moore. C. R. 1942. The i.hysiology of the testis and application of male sex hormone. J. L'rol.,
47,31.


Moore, C. R. 1944. Hormone secretion by experimental crvptorchid testes. Yale J. Biol. &
Med., 17, 203".


active spermatogenesis in the androgentreated, hypophysectomized rat. Comparing
Moore, C. R. 1951. Experimental studies on the  
such steroids as testosterone, androsterone,
male reproductive system. J. La-oL, 65, 497.
dehydroisoandrosterone, androstenedione,
and various isomers of androstenediol, they
concluded that the ability of androgens to
maintain spermatogenesis is not related to
their androgenicity. In fact, the weaker the
androgen the better is the maintenance of
spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy.  
This observation is important for it shows
that maintenance of spermatogenesis is not
due to the induction by androgen of a favorable scrotal environment for the testis. In
further studies, Nelson (1941) showed that
spermatogenesis could be maintained for


Moore, C. R. 1953. Adrenal cortical secretions
in relation to the reproductive system of rats.
J. Clin. Endocrinol., 13, 330.


MooRE, C. R., AND Morgan, C. F. 1942. Responses of the testis to androgenic treatments.
Endocrinology, 30, 990.


^? f.'^
Moore, C. R., and Morgan, C. F. 1943. First response of developing opossimi gonads to
eciuine gonadotrophic treatment. Endocrinology, 32, 17.  


Moore, K. L., and Barr, M. L. 1955. Smears from
the oral mucosa in the detection of chromosomal sex. Lancet, 2, 57.


Morales, P. A., and Hotchkiss, R. S. 1956.
Effect of adrenalectomy on the testes of man
and the dog. Fertil. & Steril., 7, 487.


MoRii, S. 1956. Morphologic studies on testis:
mainly histochemical observations on the testicular functions. Acta scholae med. Univ.
Kioto, 34, 1.


MoRRioNE, T. G. 1944. Effect of estrogens on
the testis in hejtatic insufhciencv. Arch. Path.,
37, 39.


MossMAN, H. W., Hoffman. R. A., and Kirkp.atRiCK, C. M. 1955. The accessory genital
glands of male gray and fox squirrels correlated with age and rei)roductive cvcles. Am.
J. Anat., 97, 257.


178 days after hypophysectomy by testosterone propionate. No difference was observed between spermatogenesis under these
MuLLER, I. 1957. Kanalchen- und Capillararchitektonik des Rattenhodens. Ztschr. Zellforsch. mikroskop. Anat.. 45, 522.  
conditions and that which occurs normally.  
Motile sperm were formed, and the animals
could copulate with and impregnate females.
The only difference was that the testes in
the hypophysectomized animals treated
with testosterone were only one-sixth normal size.  


As is true of other effects of androgens on
Mulligan, R. M. 1944. Feminization in male
the testis, the time at which rats are hypophysectomized seems to be a critical factor in the ability of testosterone to maintain
dogs; a syndrome associated witli carcinoma
spermatogenesis. Leathern (1942, 1944)
of the testis and mimicked by the administration of estrogens. Am. J. Path., 20, 865.
showed tliat troatmcnt witli tostosterone in


MuscHKE, H. E. 1953. Histometrische Untersuchungen am Rattenhoden nach Hypophysektomie und nach Choriongonadotropinzufuhr. Endokrinologie, 30, 281.


MUSSIO FOURNIER, J. C, ESTEFAN, J. C, Gr0S.S0, O.. .AND Albrieux, a. 1947. Effects du stilboestrol et de la testosterone sur I'ascension et
la descente du testicule ch(>z les rats. Ann.
endocrinol., 8, 109.


Fig. 5.19A. Effect of testosterone on the testis of the rat. 4, normal rat, 30 days of age.  
Xaatanen, E. K. 1955. The combined effect of  
S, normal rat, 60 days of age. 6, 30-day-old rat given 10 ^g- of testosterone propionate daily
percorten and psychic stress on the spermatogenesis of rats. Ann. Acad. Sc. Fenn., ser. A,  
for 30 days (no inhibition of spermatogenesis). 7, 30-day-old rat given 100 ^ig. of testosterone
V Med. Anthrop., 5, 3.  
propionate daily for 30 days (suppression of spermatogenesis).  


Nelson, W. O. 1937. Some factors inxohcMl in
tlie control of tlie gametogenic and endocrine
functions of the testis. Cold Spring Harljor
Symposia C^iant. Biol., 5, 123.


Nelson, W. O. 1941. Renewal of sperm formation in hvpophvsectomized rats (Abstr.). Anat. Rec, 79 48.


340
Nelson, W. O. 1951. Maminalian .spermatogenesis; effect of ("xpcruncntal cryptorchidism in the rat and nondescent of the testis in man.
Recent Progr. Hormone Res., 6, 29.


Nelson, W. O. 1953. Some problems of testicular function. J. Urol., 69, 325.


Nelson, W. O., .and Heller, C. G. 1945. Hyalinization of the seminiferous tubules associated
with normal or failing Lej'dig-cell function;
microscopic picture in the testis and associated
changes in the breast. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 5,
13.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Nelson, W. O., and Merckel, C. 1937. Maintenance of spermatogenesis in testis of the hypophysectomized rat with sterol derivatives.
Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 36, 825.


Oakberg, E. F. 1956a. A description of spermiogenesis in the mouse and its use in analysis of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and germ cell renewal. Am. J. Anat., 99, 391.


Oakberg, E. F. 1956b. Duration of spermatogenesis in the mouse and timing of stages of
the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Am.
J. Anat., 99, 507.


rats Itypophysectomized at 27 days of age
Oettle, a. G., and Harrison, R. G. 1952. The
resulted in the production of spermatids,  
histologic changes produced in the rat testis
but spermatogenesis did not occur. However, if the animals were operated on at 33
by temporary and permanent occlusion of the  
days of age, testosterone induced the formation of sperm. Furthermore, if the atrophic
testicular artery. J. Path. & Bact., 64, 273.  
testes of hypophysectomized rats were stimulated by a gonadotrophin (PMS), testosterone also maintained the spermatogenesis
thus induced.  


It is not known exactly how testosterone
Okkels, H., and Sand, K. 1940-1941. Morphologic relationship between testicular nerves and
maintains spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. It seems that the "maintenance
Leydig cells in nian. J. Endocrinol., 2, 38.  
type" of spermatogenesis is not the same as
spermatogenesis resulting from gonadotrophin, because the seminiferous tubules
of the androgenically maintained testes in  
hypophysectomized rats are small. The ef


Overzier, C. 1952. tjber die Einwirkung des Desoxycorticosteronacetats auf die Hoden normaler und hypophysektomierter weiber Ratten. Arch. path. Anat., 321, 559.


fect of androgen is not produced simply by
Pallos, K. V. 1941. Uber den Einfluss langere
the maintenance of sperm cells already present in the testis at the time of hypophysectomy because Nelson (1941) showed that
Zeit hindurch verabreichter grosser Mengen
spermatogenesis can be reinstituted in the
natiirlicher und synthetischer oestrogener Stoff
testis of a hypophysectomized rat in spite of
auf die Hoden erwachsener mannlicher Ratten.  
delaying treatment with testosterone for 3
Arch. Gynak., 171, 471.  
to 4 weeks after hypophysectomy. This interval of time exceeds the normal sojourn of
sperm cells in the epididymis; thus the
results in terms of siring young cannot be
attributed to sperm cells already present in
the accessory duct system at the time of
hyjjophysectomy (Figs. 5.19, A and B, and
5.20).  


The dose of testosterone propionate necessary for maintenance of spermatogenesis
P.arkes, a. S. 1954. Transplantation of testis tissue after storage at very low temperatures. J.
in the rat seems to be around 80 fig. per day.  
Endocrinol., 10, viiP.  


PARKES, A. S., .\ND Smith, A. U. 1954. Storage of
testicular tissue at very low temperatures. Brit.
M. J., 1, 315.


P.-vsQUiNELLi, F., AND C.'\lzol.'^ri, G. 1951. Ricerche
sul comportamento del testicolo residuo dopo
asportazione dell'altro nella cavia. Sperimentale, 101, 257.


9^-: v;: - n II
PaULSEN, C. A. 1952. Gonadotrophin suppression
as a resultant of the conversion of androgen to
estrogen (Abstr.). J. Clin. Endocrinol., 12, 915.


Fig. 5.19B. 8, 3U-day-old mt given 1000 /ug. of testosterone propionate daily for 30 days
Perry, J. C. 1941. Gonad response of male rats
(no suppression of spermatogenesis). .9, 30-day -old rat given 8.4 mg. of estradiol daily for 30
to experimental hyperadrenalism. Endocrinology, 29, 592.  
days (])ronoun(ed inhibition of spermatogenesis). 10, 30-day-old rat given 8.4 ng. of estradiol
and 1000 mS- of lestosterone i)ro])ic)nale for 30 days (no inhir)ition of spermatogenesis).
(From D. J. Jjudwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)


Peters, H. 1957. tJber die feinere Innervation
des Hodens insbesondere des interstitiellen
Gewebes und der Hodenkanalchen beini Menschen. Acta neuroveg., 15, 235.


Petersen, W. E., Spielman, A., Pomeroy, B. S., and
Boyd, W. L. 1941. Effect of thyroidectomy
upon sexual behavior of the male bovine. Proc.
Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 46, 16.


MAMMALIAN TESTIS
Petrovic, a., Demin.\tti, M., and Weill, C. 1954.
 
Resultats de I'implantation de fragments hypophysaires dans le testicule de cobaj-es murs; leur signification au sujet des modalites de
Taction gonadostimulante de la prehypophyse.
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 148, 383.


Petrovic, A., Weill, C, and Demin.\tti, M. 1954.
Mode d'action quantitative de I'extrait hypophysaire sur le testicule chez le cobaye.
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 148, 593.


341
Petrovitch. a., Weill, C, and Demin.\tti, M.
1953. Implantation de fragments prehypophysaires dans le testicule de cobayes prematures;
leur action sur la glande interstitielle et sur les
cellules sexuelles. Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 147,
495.


Peyron, a., and Samsonoff, N. 1941. Sur la production experimentale des tumeurs de la
glande interstitielle du testicule chez le rat.
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 135, 922.


Pfeiffer, E. W. 1956. The male reproductive
tract of a primitive rodent, Aplodontia rufa.
Anat. Rec, 124, 629.


• fW-"
Pollock, W. F. 1942. Histochemical studies of
the interstitial cells of the testis. Anat. Rec,
84, 23.


PopoFF, N. 1947. Le tissu interstitiel du testicule
dans diverses especes. Schweiz. med. Wchnschr.,
77, 931.


Poynter, H. 1939. Testis hormone secretion in
the rat under conditions of vasectomy or isolation. Anat. Rec, 74, 355.


12
Prelog, v., T.agmann, E., Lieberman, S., and
RuzicKA, L. 1947. Untersuchungen iiber Organextrakte ; iiber Keto-steroide aus Schweinetestes-Extrakten. Helvet. chim. acta, 30, 1080.


Fig. 5.20. Klicct oi Ti-siostcioiic on testis oi li\|M)pli\-,~(i lomi/i d lat //, testis of norm.al
RaBiNowiTZ, J. L., AND R.\GL.^ND, J. B. 1958. Biosynthesis of radioactive estradiol and cholesterol by testicular homogenates from C-14
rat, 30 days of age. 12, testis of 60-day-old rat li^popli^x ( tomizcd at 30 days of age. 13,
mevalonic acid (Abstr.). Fed. Proc, 17, 293.  
testis of 60-day-old rat hypophysectomized at 30 (la.\s of age and given 1000 /lig. testosterone
propionate daily for 30 days. (From D. J. Liidwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)


Raboch, J. AND Z.4H0R, Z. 1956. Ein Beitrag zum
Studium der inkretorischen Hodenfunktion bei
Kryptorchismus. Endokrinologie, 33-34, 160.


Rea, C. E. 1939. Functional capacity of the undescended testis. Arch. Surg., 38, 1054.


However, larger doses generally have been
Reineke, E. p. 1946. The effect of synthetic
used in experiments on the maintenance of  
thyroprotein on sterility in bulls. In The Problem of Fertility, E. T. Engle, Ed., p. 233.
spermatogenesis. These doses are far greater
Princeton: Princeton University Press.  
than those necessary to maintain the accessory sex organs of castrated animals. Tubules can be maintained by much smaller
 
doses of testosterone. Dvoskin (1944) implanted pellets of testosterone intratesticularly; approximately one-tenth of the
Richter, K. M. 1944. Some new observations
amount of testosterone needed by the parenteral route was effective by this route.  
bearing on the effect of hyperthyroidism on
genital structure and function. J. Morphol.,
74, 375.  


The concept that testosterone maintains
Richter, K. M., and Winter, C. A. 1947. A
spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats
C|uantitative study of the effect of hyperthyroidism on genital structure and function. Am.
was challenged by Simpson, Li and Evans
J. Physiol., 150, 95.
(1942, 1944) and by Simpson and Evans
(1946a, b). These investigators found that
gonadotrophins, including interstitial cellstimulating hormone (ICSH), maintained
spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats
at doses far lower than those needed to


Riemerschmid, G., AND Quinlan, J. 1941. Further
observations on the scrotal skin temperature
of the bull, with some remarks on the intratesticular temperature. Onderst. J. Vet. Sc,
17, 123.


Robinson, J. N., and Engle, E. T. 1954. Some
observations on the cryptorchid testis. J. Urol..
71, 726.


maintain the Leydig cells and the accessories. The testes remained in the scrotum,
RoLLiNSON, D. H. L. 1950. A case of bilateral
and motile sperm cells were produced. Inasmuch as testosterone propionate can maintain the tubules only at doses effective in
testicular hypoplasia in the goat. Vet. Rec,  
maintaining the accessories, it was doubted
62, 303.
that maintenance of spermatogenesis occurred by way of the direct tubular action
of androgen. In addition to casting some
doubt on the accepted mechanism of the
spermatogenic action of androgen, this work
raised doubt concerning the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis.  
Maintenance of the testis by ICSH after
hypoj^hysectomy suggests that one gonadotrophic hormone may be sufficient to maintain testicular function in mammals. However, these findings may be interpreted
conventionally; i.e., that ICSH caused the
Leydig cells, even though they were not re




342
RoLSHovEX, E. 1945. Spermatogenese unci Sertoli-Syncytium. Allg. Zellforsch. mikroskop.
anat., 33^, 439.


RoLSHOVEN, E. 1947. tjber Resorption.sleistungen
des Sertoli-Syncytiums in den Hodenkanalchen. Anat. Anz.', 96, 220.


R0LSHOVEN, E. 1951. IJber die Reifungsteilungen
bei der Spermatogenese mit einer Kritik des
bisherigen Begriffes der Zellteilungen. Anat.
ges. Verhandl., 49, 189.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1951. Quantitative studies
on spermatogenesis in the albino rat. II. The
duration of spermatogenesis and some effects
of colchicine. Am. J. Anat., 88, 163.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1952a. Kinetics of spermatogenesis in mammals. Ann. New York Acad.
Sc, 55, 574.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1952b. The third maturation division in mammalian spermatogenesis
(Abstr.). Anat. Rec, 112, 463.


paired morphologically, to secrete androgen
RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1953. Postmortem mitotic
which by virtue of its local action on the  
activity of spermatogonia and spermatocytes
tubules maintained spermatogenesis (Ludwig, 1950).  
in the albino rat. Exper. Cell Res., 4, 52.  


Testosterone maintains spermatogenesis
RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1954a. Some data on the
in other species. In hypophysectomized
productivity of the seminiferous tubules of the  
ground squirrels, the testes are atrophic,
rat (Abstr.). Anat. Rec, 118, 346.
aspermatic, and abdominal (Wells, 1942;
1943a). Hypophysectomized animals given
testosterone propionate (0.5 mg. per day for
15 to 25 days) show growth of the testes,
sperm formation, and testicular descent.  
Leydig cells remain atrophic. Because sperm
formation ceases after hypophysectomy in
the ground squirrel, as it does in the monkey, rat, guinea pig, mouse, cat, and ferret,  


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1954b. Proceedings First
World Congress. Fertil. & Steril., 3, 107.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1955a. Quantitative studies
on spermatogenesis in the albino rat. III.
Volume changes in the cells of the seminiferous
tubules. Anat. Rec, 123, 385.


'^J^
RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1955b. Untersuchungen
iiber die Degeneration samenbildender Zellen
in der normalen Spermatogenese der Ratte.
Ztschr. Zellforsch. mikroskop. Anat., 41, 221.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C. 1956. Quantitative investigations on human testicular biopsies. I. Normal testis. Fertil. & Steril., 7, 251.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C, AND Barlow, F. D. 1953.
Quantitative studies on human spermatogenesis. I. Spermatogonia. Am. J. Anat., 93, 143.


RoOSEN-RuNGE, E. C, AND GlESEL, L. O., Jr.


1950. Quantitative studies on spermatogenesis
in the albino rat. Am. J. Anat., 87, 1.


RoosEN-RuNGE, E. C, Marberger, E., and Nelson,
W. O. 1957. Quantitative investigations on
human testicular biopsies. II. Infertility and
other conditions. Fertil. & Steril., 8, 203.


*' ,f?t
Roy, S. N., K^r, A. B., and Datt.\, S. N. 1955.
 
The influence of testosterone propionate on
 
the response of the testis of young rats to
thyroxine. .Arch, inlcnuit. i)h;uiiiaco(lvn.. 102,
450.


Rubin, D. 1941. The question of ;ni a.iueous hormone from the testicle. Kndocrinologv, 29,
281.


* "• • • • .  
Rubinstein, H. S., and Abarbanel, A. 1939. The
influence of the water-soluble gonadotrophic
factor of pregnancy urine on the tesfe.'^ of the
normal immature and m.iliire i;il. .1. b.ili.
& Clin. Med., 24, 799.  


Rubinstein, H. S., AND Kurland, A. A. 1941. The
effect of small doses of testosterone propionale
on the testis and accessory sex organs. J. Urol.,
45, 780.






Ruzicka, L., AND Prelog, V. 1943. Untersuchungen von Extrakten aus Testes: sur Kenntniss
der Lipoide aus Schweinetestes. Helvet. chim.
acta, 26, 975.


Sargent, J. W., and McDonald, J. R. 1948. A
method for the cjuantitative estimate of Leydig cells in the human testis. Proc. Staff Meet.,
Mayo Chn., 23, 249.


»^--r
Savard, K., Dorfman, R. I., and Poutasse, E. 1952.
Biogenesis of androgens in the human testis
(Abstr.). J. Clin. Endocrinol., 12, 935.


Savard, K., Besch, P. K., Restivo, S., and Goldzieher, J. W. 1958. Biosynthesis of steroids
in stallion testis tissue. Fed. Proc, 17, 303.


Fic. .').21. KIT(H't of .iihlhitiMi HI ,( liypophysoctomized inoiikoj-. 1, biop-x -iniiincn from a normal
Savard, K., Dorfman, R. I., Baggett, B., and Engel,  
8-kg. rhesus monkey. .'. liiii|i-\ specimen from a
L. L. 1956. Biosj'nthesis of androgens from  
hypophysectomized monkey .ifici- 56 da.ys, during
progesterone by human testicular tissue in
which 1.4 gm. of testosterone propionate was administered at a daily dose of 25 mg. 3, state of
vitro. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 16, 1629.  
testis 20 days after use of testosterone was discontinued. Note atrophy of tubules. The Sertoli
cells and spermatogonia remain. (From P. E.
Smith, Yale J. Biol. & Me.l., 17, 281, 1944.)


Sayles, E. D. 1939. Postnatal development of
reproductive system in male guinea pigs and
its relation to testis hormone secretion. Phvsiol. Zool., 12, 256.


Schlotthauer, C. F., and Bollman, J. L. 1942.
The effect of artificial cryptorchidism on the
prostate gland of dogs. Am. J. Vet. Res., 3,
202.


it is obvious that androgen initiated spermatogenesis.  
ScHONFELD, W. A. 1943. Primary and secondary
sexual characteristics; study of their development in males from birth through maturity,
with biometric studv of penis and testes. Am.
J. Dis. Child., 65, 535.  


Testosterone propionate maintains the
Schultz, A. H. 1938. The relative weight of the  
spermatogenic activity of the testis of the
testes in primates. Anat. Rec, 72, 387.  
hypophysectomized monkey for 20 to 50
days (van Wagenen and Simpson, 1954). A  
dose of about 20 mg. per day is required.  
When medication is discontinued, marked
involution of the testis occurs within the
ensuing 3 weeks. Testosterone is effective
even after a lapse of 50 days between hypophysectomy and the institution of therapy. Spermatogenesis can be restored and
formation of motile sperm cells induced. As
in the rat, the testes maintained by androgen
are smaller than normal. Pellets of testosterone implanted locally exert a strong local action. Thus, the essential findings in the rat
are duplicated in the monkey (Fig. 5.21).  


In man the effects of testosterone on the
ScHtJTZ, W. 1952. Histologische Befunde am
testis have been studied by Hotchkiss
menschlichen Hoden nach Hormonbehandhmg
(1944a), and by Heller, Nelson, Hill, Henderson, Maddock, Jungck, Paulsen and Mortimore (1950). The main effects were disappearance of the Leydig cells, atrophy of
des Prostatacarcinoms. Arch. klin. Cliir,, 271,  
the tubules, arrest of spermatogenesis, and
65.  
pronounced hyalinization of the basement
membrane (Fig. 5.22). Complete recovery
of the testis occurred 17 months after cessation of therapy. In fact, the testes were
histologically more normal than before
treatment. The improvement in sperm production after preliminary depression of the
testis by administration of testosterone has
been used widely in the treatment of male
infertility. Heckel, Rosso and Kestel (1951)
and Heckel and McDonald (1952a, b) obtained an increase in spermatogenic activity, as determined by sperm counts and
biopsy, after cessation of treatment. This
increase was termed a "rebound phenomenon"; during it, increased fertility, as determined by an increased incidence of pregnancy among infertile couples, was reported.
The improved quality and quantity of
sperm following therai)y with testosterone
are transient. Furthermore, they occur in
only a small i^-oportion of men so treated
(Getzoff, 1955; Heinke and Tonutti, 1956).
The suppressive effect of androgen on the
human testis results from inhibition of pituitary gonadotrophin as evidenced by measurement of the amount of urinary gonadotrophin before, during, and after use of


Schwartz, M. 1945. Effect of stilbestrol on testis
and breast of patients treated for carcinoma
of prostate gland. Proc Am. Fed. Clin. Res.,
2, 97.


Scott, M. G., and Scott, P. P. 1957. Postnatal
development of the testis and epididymis in
the cat. J. Physiol., 136, 40P.


MAMMALIAN TESTIS
Scow, R. 0., AND Marx, W. 1945. Response to
pituitary growth hormone of rats thyroidectomized on the day of birth. Anat. Rec, 91, 227.


Scows R. O., .-vND SiMP.sox, M. E. 1945. Thyroidectomy in the newborn rat. Anat. Rec, 91, 209.


Scully, R. E., and Coffin, D. L. 1952. Canine
testicular tumors with special reference to their
histogenesis, comparative morphology, and endocrinology. Cancer, 5, 592.


343
Sklyk, H. 1943. Production of testis atropliy l>y
steroids. Endocrinology, 32, 116.


Selye, H., and Albert, S. 1942a. Prevention b\certain steroids of testicular atrophy usually
elicited bv small doses of testosterone. Proc.
Soc Exper. Biol. & Med., 49, 227.


Selyk, H., axd Albert, S. 1942b. Morpliogenetic
actions of various steroids in the castrate male
r.it. J. Pharmacol. & Exper. Therap., 76, 137.


1
SiiAY, H., Gershon-Cohex, J., Paschkis, K. E.,
.\M) Fels, S. S. 1941. Inhibition and stimulation of testes in rats treated with testosterone
IMopionate. iMKlocniiology, 28, 485.


Shettles, L. B., and Jones, G. E. S. 1942. The
effect of thyroidectomy on spermatogenesis in
the adult male guinea pig (Abstr.). Anat. Rec,
84, 531.


Shimkin, M. B., Gr.^dy, H. G., and Andervont,
H. B. 1941. Inckiction of testicular tumors
and other effects of stilbestrol-cholesterol pelets in strain C mice. J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 2, 65.


SiMONNET, H., AND STERNBERG, J. 1951. Le role


endocrinien de I'epiphyse. I. L'epiphyse et le
metabolisme du phosphore. Rev. canad. biol.,
9, 407.


Si.MONNET, H., AND Thieblot, L. 1951. Recherches
experimentales sur la phj-siologie de la glande
pineale. Acta endocrinol., 7, 306.


■•■A
Simpson, M. E., Li, C. H., and Evans, H. M. 1942.
Biological properties of pituitary interstitial
cell-stimulating hormone (ICSH). Endocrinology, 30, 969.


Simpson, M. E., and Evans, H. M. 1946a. Sensitivity of the reproductive sj^stem of hypophysectomized 40-day-old male rats to testosterone
propionate (Abstr.). J. Clin. Endocrinol., 6,
474.


Simpson, M. E., and Evans, H. M. 1946b. Comparison of the spermatogenic and androgenic
properties of testosterone propionate with
those of pituitary ICSH in hypophysectomized
40-day-old male rats. Endocrinology, 39, 281.


Simpson, M. E., Li, C. H., and Ev^ns, H. M. 1944.
Sensitivity of the reproductive system of hypophysectomized 40-day-old male rats to gonadotrophic substances. Endocrinology, 35, 96.


SiMPSON, M. E., and van W.agenen, G. 1954. Persistent nodules in testis of the monkey associated with Leydig cell hyperplasia induced by
gonadotrophins. Cancer Res., 14, 289.


Slye, M., Holmes, H. F., and Wells, H. G. 1919.
Primary spontaneous tumors of the testicle
and seminal vesicle in mice and other animals.
XII. Studies in the incidence and inheritability
of spontaneous tumors in mice. J. Cancer Res.,
4, 207.


\fh'.  
Smelser, G. K. 1939a. The effect of thyroidectomy on the reproductive system of hypophysis of the adult male rat. Anat. Rec, 74, 7.  


Smelser, G. K. 1939b. Testicular function and
the action of gonadotrophic and male hormones in hvperthvroid male rats. Anat. Rec,
73, 273.


Smith, H. A. 1954. Interstitial cell tumor of the
equine testis. Am. Vet. M. A. J., 124, 356.


Fig. 5.22. Elluci ul iC5io.stcruiie on the testis of a man with infertiUty caused by adult
Smith, P. E. 1938. Comparative effects of hypophysectomy and therapy on the teste.s of  
tubular failure. Testicular biopsies, showing the pronounced degree of sclerosis and hyalinization that occurs when an initially very poor testis is subjected to the administration of 91
monkeys and rats. In Les hormones sexuelles,  
consecutive injections of testosterone propionate, 25 mg. each. A, before treatment; B, at
Foundation Singer-Polignac Collogium, L.  
end of 91 days of treatment; C, 17 months after cessation of treatment. Note, in C, the
Bronha, Ed., vol. 3, p. 201. Paris: Herman.  
disappearance of hyalinization, the increase in size of the seminiferous tubules, and the
appearance of fairly orderly spermatogenesis. Leydig cells, not shown here, were present
17 months after treatment was stopped. (From C. G. Heller, W. O. Nelson, I. B. Hill,
E. Henderson, W. O. Maddock, E. C. Jungck, C. A. Paulsen and G. E. Mortimore, Fertil &
Steril., 1, 415, 1950.)


Smith, P. E. 1939. The effect on the gonads of
the ablation and implantation of the hypophysis and the potency of the hypophysis under
various conditions. In Sex and Internal Secretions, 2nd ed., E. Allen, C. H. Danforth and
E. A. Doisy, Eds., p. 931. Baltimore: The
Williams & Wilkins Company.


Smith, P. E. 1942. Effect of equine gonadotrophin on testes of hypophysectomized monkeys. Endocrinology, 31, 1.


testosterone. The mechanism by which gonadotrophin is inhibited always has been
Smith, P. E. 1944. Maintenance and restoration of spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized
assmned to be a direct effect of androgen on
rhesus monkeys by androgen administration.  
the pituitary. It is interesting in this regard
Yale J. Biol. & Med., 17, 281.  
that Paulsen (1952) showed that the use of
testosterone, w^iile reducing urinary gonadotrophin, increases the amount of urinary
estrogen 20-fold. Estrogen is by far the
most powerful suppressant of gonadotrophin
secretion known; hence, it is possible that
the atrophy of the testis observed during
testosterone therapy in man may be caused
by estrogen. No reports of maintenance of
spermatogenesis in men with pituitary insufficiency or after hypophysectomy are
available.  


B. ESTROGENS
Snair, D. W., Jaffray, S. E., Grice, H. C, and
PuGSLEY, L. I. 1954. Studies on the subacute
and chronic administration of stilbestrol in the
male rat. Canad. J. Biochem. & Phvsiol., 32,
41.  


Various natural and synthetic estrogens
Sniffen, R. C. 1952. Histology of the normal
have been given to rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, bulls, boars, and man. In all
and abnormal testis at pubertv. Ann. New
forms, estrogen induces atrophy of the male
York Acad. Sc, 55, 609.  
gonad. The histologic appearance of the  
atrophic rat testis after estrogen therapy
has been described by Dischreit (1940). In
young rats, estradiol prevents testicular
descent, produces atrophy, and inhibits
spermatogenesis (Pallos, 1941; Gardner,
1949). Two weeks following atrophy induced by estradiol or stilbestrol, regeneration of the testis begins (Bourg, Van Meen


Sohval, a. R. 1954. Histopathology of cryptorchidism; a study based upon the comparative
histology of retained and scrotal testes from
birth to maturity. Am. J. Med., 16, 346.


sel and Compel, 1952) and is complete
SoTiRiADou, E. 1941. Gonad stimulants in immature hypophysectomized male rats. Acta brev.  
wuthin 6 weeks (Lynch, 1952). However,
neerl. Physiol., 11, 1.  
Snair, Jaffray, Grice and Pugsley (1954)
noted that the accessory sex organs recover before spermatogenesis resumes. The
same inhibiting effects have been obtained
with methylbisdehydrodoisynolic acid
(Tuchmann-Duplessis and Mercier-Parot,
1952) and hydroxypropiophenone (Lacassagne, Chamorro and Buu-Hoi", 1950). In
general the effect of estrogen in the rat is
to induce atrophy of the Leydig cells and
germinal epithelium, so that only spermatocytes, spermatogonia, and Sertoli cells
remain.  


Uncertaint3^ exists concerning the general
S0ULAIR.\C, A., S0UL.«R.'\C, M.-L., AND TeYSSEYRE, J.  
effects of estrogen in guinea pigs. Lynch
(1952) noted that the Leydig cells are normal in animals treated with estrogen, but
Marescaux (1950) and Chome (1956) noted
that the Leydig cells are atrophic. Marescaux, in studying hypophysectomized guinea
pigs, concluded that estrogen has a direct
stimulating effect on the Leydig cell. Massive tubular damage occurs in the guinea
pig after administration of estrogen. In the
hamster. Bacon and Kirkman (1955) found
that various estrogens induce testicular
atrophy. In occasional animals, hyperplasia
of interstitial and Sertoli cells occurs and is
attributed to direct effects of estrogen. In
general, atrophy of the germinal epithelium


1955. Action de la corticostimuline hypophysaire, de la cortisone et de la desoxycorticosterone sur le testicule et le canal deferent du
rat normal adulte. Ann. endocrinol., 16, 229.


Srere, p. a., Chaikoff, I. L., Treitm.an, S. S., and
Burstein, L. S. 1950. The extrahepatic synthesis of cholesterol. J. Biol. Chem., 182, 629.


344
Starkey, W. F., and Le.^them, J. H. 1939. Action
of estrone on sexual organs of immature male
cats. Anat. Rec, 75, 85.


Stein, H. J., Bader, R. A., Eliot, J. W., and Bass,
D. E. 1949. Hormonal alterations in men
exposed to heat and cold stress. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 9, 529.


Steiner, p. E., Rasmussen, T. B., and Fisher, L. E.
1955. Neuropathy, cardiopathy, hemosiderosis, and testicular atrophv in Gorilla gorilla.
A. M. A. Arch. Path. 59, 5.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Stemmermann, G. N., Weiss, L., Auerbach, 0., and
Friedman, M. 1950. A study of the germinal
epithelium in male paraplegics. Am. J. Clin.
Path., 20, 24.


Tagm.ann, E., Prelog, v., and Ruzicka, L. 1946.
Untersuchungen liber Organextrakte ; isolierung von Testosteron aus Testes des Pferdes.
Helvet. chim. acta, 29, 440.


Talbot, H. S. 1955. The sexual function in paraplegia. J. Urol., 73, 91.


is nearly complete; only a few spermatocytes remain in addition to the Sertoli cells.  
Teilum, G. 1953. Classification and interpretation of testicular tumoui-s. Acta Uni\-. internat.
contra cancrum, 9, 872.  


The testis of the immature cat is unaffected by estrogen (Starkey and Leathem,  
Teilum, G. 1956. The sources of testicular androgen and estrogen. Acta med. leg. et sociol.,  
1939j . Severe tubular atrophy and involution of the Leydig cells are noted in bulls
9, 305.  
(Ferrara, Rosati and Consoli, 1953) and
 
boars (Wallace, 1949j after feeding with
Teilum, G. 1950. Estrogen production by Sertoli
stilbestrol.  
cells in the etiology of benign senile hypertrophy of the human prostate ; testicular lipoid
cell ratio and estrogen-androgen quotient in  
himian male. Acta endocrinol., 4, 43.  


Although Haschek and Gutter (1951)
Tillinger, K. G., Birke, G., Franksson, C, and  
found no effect of estrogen on the testis, the
Plantin, L.-O. 1955. The steroid production
consensus is that any kind of estrogen produces profound involution of the human
of the testicles and its relation to number and
testis. Temporary sterility is induced, of
morphology of Leydig cells. Acta endocrinol.,  
course, as well as impotence and gynecomastia (Heckel and Steinmetz, 1941). Most
19, 340.  
of the information in man has been obtained
 
from the therapeutic administration of estrogen in cases of prostatic carcinoma
Tonutti, E. 1954. Action de la gonadotrophine
(Chome, 1956; de la Baize, Mancini and
chorionic|ue sur les elements testiculaires au point de vue qualitatif et quantitatif. Semaine
Irazu, 1951 ; de la Baize, Bur, Irazu and  
hop. Paris, 30, 2135.
Mancini, 1953; de la Baize, Mancini, Bur
Tourney, G., Nelson, W. O., and Gottlieb, J. S.
and Irazu, 1954; Schwartz, 1945; Schiiltz,  
1953. Morphology of the testes in schizophrenia. A. M. A. Arch. Neurol. & Psj'chiat.,  
1952, to mention only a few) and from the
70, 240.
administration of estrogen to hypersexual
 
and homosexual men (Dunn, 1941). Estrogen induces atrophy of the tubules and the
TUCHIVLANN-DUPLESSIS, H., aND MeRCIER-P.AROT, L. 1952. Action de I'acide 1 methyl-bis-dehydrodoisynoliqiie sur le systeme endocrine et la
Leydig cells ; the latter revert to fibroblasts.  
repousse des poils du rat. Compt. rend. Soc.
The germinal epithelium shows an increase
biol., 146, 919.
in lipids and a decrease in glycogen. Unless
 
other disease is present, the atrophy proceeds so that only the Sertoli cells remain in
TwoMBLY, G. H., Meisel, D., and Stout, A. P.  
the tubules; even these cells may disappear
1949. Leydig-cell tumors induced experimentally in the rat. Cancer, 2, 884.  
with the induction of peritubular hyalinization and sclerosis.  


C. ADRENAL STEROIDS
VAN Campenhout, E. 1947. Les cellules sympathicotropes de berges. Acta anat., 4, 73.  


Tubular diameter in the testis of the
VAN Campenhout, E. 1949a. Les cellules sympathicotropes du testicule du chien et du pore.
mature rat remains normal despite the presence of severe hypercortisonism resulting
Compt. rend. Soc. biol., 143, 716.  
fi'oiii administration of 3 mg. cortisone per
day for 6 weeks (Winter, Silber and Stoerk,
1950) or of 5 to 10 mg. per day (Ingle,
1950) . A few reports indicate that cortisone
stimulates growth of the testes of young
rats (Leroy, 1951) or causes degeneration
of the germinal ei)ithelium of the rat (Leroy, 1952) and mouse (Antopol, 1950). A
careful study by Hanson, Blivaiss and
Rosenzweig (1957) showed that the relative
growth of the testis is stimulated only
slightly by cortisone.  


Extremely little infoi-mation is available on the maintenance of spermatogenesis
VAN Campenhout, E. 1949b. Les relations nerveuses de la glande interstitielle des glandes
genitales chez les mammiferes. Rev. canad.
biol., 8, 374.


van Wagenen, G., and Simpson, M. E. 1954. Testicular development in the rhesus monkey.
Anat. Rec, 118, 231.


Venning, E. H. 1942. Etude hormonale sur un
cas de tumeur interstitielle du testicule. Rev.
canad. biol., 1, 571.


in hypophysectomized rats by cortisone. Leroy and Domm (1952) reported maintenance at doses of 5 mg. per day. The Leydig
ViDGOFF, B., Hill, R., Vehrs, H., .\nd Kubin, R.  
cells involuted, and the secondary sexual
1939. Studies on the inhibitory hormone of  
apparatus was atrophic. However, these
the testes. II. Preparation and weight changes
findings were not confirmed by Aterman
in the sex organs of the adult, male, white rat.  
( 1956) , who used 5 mg. hydrocortisone per
Endocrinology, 25, 391.  
day after hypophysectomy. The scrotum became atrophic and the testes retracted. The
histologic appearance of the testes of the
cortisone-treated animals was indistinguishable from that of the hypophysectomized
controls. In rabbits Arambarri (1956) reported only small changes in the relative
weight after prolonged use of cortisone. In
man, fairly large doses of cortisone given to
patients with rheumatoid arthritis do not
affect the histologic appearance of the testes  
(Maddock, Chase and Nelson, 1953). Cortisone does bring about rapid testicular maturation in boys who have congenital adrenal hyperjjlasia, but only if the bone age
is near the age of puberty (Wilkins and  
Cara, 1954). This must not be construed
as a direct effect of cortisone on testicular
maturation. The action of cortisone in this
instance is to inhibit the excessive release
of corticotrophin (ACTH) from the pituitary, thus reducing the amount of 17-ketosteroids produced by the abnormal adrenals.  
Removal of the inhibiting effect of the
androgenic steroids allow^s the formation of
gonadotrophin, with resulting maturation
of the testes.  


The consensus is that cortisone does not
ViDGOFF, B.. Vehrs, H. 1941. Studies on the inhibitorv hormone of the testes. Endocrinology,
cause any change in the histologic appearance of the testis (Cavallero, Rossi and
26, 656.  
Borasi, 1951 ; Soulairac, Soulairac and Teysseyre, 1955; Baumann, 1955). Furthermore,
it causes no change in the accessory structures, or in the secretion of androgen by the
testis. Cortisone has no direct effect on the
prostate or seminal vesicles in castrated animals (Moore, 1953). It is doubtful whether
cortisone can maintain spermatogenesis
after hypophysectomy. The bearing of these
studies on normal testicular physiologic
function is questionable. Cortisone has been
the main adrenal steroid studied in the rat
but the rat adrenal secretes corticosterone,  
not cortisone.  


Desoxycorticosterone has been administcicfl to rats in various doses. Arvy (1942)
ViLAB, O., AND Hertz, R. 1958. Postnatal histogenesis and endocrine function of abnormal
and Overzici' (1952) I'cported that the de
testes in the A x C rat. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol.  
& Med., 98, 553.


Wallace, C. 1949. The effects of castration and
stilbestrol treatment on the semen production
of the boar. J. Endocrinol., 6, 205.


MAMMALIAN TESTIS
Walsh, E. L., Cuyler, W. K., and McCullagh.
D. R. 1934. The physiologic maintenance of
the male sex glands; the effect of androtin on
hvpophvsectomized rats. Am. J. Physiol., 107,
508.


Watson, M. L. 1952. Spermatogenesis in the
albino rat as revealed by electron microscopy;
a prehminary report. Biochim. et biophys. acta,
8, 369.


Webster, R. C, and Young, W. C. 1951. Adolescent sterilitv in the male guinea pig. Fcrtil.
& Steril., 2, i75.


34;
Weidenmann, W. 1952. .A.uswirkungen der lunibalen Sympathektomie auf den Gesamtorganismus, besonders auf Hodon und Nebennieren.
Zentralbl. Chir., 77, 1385.


Wellek, O. 1954. tJber die Wirkung des Choriongonadotropins bei gesimden Mannern. Arznoimittel-Forsch., 8, 117.


Wells, L. J. 1942. The response of the testis to
androgens following hvpoijhvsectomy. Anat.
Rec, 82, 565.


velopment of the testis of the iiinnature rat
Wells, L. J. 1943a. Effects of large doses of  
was arrested by prolonged injections of this
androgen on the testis in the ground squirrel,
steroid. Effects from desoxycorticosterone
Citcllus tridecemlineatus. Endocrinologv, 32,  
are not evident in adrenalectomized animals
455.  
(Migeon, 1952). Adult rats show atrophy of  
both the tubular apparatus and the Leydig
cells (Naatanen, 1955; Selye and Albert,
1942a, b). Maintenance of spermatogenesis
after hy])ophysectomy was described by
Overzier (1952).  


Because cortisone even in massive doses
Wells, L. J. 1943b. Descent of testis; anatomic
has little effect on the testis, it would seem
and hormonal considerations. Surgery, 14, 436.  
unlikely that ACTH would have any dramatic effects. Li and Evans (1947) repoi'ted
that ACTH depresses testicular weight and
the weight of the accessories in young rats,
has no effect in old rats, and does not maintain spermatogenesis or the accessories in
hypophysectomized rats. Baker, Schairer,
Ingle and Li (1950) reported a small reduction in testicular weight in adult rats, but
spermatogenesis j^roceeded satisfactorily.  
Large doses of ACTH produced atrophy of  
the Leydig cells. Asling, Reinhardt and Li
(1951) stated that large doses depress the
weight of the accessory sex organs. However, Moore (1953) found that administration of 5 mg. ACTH per day for 10 days has
no effect on the testis of young or old rats
and has no extratesticular effect on the production of androgen.  


D. MLSCELLAXEOU.S .STEROIDS AND MIXTURES
Wells, L. J. 1944. Hormones and descensus
OF STEROIDS
testiculorum. Bull. Minnesota Med. Fdn., 4,
50.


Masson (1945, 1946) studied 16 different
West, C. D., Hollander, V. P., Kritchevsky,  
steroids for their ability to maintain spermatogenesis. Androstenediol, methylandrostenediol, methylandrostanediol, A'^-pregneninolone, and dehydroisoandrosterone are
T. H., and Dobriner, K. 1952. The isolation
the most active compounds in maintaining
and identification of testosterone, .l^-androstenedione-3,17, and 7-ketocholesterol from
spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. No
spermatic vein blood (Abstr.). J. Chn. Endocrinol., 12, 915.  
relationship is apparent between the ability
to maintain spermatogenesis and the androgenic activity of the compound as measured
by stimulation of the seminal vesicles or the
progestational activity (progesterone is effective in maintenance but ethinyl testosterone is not).  


One compound, A^-pregneninolone, was
WiLKiNS, L., AND Cara, J. 1954. Further studies
studied in detail. It prevents testicular atrophy after hypophysectomy or following
on the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia with cortisone. V. Effects of cortisone
therapy with estradiol or testosterone; it
therapv on testicular development. J. Clin.
does not produce atrophy of the Leydig
Endocrinol., 14, 287.
cells. In doses of 1 to 2 mg. a day, preg


Williams, R. B., and Carpenter, H. M. 1957.
Early lesions in dog testes due to microwaves.
Appendix B, Naval Med. Research Inst., Bethesda, Md., Research Report, Project NMOOl
056.13.02, 15, 127.


neninolone maintains spermatogenesis in
Williams, R. G. 1950. Studies of living interstitial cells and pieces of seminiferous tubules
young and adult hypophysectomized rats,  
in autogenous grafts of testis. Am. J. Anat.,  
l)ut it does not repair the tubules or Leydig
86, 343.  
cells after a 2-week delay between hypophysectomy and therapy. Pregneninolone
also exerts a protective effect against the
damage evoked by estradiol; however, it
does not affect the regeneration that occurs
after cessation of estradiol treatment. In
this respect, it is different from testosterone,
which hastens the recovery from the estradiol-induced damage. In fact, the acceleration of regeneration by testosterone is inhibited by pregneninolone. The chief
difference between pregneninolone-progesterone and testosterone-androstenediol is
that, whereas spermatogenesis is maintained
by either pair after hypophysectomy, the
former pair cannot restore spermatogenesis,
and the latter can. ]\Iost of these effects of
pregneninolone were confirmed by Dvoskin
(1949). Progesterone and some new progestational compounds have been studied recently in man (Heller, Laidlaw, Harvey and
Nelson, 1958). Progesterone given to normal
men produces azoospermia and slight tubular atrophy, abolishes libido, and reduces
potentia, but has no effect on the Leydig
cells and the excretion of gonadotrophin,  
estrogen, and 17-ketosteroids.  


Certain doses of desoxycorticosterone or
Williams, W. L., and Cunningh.-am, B. 1940. Histologic changes in the rat testis following heat
estradiol have no effect on the testis singly,  
treatment. Yale J. Biol. & Med., 12, 309.
l)ut when mixed produce severe depression
of testicular weight (.lost and Libman,  
1952). The earlier work of Emmens and  
Parkes (1938), showing that testosterone
inhibits the debilitating action of estrone,
was confirmed by Joel (1942, 1945). The
testes of animals treated with estradiol are
one-sixth normal size; however, when testosterone propionate is added to the estrogen, the testicular weight is one-fourth normal. Furthermore, sperm cells are present
in the epididymides of the group receiving
testosterone. Mixtures of small amounts of
androstenediol and estradiol in a constant
proportion produce more profound atrophy
than large doses given in the same constant
proportion (Selye and Albert, 1942a, b;
Selye, 1943). Furthermore, androstenediol
and pregneninolone prevent the atrophy induced by small doses of testosterone. Plence,  
this protective action is not related to testoid activity, because the first compound is


Wilson, J. G., and Wilson, H. C. 1943. Reproductive capacity in adult male rats treated
prepuberally with androgenic hormone. Endocrinology, 33, 353.


Winter, C. A., Silber, R. H., and Stoerk, H. C.
1950. Production of reversible hyperadrenocortinism in rats by prolonged administration
of cortisone. Endocrinology, 47, 60.


346
WiSLOCKi, G. B. 1949. Seasonal changes in the
testes, epididymides and seminal vesicles of
deer investigated by histochemical methods.
Endocrinology, 44, 167.


WoTiz, H. H., D.Avis, J. W., AND Lemon, H. M.
1955. Steroid biosynthesis by surviving testicular tumor tissue. J. Biol. Chem., 216, 677.


Wyndham, N. R. 1943. A morphologic study of
testicular descent. J. Anat., 77, 179.


PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
Yao, T. S., and Eaton, O. N. 1954. Postnatal
growth and histologic development of reproductive organs in male goats. Am. J. Anat.,
95, 401.


Yoi'Nc;, W. C. 1927. The influence of high tempera! uic on the guinea-ipig testis. Histologic
clianges and effects on reproduction. J. Exper.
Zool., 49, 459.


Young, W. C. 1933. Die Resorption in den Ductuli Efferentes der Maus und ihre Bedeutung
fiir das Pioblcm dor T'^nlerbindung im HodenXel)enli()deiisyslem. Ztsclir. Zellforsch. mikroskop. .Anal., 17,729.


a weak androgen ; the second has no androgenic action. The protective effect possibly is
Yoi A;, W. C, Rayner, B., Peterson, R. R., and
due to interference with the inhibiting action
Bkowx. M. M. 1952a. The thyroid and reproductive performance in the adult male
of testosterone on pituitary gonadotrophin.  
guinea pig. Endocrinology, 51, 12.  


XIV. Eflfeets of Altered Endocrine States
on the Testis


Apart from the pituitary, alterations in
YouxG, W. C, Rayner, B., Peterson, R. R., and  
the endocrine system do not have pronounced effects on the testis. The thyroid
Brown, M. M. 1952b. Repioductive performance in extremely hypothyroid male
has been studied extensively with regard to
guinea pigs. Endocrinology, 51, 344.  
testicular function (Maqsood, 1952). It is
difficult to generalize with respect to the
total impact of the thyroid on the testis
except to state that there is great variability
not only from species to species, but also in
different individuals of any one species.  
Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a)
suggested that the range of thyroid activity within which normal testicular function
is possible is rather wide. This may explain
why many effects on the testis of altered
thyroid function are marginal and why so
many reports are exceedingly conflicting.  
Furthermore, it seems reasonable that animals having a naturally high level of thyroid activity may be impaired with respect
to reproductive performance when made
hypothyroid; conversely, species or individuals functioning normally at relatively
low levels of thyroid activity may be adversely affected with regard to testicular
activity when made hyperthyroid (Young,  
Rayner, Peterson and Brown, 1952b).  


In laboratory animals, hypothyroidism is
Zahler, H. 1947. Uber die Wirkimg verschiedener Goben von Testosteronpropionat auf infantilen Rattenhoden. Arch. path. Anat., 314,  
induced by thyroidectomy, by feeding of
23.  
antithyroid substances, by administering
radioiodine, or by combination of these
methods. Hyperthyroidism is induced by
feeding desiccated thyroid or various artificial thyroproteins, or by injecting thyroxine or triiodothyronine. Because it does
not seem to matter, as far as testicular
physiology is concerned, how hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are induced, dotails of the method of altering thyroidal
status will not be given.  


Hypothyroid rats show decreased spermatogenesis and have smaller accessory
Zahler, H. 1950. Uber die Wirkung eines hochgereinigten luteinasierenden Hormons auf den
structures than normal rats (Smelser,  
Rattenhoden. Arch. path. Anat., 317, 588.  
1939a). However, Jones, Delfs and Foote
(1946) found that adult hypothyroid rats
sire litters. Young animals, made hypothyroid at birth or shortlv thereafter, mav show


Zide, H. x4.. 1939. Does compensatory hypertrophy of the adult human testis occur? J. Urol.,
42, 65.


Zlotnik, I. 1943. A nuclear ring in the developing male germ cells of dog and cat. Nature,
London, 151, 670.


delay in sexual maturation (Scow and Marx,
Zuckerman, S., and McKeown, T. 1938. The  
1945 ; Scow and Simpson, 1945) , or may have
canine prostate in relation to normal and abnormal testicular changes. J. Path. & Bact.,  
normal reproductive tracts (Goddard, 1948).
46, 7.
Hyperthyroid rats show testicular degeneration associated with a decrease in sperm production and androgen secretion. The deleterious effects of hyperthyroidism are attributed to an incapacity of the testis to
respond to gonadotrophin. The atrophy of
the accessory structures is attributed to the
decrease in androgen production and to
their increased requirement for androgen in
states of hyperthyroidism (Smelser, 1939b).
A nonendocrine explanation offered by
Cunningham, King and Kessell (1941) is
that testicular degeneration occurs because
of the increased body heat of the animals
in the hyperthyroid state. Richter and
Winter (1947), however, stated that hyperthyroidism has a stimulating effect on the
rat testis and accelerates the transfer of
sperm through the genital ducts. Lenzi and
Marino (1947) wrote that experimental hyperthyroidism causes a decrease in the number and volume of Leydig cells. Mixtures of
thyroxine and testosterone in doses that
have no effect on the rat testis when given
singly, produce severe atrophy in normal
rats (Masson and Romanchuck, 1945).
Small doses of testosterone augment the debilitating effect of hyperthyroidism; large
doses protect the testis (Roy, Kar and
Datta, 1955). Changes in thyroidal status
also appear to affect the responsiveness of
the testis to gonadotrophins. Meites and
Chandrashaker (1948) stated that hyperthyroidism decreases the responsiveness of
the rat testis to exogenous gonadotrophin
(PMS) whereas hypothyroidism increases
it. The reverse holds for mice.
 
In growing mice, sexual development is
retarded by hypothyroidism and accelerated
by mild liyperthyroidism (Maqsood and
R('inek(\ 1950). Moreover, the effectiveness
of testosterone on the seminal vesicles of
mice is increased by the concomitant administration of thyroxine (Masson, 1947).
indicating an increased responsiveness of
the accessory reproductive tract to male
hormone in the hyperthyroid state.
 
Hyperthyroid guinea pigs have small testicular tubules and fewer sperm in the seminiferous tubules. As in the rat, Richter
(1944) found that hyperthyroidism in the
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
347
 
 
 
guinea pig was associated with a rapid discharge of sperm through the genital ducts.
Hypothyroidism was found to have no effect on the structure of the testis, on the
structure of the sperm cells in the ejaculate,
or on fertility (Shettles and Jones, 1942).
Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a,
b ) , however, observed that the degree of fertility of hypothyroid guinea pigs was slightly
reduced but in general the strength of the sex
drive was not altered significantly by either
hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
 
Other laboratory animals studied include
the rabbit and the dog. Hypothyroidism in
beagle puppies has no effect on spermatogenesis (Mayer, 1947j, whereas Maqsood
(1951b) found atrophy of the seminiferous
tubules and signs of decreased sexual drive
in hypothyroid rabbits.
 
In male farm animals, alterations in thyroid function are associated with variable
effects on the reproductive system. Atrophy
of the tubules and Leydig cells occurs in
the hypothyroid ram. Reduction of libido
is noted in the hypothyroid ram, goat, and
bull (Maqsood and Reineke, 1950). "Summer sterility" of sheep is explained as being
due to depression of thyroid activity
brought about by hot weather. Feeding
thyroidal materials increases libido and
spermatogenesis in bulls (Reineke, 1946;
Petersen, Spielman, Pomeroy and Boyd,
1941). The reduction in testicular activity
during hypothyroidism is attributed to an
altered secretion of trophic hormones by
the pituitary ; the excess secretion of thyrotrophin induced by thyroid deficiency in
some way reduces the secretion of gonadotrophins (De Bastiani, Sperti and Zatti,
1956).
 
In man, Marine (1939) reported atrophy
of the Leydig cells in a case of myxedema
and atrophy of the tubules in a case of exophthalmic goiter; however, examination of
the accompanying photomicrographs is not
convincing. Many conflicting claims of the
effect of thyroidal materials in infertile men
have been made (c/. Dickerson, 1947) but
these studies are uncontrolled and deserve
no further comment. A recent study by
Farris and Colton (1958), if verified, indicates that the nature of the thyroid substance used may be important after all.
Thyroxine and triiodothvronine were ad
 
 
ministered to normal and subfertile men.
Thyroxine depressed the number and activity of the sperm cells in the ejaculate,
whereas triiodothyronine had a beneficial
effect on the quality and motility of the
spermatozoa.
 
Very little can be found on the effect of
altered adrenal function on the testis. During the alarm reaction induced by the injection of formalin, no changes are evident
in the testis when the adrenal cortex is undergoing its usual response (Croxatto and
Chiriboga, 1951, 1952). Chronic hyperadrenalism produced by injections of epinephrine is accompanied occasionally by
testicular atrophy and usually by regression
of the accessories (Perry, 1941). Adrenalectomy in dogs, cats, and man is not followed
by alteration in testicular structure (Morales and Hotchkiss, 1956) .
 
In rats rendered diabetic by removal of
95 per cent of the pancreas, a slight decrease
was observed in testicular weight. In the
final stages of diabetic cachexia, however,
severe testicular atrophy occurs (Foglia,
1945). Horstmann (1949, 1950) concluded
that the impotence of diabetic men results
from the combined effects of decreased
androgen production and of increased androgen destruction. This conclusion was, however, denied by Bergqvist (1954). Impotency and loss of libido are encountered
frequently in association with uncontrolled
diabetes; both may be corrected by adequate therapy. However, men more than 35
years of age whose diabetes is well controlled may have irreversible loss of libido
and potentia. Histologic evidence of atrophy in the testes of such diabetic men can
be found in the literature. The atrophy
described seems no greater than that which
may occur spontaneously in normal men at
various ages, however.
 
The pineal body has long been thought
to be involved in the regulation of the
testis. The following conflicting statements
have been made: (1) administration of
pineal extracts inhibits testicular development, (2) pinealectomy causes testicular
hypertrophy, (3) the concentration of cholesterol esters in the testis is lowered by
administration of pineal extracts, and (4)
none of the above results are obtained
(Simonnet and Sternberg, 1951; Simonnet
 
 
 
348
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
and Thieblot, 1951 ; Alcozer and Costa,
1954, Alcozer and Cliordano, 1954; Bailo,
1955). The reader is referred to a recent
book which summarizes the literature on
the pineal body (Kitay and Altschule, 1954 ) .
Extensive hepatic disease is associated
with testicular atrophy. Morrione (1944)
induced cirrhosis in male rats by means of
carbon tetrachloride. The testes of the
cirrhotic rats were not affected. However,
when estrogen was administered, severe
testicular atrophy occurred, much greater
than that induced by the same amount of
estrogen in control, noncirrhotic animals.
Testicular atroi^hy is said to occur in 70 per
cent of men who have cirrhosis of the liver
(Bennett, Baggenstoss and Butt, 1951).
There is no critical information from which
one could conclude that the atrophy of the
testis in cirrhotic men is caused by failure
of the diseased liver to inactivate estrogen.
 
XV. Nonneoplastic Disorders
of the Testis
 
Study of certain hypogonadal disorders
of man has provided information of general
interest and bearing on the physiology of
the mammalian testis. For an index to the
large clinical literature on pituitary-testis
relationships, the reader may consult Heller
and Nelson (1948) and Albert, Underdahl,
Greene and Lorenz (1953-1955). A group of
spontaneously occurring disorders shows
clearly the control of the testis by gonadotrophin. In pituitary dwarfism, the testis
remains infantile even as late as 30 or 40
years of age, and perhaps for the entire life
span of the individual so afflicted. Leydig
cells are not jirescnt, and the tubules contain only undifferentiated cells and occasional spermatogonia. Pituitary dwarfism is
a form of hypopituitarism in which all hormones of the anterior lobe may be absent.
Anotiiei' type of hyi)ogonadism in man is
restricted to the loss of only the gonadotrophic function of the pituitary. In this
syndrome, the testis does not contain mature Leydig cells or mature tul)ules. This
syndrome represents a condition that cannot be duplicated in lower animals. A few
instances of a selective type of gonadotropliir insuflficiency have been described in
which tubular maturation proceeds, with
(liffei'entiation of the Sei'toli cells and the
 
 
 
formation of sperm. However, Leydig cells
are not present. This syndrome ("fertile
eunuchs"), if interpreted in terms of the
dualistic concept of pituitary control of the
testis, is explainable on the basis that formation and secretion of FSH have occurred
but that LH is absent. If pituitary lesions
occur before puberty, the testes remain immature. Pituitary lesions occurring after
maturity cause atrophy of the seminiferous
epithelium, not immaturity. The adult tubule of man cannot dedifferentiate as does
the mature Leydig cell following hypol^hysial deprivation. The atrophy may vary
in severity from hypospermatogenesis to
complete sclerosis. Lack of gonadotrophin in
the adult also results in thickening of the
tubular wall and atroph}^ of the Leydig cells.
 
The most common defect in the human
testis is failure of the seminiferous tubules.
In contrast to the pituitary deficiencies,
which generally result in both tubular and
androgenic failure, disorders of sj^ermatogenesis lead only to infertility. The Leydig
cells are normal, and androgenic function is
unimpaired. The disordered spermatogenesis
and the presence of cellular debris in the
lumen are reflected by an abnormal spermogram. Depression of the sperm count to the
point of azoos]M'rmia, abnormal sperm cells,
and poor motility are characteristic findings. Another type of primary testicular disorder associated with azoospermia is germinal aplasia, in which the tubules contain
only Sertoli cells. The Leydig cells are normal; hence, androgenic function is normal.
Klinefelter's syndrome also is associated
with azoospermia but the function of the
Leydig cells is variable, ranging from severe insufficiency, in which the afflicted persons are eunuchoidal, to mild insufficiency,
in which the liabitus is normal or almost so.
 
Testicular disorders are not restricted to
man. They occur in common laboratory animals and in veterinary practice. Their similarity to some of the clinical entities just
described will be evident.
 
A genito-urinary abnormality occurs in
20 per cent of males of the A x C rat (Vilar
and H(n-tz, 1958). On one side, the testis is
atroi)hic and the kidney, ureter, ductus
deferens, epididymis, and seminal vesicle
are absent; however, the coagulating gland
is |)r('scnt. The testis is noi'mal ])i'epul)ertally
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
349
 
 
 
u}) to 10 days of age. The lumenlcss tubules
contain two types of cells; one is a small
cell with one nucleolus; the other is a large
round cell containing two or three nucleoli.
Oval cells resembling Leydig cells are present in the interstitium. At 19 to 24 days of
age, both testes are ecjual in weight. The
diameter of the tubules increases, a lumen is
present, and the tubular wall becomes differentiated. Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, and
spermatocytes are evident, and the Leydig
cells are maturing. At 30 to 38 days of age,
the testis on the abnormal side is noticeably
smaller. The Leydig cells remain normal,
but the tubules are decreased in size. Between 45 and 47 days of age, spermatogenesis ceases and the tubules become atrophic.
Thick collagenous and elastic fibers are
found in the tubular wall. This disorder
seems to be an inherited defect with delayed
somatic manifestations. In some aspects, the
pathogenesis of this testicular disorder in
rats resembles that in Klinefelter's syndrome.
 
Congenital spermatogenic hypoplasia occurs in guinea pigs (Jakway and Young,
1958) . It ranges from germinal aplasia in
most of the seminiferous tubules to a condition in which the appearance of the tubules
is almost normal and the percentage of fertile matings is only slightly reduced. When
sterility is present, the testes are smaller
than those of normal males. The hormonal
production, as reflected by the size of the
penis and seminal vesicles and by sexual
behavior, is normal.
 
The mule has a J-shaped chromosome
which is contributed by the ass (Makino,
1955). Spermatogenesis in the mule does
not proceed beyond meiotic prophase, degeneration occurring without formation of
the metaphase of the first division. Hence,
sperm cells will not form. The testes become
atroi^hic, and only a few^ spermatogonia remain. The Leydig cells are normal.
 
Different types of hypogonadism, some of
which are inherited, are encountered in
bulls. Hypoplasia associated wuth urate
crystals in the semen probably results from
disintegration of the seminiferous epithelium
(Barron and Haq, 1948) . Idiopathic necrosis
of the tubule also may cause massive testicular calcification (Barker, 1956). Seven
cases of hypogonadism in Belgian bulls were
 
 
 
reported as a form of congenital sterility
(Derivaux, Bienfait and Peers, 1955) ; photomicrographs of the testes in these cases
are similar to those of germinal aplasia in
the human. Testicular hypoplasia occurs
also in goats (Rollinson, 1950).
 
Captive wild animals become sterile.
Bushman, the famous gorilla at the Chicago
Zoo, died at the age of approximately 22
years. Necropsy revealed neuropathy, cardiopathy, hemosiderosis, and testicular sclerosis (Steiner, Rasmussen and Fisher, 1955).
No cells of the germinal epithelium were
present except occasional Sertoli cells. The
Leydig cells were normal. The testicular
atrophy of Bushman was similar to that of
Bobby, at the Berlin Zoo. Whether this degenerative testicular lesion is caused by nutritional deficiency or by the "stress" of
captivity is not known.
 
XVI. Tumors of the Testis
 
Testicular tumors are more common
among lower animals than in man (Innes,
1942). Spontaneously occurring Sertoli-cell
and Leydig-cell tumors of animals have
been studied more than seminomas presumably because of the greater endocrinologic interest attached to them. Huggins and
Pazos (1945) found 64 testicular tumors in
41 dogs; of these, 33 were Leydig-cell tumors, 19 were seminomas, 9 were tubular
adenomas, and 3 were undifferentiated tumors. Zuckerman and McKeown (1938)
found tumors in 35 of 243 dogs. A few of
these were Sertoli-cell tumors which were
associated with metaplasia of the prostate.
The life span of dogs varies from 8 to 15
years, and testicular tumors occur most frequently at 7 years of age or older; in fact,
more than half of old dogs are found to have
such tumors (Scully and Coffin, 1952). The
most common tumor of the dog testis is a
Leydig-cell tumor. Five per cent of testicular tumors in dogs occur in undescended
testes. The neoplasms in cryptorchid testes
are usually Sertoli-cell tumors (Greulich
and Burford, 1936; Coffin, Munson and
Scully, 1952; Mulligan, 1944).
 
The veterinary diagnosis (Blum, 1954) of
Sertoli-cell tumors is easily made, because
the dogs become feminized. For this reason,
the chief comjilaint of the owners is tlutt
normal male dogs, after a brief olfaciMi}
 
 
 
350
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
reconnaissance, attempt to mount their afflicted pets. In addition to the feminization,
evidence that Sertoli-cell tumors produce
estrogen comes from the finding of estrogen
in the urine of tumor-bearing animals and
from the extraction of estrogen from the
tumor itself (Berthrong, Goodwin and Scott,
1949). In terms of estradiol, the concentration of estrogen extracted from a Sertoli-cell
tumor (Huggins and Moulder, 1945) was
twice that found in the ovary from an estrous bitch. Sufficient estrogen appears to be
produced to cause such changes as loss of
hair, depression of libido, cystic hyperplasia
of the mammary glands, and atrophy of the
testis.
 
Interstitial cell tumors in dogs are usually nonfunctional, but they may produce
estrogen (Laufer and Sulman, 1956; Kahan,
1955). Leydig-cell tumors have been reported in the mule, the Brahma bull, and
the saddle horse (Smith, 1954). Significantly, in the last instance, an interstitial
cell tumor occurred in the undescended testis of a 7-year-old horse, the descended testis having been removed early in life.
 
In man the proportion of various types of
testicular tumors is different from that in
lower animals. Seminomas and embryonal
carcinomas are the most frequent neoplasms. Interstitial cell tumors have been
recorded in less than two dozen instances in
the world literature. Several cases of Leydig-cell tumor have been studied by Venning (1942) , Cook, Gross, Landing and Zygmuntowicz (1952), Hertz, Cohen, Lewis and
Firminger (1953), and Jungck, Thrash, Ohlmacher, Knight and Dyrenforth (1957).
This tumor causes isosexual precocity in
boys. Signs of androgenic activity are evident in the large penis ; scrotal maturation ;
the appearance of pubic, facial, and axillary
hair, and acne; increased bodily growth;
maturation of the larynx; and increased
excretion of 17-ketosteroids. All these findings occur when sufficient amounts of
testosterone are injected into normal prepubertal boys. This tumor cannot conceivably be related to the secretion of LH (see
subsequent material on experimental tumors), because the neoplasms are usually
unilateral and the contralateral normal testis shows no activation of the Leydig cells.
 
Neoplasms classified as Sertoli-cell tu
 
 
mors are rich in lipids and are thought to
secrete estrogen (Teilum, 1950). However,
the histogenesis of these tumors is not clear,
and there is doubt that Sertoli-cell tumors
actually occur in man.
 
Testicular tumors have been induced in
rats by transplantation of immature testes
to the spleen of castrated adult animals
(Biskind and Biskind, 1945) and by radiation, carcinogens, and other means (Peyron
and Samsonoff', 1941). Transplantation of
day-old rat testes to the spleen of castrated
adult rats, normal male rats, and castrated
adult female rats resulted in the formation
of encapsulated and sharply circumscribed
tumors. Of 29 tumors thus produced, 16
were composed entirely of interstitial cells
and 13 contained other testicular elements
as well. One of the tumors was transplantable into the spleen of a castrated animal.
Because hyperplasia of the interstitial cells
was seen in most of the transplanted testes,
it was thought that the neoplasia followed
the hyperplasia induced by the excess of
gonadotrophin in the castrated host
(Twombly, Meisel and Stout, 1949). Such
Leydig-cell tumors produce estrogen (Fels
and Bur, 1956).
 
In contrast with the rat, experimental tumors in the mouse are not induced by any
of the methods already mentioned (Gardner,
1953). Spontaneous tumors of the testis in
mice do occur, however. Slye, Holmes and
Wells (1919) found 28 testicular tumors in
some 9000 male mice. None formed metastatic lesions. Hummel (1954) reported a
spontaneous tumor in an 18-month-old
mouse of the BALBC strain; this neoplasm
was transplantable for three generations in
normal or gonadectomized adult males or
females. This was a functioning tumor as
evidenced by masculinization of the submaxillary glands, mucification of the vagina,
hypertrophy of the clitoris, and an increase
in size of the uterus of the female host and
of the accessory sex organs of the male host.
All these findings indicate estrogenic and
androgenic secretion. In general, however,
interstitial cell tumors in mice are strainlimited, occurring particularly in the AC
and JK strains. Spontaneous interstitial cell
tumors also occur in hybrids and are associated with mammary tumors (Gardner,
Pfeiffcr, Trentin and Wolstenholme, 1953).
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
351
 
 
 
This association indicates that estrogen is
involved in the formation of the tumor; indeed, it is chiefly by the use of estrogen that
experimental tumors in mice have been provoked.
 
Various natural and synthetic estrogens
are effective. For example, Hooker, Gardner
and Pfeiffer (1940) and Hooker and Pfeiffer
(1942) using estradiol and stilbestrol have
been able to produce interstitial cell tumors in the A and C strains of mice, with
an incidence of 50 and 90 per cent respectively. Treatment for 8 months with 16.6 to
50 fjig. of estradiol dibenzoate or 0.25 /xg.
stilbestrol weekly produces tumors, some of
which metastasize to the renal, lumbar, and
mediastinal lymph nodes. These tumors are
transplantable if the hosts are given estrogen. They are inhibited by the simultaneous
injection of testosterone. Tumors also may
be induced by implantation of pellets of
stilbestrol and cholesterol. The implantation
of a 4- to 6-mg. pellet of 10 to 25 per cent
stilbestrol in cholesterol induced tumors
within 5 months (Shimkin, Grady and Andervont, 1941). Of the various natural and
synthetic estrogens the triphenylethylene
derivatives appear to be the most potent.
Bonser (1942) and Gardner (1943) produced transplantable tumors in the JK, the
A, and the C 3H strains by triphenylethylene. Tumors thus induced are generally composed of interstitial cells. They
are transplantable only in the same strain
of mice and only when the hosts are given
estrogen. After several generations, however, the tumor may be transplanted without administration of estrogen in normal
and in hypophysectomized mice (Gardner,
1945; Andervont, Shimkin and Canter,
1957).
 
The tumors arise from hyperplastic interstitial cells. The Leydig cells enlarge, become foamy, and degenerate. JMacrophages
or, at least, cells containing a brown pigment appear and phagocytose the exhausted
Leydig cells. A new crop of interstitial cells
appears from the mesenchyme. These may
grow faster in one zone than in another. The
faster-growing Leydig cells thus constitute
a nodule. The Leydig cells in the nodule also
become hyperplastic and foamy. These nodules appear as white spots and cause pressure atrophy of the tubules. Leydig cells in
 
 
 
the tumor thus result from three generations, since the second crop of Leydig cells
is followed by a third generation containing
small primitive and hyperchromatic cells.
These contain brown pigment and hence
give the brown color to the tumor. At this
stage, the tumor may become necrotic, may
metastasize by way of lymph or blood, or
may invade locally. Such tumors secrete
both estrogen and androgen. The consensus
is that estrogen induces interstitial cell tumors in mice by liberation of LH (Gardner,
1953).
 
The assumption that LH induces interstitial cell hyperplasia and finally a tumor
has received support from studies by Simpson and van Wagenen (1954) on young
monkeys. These investigators gave ICSH for
53 days. Hyperplasia of the Leydig cells
took place and nodules resulted. These nodules were composed of concentric laminated
peritubular cells and arose from the same
type of mesenchymal cell that yields the
Leydig cell under normal conditions. Under
the influence of HCG, the nodules secreted
androgen.
 
XVII. Conclusion
 
The postnatal development of the mammalian testis follows a fairly definite pattern. Development is slow for the variable
period of prepubertal life. The testis then
undergoes rapid evolution during puberty,
remains fairly constant in adult life, then
regresses somewhat in old age. The rapid development of the testis during puberty is
brought about by the onset of gonadotrophic
function of the pituitary. This developmental pattern is fixed for each species, but
can be modified by genie and environmental
factors. Once the adult status is attained,
secretory controls of androgenic and spermatogenic functions are established. A
steady state of testicular function is maintained in continuously breeding species. In
those mammals which show a seasonal
breeding cycle, these secretory controls, particularly those of the pituitary gland, are
periodically activated and deactivated.
 
The testes of many eutherian mammals
migrate from the abdomen during fetal life
to the scrotum. This migration is regulated
by hormones of the fetus, presumably arising from the fetal testis. It is not clear just
 
 
 
352
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
why the testes occupy the scrotum. The explanation that scrotal residence provides
"optimal testicular temperature" is not satisfying because one then wishes to know
why the male gonad requires the cooler environment afforded by the scrotum. Failure
of the testes to descend may occur as a
consequence of defects in the testes, probably of genie origin ; or because of anatomic
obstacles, representing embryologic defects,
inadvertently placed along its prescribed
narrow path. In either event, the testis is
damaged, mildly in its endocrine function,
and seriously in its spermatogenic function.
Impairment of spermatogenesis of the
misplaced testis is due to the relatively high
temperature of the abdomen. Temperature
affects the germinal epithelium directly. It
also affects the testis indirectly through the
circulatory system. The effect of temperature, or for that matter, of any type of injurious agent whether it be chemical or
physical, is atrophy of the seminiferous
epithelium. The response of the germinal
tissue to deprivation of pituitary gonadotrophin likewise is atrophy. Quantitative
variation among different species does of
course exist, but qualitatively, atrophy is
the universal response to injury. Obviously,
a common denominator must exist for this
fairly general reaction on the part of the
germinal epithelium. If various chemical
and physical stimuli act on the testis by
means of suppression or interference with
the action of gonadotrophins, atrophy of
the Leydig cells would also result. However,
many chemical and physical agents affect
only the germinal epithelium, leaving the
Leydig cells unscathed. Thus, the germinal
epithelium can be damaged directly and
the variable damage to the components of
the spermatogenic epithelium must be due
to different sensitivities of its cellular components. The Sertoli cell is much more resistant than the cells of the germinal line,
and of the seminiferous elements, the type
A spermatogonia are the most resistant. Of
great importance in the interpretation of
the damage induced by many substances or
occurring as a result of disease is the characteristic of the germinal epithelium to
reproduce in a fixed order and sequence. It
follows that the extent of injury to spermatogenesis as a whole would 1)C determined
 
 
 
by the relative susceptibility of the various
germinal cells as well as by the nature of
the noxious agent. If only sperm cells are
affected, spermatogenesis will proceed
through the formation of spermatid. However, if spermatogonia are injured, full differentiation of the germinal epithelium will
fail, and only Sertoli cells will be found in
the tubule. Thus, it is possible that all sorts
of injury to the testis, if sufficiently great,
may result in the same end stage of testicular atrophy. In spite of this common
reaction pattern to severe injury, many substances induce what seem to be specific lesions in the testis. However, these represent
intermediate or partial injuries, and do not
necessarily constitute exceptions to the general pattern of testicular response to injury.
As more is learned about the biochemistry
of the germinal epithelium, it may be possible to induce specific lesions.
 
Quantitative studies on spermatogenesis
have greatly clarified the role played by
the pituitary gland. Spermatogenesis does
proceed in hypophysectomized animals but
only at a low rate. Also it appears that androgen, not gonadotrophin, is responsible
for the maturation of the spermatid. However, it must be remembered that the formation of androgen is dependent on pituitary
gonadotrophic function. Thus spermatogenesis is regulated entirely by pituitary
gonadotrophins, which exert direct supervision over the rate of the mitotic and
meiotic activity of germ cells and indirect
supervision by way of the Leydig cell over
spermatid maturation, or spermiogenesis.
The effectiveness of androgen in sperm formation is hardly equal to that of the pituitary. Addition of trophic hormones (except
gonadotrophin) or of hormones of the target
glands (tliyi'oid, adrenal cortical hormone,
etc. I will ])robably not improve the effectiveness of androgen. The best evidence
that this surmise may be correct is obtained
from jnitients with hypogonadotroi)hic hyl)ogonadism. These i)atients have normal
function with respect to the other trophic
hormones of the pituitary and, therefore,
normally functioning peripheral glands, but
do not have sperm.
 
The quantitative studies on the spermatogenic cycle have important bearing on other
|)i'o]»lciiis wliicli have been i)uzzling to endo
 
 
MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
353
 
 
 
crinologists. jMany unsuccessful attempts
have been made to induce precocious sperm
formation in the rat by chronic or massive
use of various gonadotrophins. The time of
a complete spermatogenic cycle is not accurately known. Estimates ranging from 20
to 40 days have been given, which reflects
the difficulties and errors of present methods. If one adds to the time at which sperm
formation normally occurs in common
strains of the laboratory rat (around 35
days of age ) , about 10 days borrowed from
fetal life, the time of a complete spermatogenic cycle is probably between 45 and
50 days. Hence, no amount of exogenous
gonadotrophin could be expected to produce
precocious spermatogenesis, because a certain irreducible minimum of time may be
recjuired for the series of divisions which in
toto constitutes a spermatogenic cycle.
However, if the interval between birth and
maturity is much longer than the time of a
complete spermatogenic cycle, precocious
spermatogenesis could be experimentally
achieved, as is again indicated by an example from clinical endocrinology, i.e., the
spontaneous occurrence of isosexual precocity in boys.
 
In another clinical area, the application
of quantitative techniques to the study of
testes of iKitients afflicted with infertility
has so far not yielded helpful information.
Restoration of fertility in men with adult
seminiferous tubular failure has not been
accomplished. Infertility, however, is receiving increasing attention, especially from
the standpoint of genie factors. It is in this
area that the only startling development of
knowledge on the testis in the past 20 years
has occurred, i.e., the discovery that men
with Klinefelter's syndrome are "genetic females." One may, with good reason, question the suitability of the term "genetic females." It arose from the application of
Barr's discovery of sex dimorphism in the
heterochromatin of somatic cells (Barr,
1956; Barr and Bertram, 1949; Moore and
Barr, 1955) . Normal females are "chromatin
positive"; normal males are "chromatin
negative." This, however, may not be absolute. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome are
chromatin positive, and if chromatin positivity reflects genie constitution, it is likely
that the sterility of men with this syndrome
 
 
 
(one of its outstanding features) represents
an abnormality of chromosomal division
or number during gametogenesis of one of
their parents. Generally similar situations
may occur in lower animals; hence, the role
of genie factors in fertility can be studied
experimentally.
 
Great advances have taken place in
knowledge of the biosynthesis of male hormone by the testis. Illumination of the
chemical pathway over which simple precursors (acetate) or more complex ones
(cholesterol) are transformed to testosterone represents a major contribution in biochemistry. The enzymatic control of the
various chemical steps will undoulitedly be
disclosed before long.
 
XVIII. References
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
LoRENz, N. 1953a. Male hypogonadism. I.
The normal testis. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo
Clin., 28, 409.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
LoRENz, N. 1953b. Male hypogonadism. II.
Classification. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Clin.,
28, 557.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., and
LoRENZ, N. 1953c. Male hypogonadism. III.
The testis in pituitary dwarfism. Proc. Staff
Meet., Mayo Clin., 28, 698.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .\nd
LoRENz, N. 1954a. Male hypogonadism. IV.
The testis in prepubertal or pubertal gonadotrophic failure. Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Chn.,
29, 131.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .^nd
LoRENZ, N. 1954b. Male hypogonadism. V.
The testis in adult patients with multiple defects of pituitary function. Proc. Staff Meet.,
Mayo Clin., 29,317.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .od
LoRENz, N. 1954c. Male hypogonadism. VI.
The testis in gonadotrophic failure in adults.
Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Chn., 29, 368.
 
Albert, A., Underdahl, L. O., Greene, L. F., .\^d
LoRENz, N. 1955. Male hypogonadism. VII.
The testis in partial gonadotrophic faihne during puberty (lack of luteinizing hormone onlv).
Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Clin., 30, 31.
 
Alcozer, G., and Costa, U. 1954. Comportamento delle frazioni colesteroliche nel testicolo
di cavia adulta trattata con estratto acquoso di
pineale. Arch. "E. Maragliano" pat. e clin., 9,
355.
 
Alcozer, G., .^nd Giordano, G. 1954. Rapporti
epifiso-testicolari ; modificazioni istologiche del
testicolo di cavia adulta e di topino aduho
dopo somministrazione di estratto acquoso di
ghiandola pineale. Arch. "E. Maragliano" pat.
e clin., 9, 433.
 
 
 
354
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Allex, E., and Altlaxd, P. D. 1952. Studies of
degenerating sex cells in immature mammals.
II. Modes of degeneration in the normal differentiation of the definitive germ cells in the
male albino rat from age twelve days to maturity. J. Morphol., 91, 515.
 
Alnor, p. 1951. Zur Frage der Beeinflussung der
Sexualfunktion durch Resektion des lumbalen
Grenzstranges. Arch. klin. Chir., 269, 506.
 
Andervoxt, H. B., Shimkin, M. B., axd Canter,
H. Y. 1957. Effect of discontinued estrogenic
stimulation upon the development and growth
of testicular tumors in mice. J. Nat. Cancer
Inst., 18, 1.
 
Anthoxy, a. 1953. Seasonal reproductive cycle
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MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
363
 
 
 
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364
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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MAMMALIAN TESTIS
 
 
 
36.^
 
 
 
YouxG, W. C, Rayner, B., Peterson, R. R., and
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23.
 
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46, 7.
 
 
 
 
 
 
\y^^[' J^
 
 
 
6
 
 
 
THE ACCESSORY REPRODUCTIVE
GLANDS OF MAMMALS
 
Dorothy Price, Ph.D.
 
PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
 
and
H. Guy Williams- Ashmari, Ph.D.
 
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, BEN MAY LABORATORY, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
 
 
 
L Gross Structure, Homologies, and I. Gross Structure, Homologies, and
 
Occurrence in Mammalian Orders. 366 Occurrence in Mammalian
 
A. Introduction c566 „ ,
 
B. General Characteristics 367 Ureters
 
C. Survey of the Glands 368 j^ INTRODUCTION
 
1. Bulbo-urethral and bulbovestibu- ^, • , , ^ , ,
 
la,!- 368 The genital system of male mammals con
2. Male and female prostate glands. . 369 sists of three component parts. These are:
 
3. Seminal vesicles 376 ( 1) paired testes, the primary sex organs in
 
4. Ampullary glands ■ • ■ • ■ 376 ^^^j^j^j-, spermatozoa are formed and andro
U. Evolutionarv Historv of Accessory • i j. j /ov
 
Reproductive Glands in Mammals 376 g^nic hormones are secreted; (2) accessory
 
II. Function ofMale Accessory Glands.. 377 reproductive organs, a continuous series of
 
A. Introduction 377 ducts in which spermatozoa are transported
 
B. Volumetric Studies of Secretion 378 fpo^ the testes, stored in the tail of the epi
1. Prostatic isolation operation^. 378 .^^^^ ■ ^nd finallv carried to the exterior
 
2. Prostatic translocation operation. 380 , - . , ,. ' ,
 
C. Chemical Composition of the Glandu- ^^hen ejaculation occurs, and various
 
lar Secretions 380 glands, the secretions of which provide the
 
I). Metabolism of the Prostate and Sem- carrying medium for the spermatozoa at
 
inal Vesicle 394 emission ; ( 3) external genitalia, the penis
 
K. Coagulation of Semen 396 , , , . , ,
 
III. Structure and Function in Relation ^r copuhitory organ and, m most mammals,
 
TO Hormones 398 i^ scrotum in which the testes come to lie
 
A. Introduction 398 more or less permanently, or only periodi
B. Effects of Androgens 399 p.^Hy during the breeding season.
 
1. Testicular andn,gens 399 ^^ ^^jj^ -^ ^j^^ epithelial lining of the
 
2. Adrenal androgens 423 / . i i j r l ^ c
 
3. Ovarian androgens 424 ^ttcrent, epididymal, and deferent parts of
 
4. Progesterone 425 the duct system have secretory functions,
 
C. Effects of Estrogens 426 but all male mammals develop discrete and
 
I). Hormonal Control ()f Spontaneous ^^^ specialized glands which are associated with
 
1. Benign growtU.''""^ '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 429 ^Pecific regions of the reproductive tract and
 
2. Prostatic cancer 430 eject their secretions into it at seminal
 
E. I'^ffects of Carcinogenic Aromatic Hy emission. The degree of development of
 
drocarbons 430 these large, conspicuous glands is a unique
 
F. Effects of Nonsteroid Hormones 433 .ij^r^cteristic of mammals.
 
1. I'rolactin (LTH) 433 _, i x- i j u
 
2. Growth hormone (STH) 434 The accessory reproductive glands can be
 
IV. References 435 grouped logically into those ^vhich arise
 
366
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
367
 
 
 
embryonically from the mesonephric or
Wolffian duct (ductus deferens) i.e., the
ampullary glands (glandula vasis deferentis) and seminal vesicles or vesicular
glands, and those deriving from the urogenital sinus or urethra, namely the prostate and bulbo-urethral or Cowper's glands
(see chapter by Burns). The anatomic relationships established in the fetus are retained to a considerable degree postnatally
so that the ampullary glands and seminal
vesicles are associated with the ducti deferentes. However, in some mammals the seminal vesicles empty into the pelvic urethra
close to the openings of the deferent ducts
but separate from them; no ejaculatory
ducts are present. The prostatic and bulbourethral glands are associated with the
proximal and distal urethra, respectively.
The secretion of the prostate is discharged,
in most cases, through multiple ducts that
join the prostatic urethra at the level of
the colliculus seminalis. The ducts of the
bulbo-urethral glands drain into the urethra
in the region of the urethral bulb.
 
In addition to these accessory reproductive glands, there are small mucus-secreting
glands (of Littre) opening into the urethra
along its length, and preputial glands
(which are modified sebaceous glands)
emi)tying their secretion on the prepuce.
 
In many female mammals, homologues of
the male prostate and bulbo-urethral glands
develop in the fetus. These glands may retrogress prenatally, remain vestigial, or develop postnatally and become functionally
active. These homologues are the female
prostate glands (para-urethral glands of
Skene) and the bulbovestibular (major
vestibular or Bartholin's glands). In addition, there are urethral glands (minor vestibular) which are homologous with the
male urethral glands of Littre, and female
preputial or clitoridal glands corresponding
to the male preputials. The major vestibular, when present, and the minor vestibular
and clitoridal glands are functional in many
mature females. In a few cases, well developed prostate glands which are actively secretory have been found in females of four
mammalian orders.
 
 
 
B. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
 
The male accessory reproductive glands
of higher mammals have many characteristics in common. Typically, all possess (1)
a secretory epithelium which is enormously
increased in effective secretory area by villous infoldings, or by a compound tubuloalveolar structure, (2) an underlying layer
of connective tissue (the lamina propria)
and (3) smooth muscle fibers. It is now well
established that the secretory activity of the
epithelial cells is normally under the control
of testicular hormones. The secretions pass
from the cells into the lumina of the glandular alveoli where they are usually stored
until ejaculation.
 
The sensory innervation includes various
types of sensory nerve endings in the connective tissue, and free nerve endings in
the epithelium. The autonomic innervation
is parasympathetic (nervi erigentes) and
sympathetic (hypogastric nerve) from the
pelvic plexus. If the plexus is resected or
the sympathetic chain above is interrupted,
there is no reflex ejection of the glandular
secretions. When the hypogastric nerve is
stimulated, peristaltic waves of contraction
occur in the ductus deferens, and there is
contraction in the seminal vesicles and prostate which partially empties the stored secretion from the lumina of these glands.
Stimulation of the parasympathetic system
or the administration of pilocarpine results
in an increased output of prostatic secretion.
 
There are marked dissimilarities in gross
structure, character of the epithelia, and the
chemical nature of the secretions in the
various glands — ^prostates, seminal vesicles,
bulbo-urethral, and ampullary (Mann,
19o4a). There are also differences in structure and function between homologous
glands in related forms. The nomenclature
that was applied to the glands in early descriptive studies was often based on anatomic relationships and gross morphologic
structure in adults. This resulted in some
confusion in classification, but most of the
disputed points have been clarified and
some of the homologies have been established by embryologic study. The extensive
studies of INIann (1954a) show clearly that
 
 
 
368
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
TABLE 6.1
Occurrence of male accessory reproductive glands and their homologues in females"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Male*
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Female<^
 
 
Order
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bu
 
 
Pr
 
 
Sv
 
 
Am
 
 
Bv
 
 
Pr
 
 
Genera and species with functioning female prostates
 
 
Monotremata . . .
 
 
+
 
 
_?
 
 
_
 
 
_
 
 
+
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
Marsupiala
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
Insectivora
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
Erinaceoii.s europeus (Deanesly, 193-4)
Hemicentetes (Lehmann, 1938)
Talpa europea (Godet, 1949)
 
 
Chiropt era
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
=t
 
 
Coelura afra (Mathews, 1941)
Taphozous sp. (Mathews, 1941)
Nycteris luteola (Mathews, 1941)
Carioderma cor (Mathews, 1941)
 
 
Primates
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
=b
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
Carnivora
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
zb
 
 
±
 
 
 
 
 
 
Perissodactyla...
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
Artiodactyla ....
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hyracoidea
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Proboscidea
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sirenia
 
 
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cetacea
 
 
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edentata
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pholidota
 
 
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rodentia
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
=t
 
 
±
 
 
±
 
 
Arvicanthus cinereus (Rant her, 1909)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rattus norvegicus (Marx, 1931, 1932; Korenchevsky
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and Dennison, 1936; Korenchevsky, 1937; Witschi,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mahoney and Riley, 1938; Price, 1939; Mahoney,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1940, 1942; Mahoney and Witschi, 1947)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mastomys erythroleucus (Brambell and Davis, 1940)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Apodemus sylvaticus (Raynaud, 1942, 1945)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Microtus arvalis (Delost, i953a, 1953b)
 
 
Lagomorpha. . . .
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
+
 
 
+
 
 
±
 
 
Sylvilagus floridanus (Elschlepp, 1952)
 
 
 
"Compiled from Oudemans, 1892; Engle, 1926a; Retief, 1949; Eckstein and Zuckerman, 1956 and
others. + indicates the presence of a well developed functioning gland. — indicates either a small vestigial gland or the absence of any rudiment.
 
^ Bulbo-urethral (Cowper's), prostate, seminal vesicle and ampuUary glands.
 
"^ Bulbovestibular (Bartholin's) and prostate glands (para-urethral glands of Skene); genera and
species refer only to those in which functioning female prostates have been reported in the listed references.
 
 
 
homologous organs do not necessarily have
the same chemical functions.
 
Finally, there is variability among orders
of mannnals and families within orders, with
respect to the accessory glands which are
present (Table 6.1). The prostate is the
only u;land that is found almost universally.
 
 
 
C. SURVEY OF THE GL.4NDS
 
 
 
1.
 
 
 
Bulbo-urethral
Glands
 
 
 
and Bulbovestihidar
 
 
 
Bulbo-urethral (Cow^per'.s). The bulbourethral glands are compound tubulo-alveolar glands resembling mucous glands in
some respects. Their secretion is a viscid
lubricant which is em])tied into the bulbar
 
 
 
region of the pelvic urethra. There may be
a single pair of glands as in the monotremes,
primates, and rodents, or as many as three
pairs (Fig. 6.1), as in some marsupials
(Chase, 1939; Rubin, 1944). Their relative
size, gross structure, and complexity vary
widely. For example, they are small, compact, bean-shaped glands in man, relatively
enormous, complicated glands in squirrels,
and large, cylindrical glands in the boar.
 
Bulbo-urethral glands are notably lacking
in Cetacea, Sirenia, and certain carnivores
such as seals, walruses, sea lions, all raustelids, and the bear and dog (Oudemans, 1892;
Engle, 1926a; Eckstein and Zuckerman,
1956). (Oudemans made a point of the fact
that they are not present in aciuatic mam
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
369
 
 
 
mals, but it is rather doubtful if their absence is related to an aquatic environment.
BuLBOVESTiBULAR (Bartholin's) . The
bulbovestibular or major vestibular glands
are also compound tubulo-alveolar glands
which resemble their male homologues in
structure and secrete a mucus-like substance. Their secretory function is under
control of ovarian hormones and they involute when the ovaries are removed. They
are widely distributed in the various orders
of mammals although the information is
fragmentary with respect to some groups.
A single pair of glands is the general rule
and they are usually much smaller than the
bulbo-urethral. In the female opossum, the
single pair of glands is homologous with the
smallest of the three pairs of Cowper's
glands. In the adult, they are well developed
and filled with colloid (Rubin, 1944). In
monotremes the ducts open at the base of
the clitoris, in opossums into the urogenital
sinus canal, and in hyenas (where they are
well developed) into the urogenital canal
close to the base of the clitoris (Eckstein
and Zuckerman, 1956). In many other females the ducts open into the vestibule. In
the adult human female, Bartholin's glands
resem])le Cowper's glands closely in histologic structure.
 
2. Male and Female Prostate Glands
 
Male prostate. The prostate is a compound tubulo-alveolar gland in which the
gross structure is variable and may be (1)
disseminate or diffuse, in which the glandular acini remain within the lamina propria
around the urethra and do not penetrate
the voluntary muscle of the urethra, (2)
a type in which the gland forms a '"body,"
sometimes lobed, outside the urethral
muscle, or (3) a combination of both types.
A disseminate prostate is found in some
marsupials (Fig. 6.1) and edentates, and
in sheep, goats, the hippopotamus, and
the whale. The bull and boar prostates have
a disseminate region as well as a discrete
body of the gland. In mammals in which
there is a glandular body, there may be a
solid, compact prostate as in the dog and
man, or several lobes as in rodents (Figs.
6.2 and 6.3), lagomorphs (Fig. 6.4), and
insectivores.
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.L Male opossum reproductive tract. B,
bladder; C, Cowper's glands; D, ductus deferens; E,
epididymis; P, penis; Pr, prostate I, II, III surrounding the urethra; T, Testis; U, ureter. (Redrawn from C. R. Moore, Phj'siol. ZooL, 14, 1-45,
194L)
 
A prostate gland has been found in all
mammals that have been studied except
monotremes, and is the only accessory gland
in carnivores such as the ferret, weasel, dog,
and bear, and in cetaceans — whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Oudemans (1892) considered that monotremes and marsupials
lack prostate glands but possess well developed urethral glands. His classification
of glands as "urethral" (glands of Littrei
or "prostatic" depended on whether the
glandular acini remained in the urethral
stroma or penetrated the muscle to form a
 
 
 
370
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
COAGULATING GLANDS
 
 
 
SEMINAL VESICLE
 
 
 
SEMINAL VESICLE
 
 
 
■1%.^
 
 
 
 
AMPULLARY GLAND
DORSAL PR0STATE
VENTRAL PROSTATE
 
 
 
 
Fic. 6.2. Mule hamster accessory repidiluri i
aspect.
 
body outside. It is now recognized that
marsupials such as the opossum have a disseminate prostate, and in Didelphys Virginian a there are three regions which differ
 
 
 
5EMINAL VESICLE
.- RIGHT
 
 
 
DORSAL PROSTATE
 
 
 
^VENTRAL PROSTATE
 
 
 
gl.-inds. Above, ventral aspect; below, dor.sal
 
 
 
clearly in histologic structure (Chase, 1939).
It may be considered that there are three
prostatic "lobes" probably differing in function as well as in structure. Although Oude
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
371
 
 
 
— RIGHT SEMINAL VESICLE
 
 
 
COAGULATING GLAND
 
 
 
DORSAl
PROSTATE
 
LATERAL
 
 
 
DUCTUS
-DEFERENS
 
 
 
BLADDER
 
 
 
URETHRA
 
 
 
Fig. 6.3. Male guinea pig accessory reproductive glands. (From E. Ortiz, D. Price, H. G.
Williams-Ashman and J. Banks, Endocrinology, 59, 479-492, 1956.)
 
 
 
mans concluded that monotremes lack prostate glands, he described a concentration of
urethral glands at the neck of the bladder
in the duckbill platypus. Ornithorhyncus
poradoxicus. The diagrams in his monograph suggest that this concentration of
complicated glands is a disseminate type of
prostate.
 
There has been confusion in the nomenclature of the lobes of the prostate in the
rat and in the descriptions of the structure
of the lobes. In early studies the application
of human anatomic terminology to rodents
resulted in designation of the lobes as anterior (ventral), middle, and posterior (dorsal). Later terminology, more suitable for
 
 
 
cfuadrupedal animals, led to anterior (cranial), middle, and posterior (caudal). Unfortunately, combinations of these two systems of nomenclature still occur in the
literature, and there is uncertainty as to the
number of histologically distinguishable regions or lobes. In view of the current interest in the chemical composition of the
glands and their secretions the subject will
be reviewed.
 
For many years the prostate was usually
described as being composed of three pairs
of lobes: cranial or anterior (coagulating
glands) bound to the seminal vesicles; middle or dorsolateral nearly encircling the
urethra dorsolaterally, and the ^-entral or
 
 
 
372
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.4. Rabbit accessory reproductive glands; lateral aspect. Left, domestic male; center,
cottontail male; right, cottontail female. B, bulbo-urethral gland; C, coagulating gland (vesicular gland); D, ductus deferens; P, paraprostate ; Pr, prostate; V , urethra; VC, urogenital
canal (vestibulum) ; V, vagina. (Redrawn from J. G. Elschlepp, J. Morphol., 91, 169-198,
1952.)
 
 
 
lio.sterior (Moore, Price and Gallagher,
1930; Callow and Deanesly, 1935; Price,
1936). Korenchevsky and Dennison (1935)
noted that the histologic structure of the
dorsal lobe (or region) is quite similar to
that of the coagulating glands whereas the
lateral lobes more nearly resemble the ventral. This has been confirmed in histologic
and functional studies (Price, Mann and
Lutwak-Mann, 1955). Gunn and Gould
(1957a) reported differences in histologic
structure and functional activity in the two
lobes.
 
The lateral lobes can be distinguished
grossly from the dorsal by anatomic relationships and color, but the glandular lobules form a continuous mass and can be
separated into distinct lateral and dorsal
lobes only by dissection. This can be accomplished with considerable accuracy in immature males and young adults; in large
rats it is more difficult because of distention
of the alveoli and overlap of lobules in
contiguous regions. The ventral tips of the
lateral lobes extend down and partially
underlie the ventral lobes to which they are
loosely bovmd. The dorsal prostate is somewhat butterfly-shaped with a single cranial
region and wings extending caudally along
 
 
 
the urethra much as in the hamster (Fig.
6.2). By dissection in the midline, it can be
divided into right and left lobes. The dorsal
and lateral prostates are drained by 50 or
more ducts opening into the roof of the prostatic urethra (Witschi, Mahoney and Riley,
1938). Those from the dorsal region open
more dorsally; those from the lateral lobes,
laterodorsally.
 
Some of the confusion in prostatic terminology arises from the general application
of the word "lobe" to (1) organs that are
grossly anatomically distinct, (2) regions
that do not form entirely discrete structures
but can be distinguished histologically, (3)
])arts of the gland which contain two histologically different portions, and (4) regions
that differ, not in histologic structure but
in response to hormones and in the tendency
to ])athologic growths (human and dog).
 
The lobation of the human prostate has
been the subject of controversy for some
time. It is of especial interest because one
region, the posterior or dorsal lobe, is commonly the site for prostatic carcinoma and
another, the more anterior or ventral region,
for benign prostatic hypertrophy. The lobes
have been described as posterior, anterior,
middle, and two lateral, or as posterior and
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
373
 
 
 
anterior, or outer and inner (medullary).
The component parts of these regions have
been discussed extensively (see Moore,
1936; Huggins and Webster, 1948; Retief,
1949; Franks, 1954). Lowsley (1912)
studied the embryologic development of the
human prostate and concluded that the
gland derives from five independent groups
of tubules. A cranial posterior or dorsal
group (lobe) arises from the dorsal wall of
the prostatic urethra or urogenital sinus;
right and left lateral lobes originate from
the prostatic furrows and grow back to form
the main part of the base of the gland; a
middle lobe derives dorsally from the urethra between the bladder and ejaculatory
ducts; a ventral or anterior lobe forms but
regresses and becomes insignificant.
 
Although these prostatic buds or tubules
form independent groups in their embryonic
origin there is no clear separation into such
groups in the human prostate postnatally.
However, Huggins and Webster (1948) were
able to distinguish clearly two different regions, a posterior and an anterior lobe, by
differential response to estrogen administration. The extent of the anterior or ventral
lobe, as delimited by them, apparently includes the tubules of the middle and lateral
lobes as described by Lowsley.
 
The pioneer studies of Walker (1910a) on
the coagulating function of discrete glands
of the prostatic complex in rats and guinea
pigs (Fig. 6.3) were followed by specific
identification of coagulating glands in several rodents including mice and hamsters
(Fig. 6.2) and in the rhesus monkey (van
Wagenen, 1936). However, a copulation
plug in the vagina of females has been reported in some marsupials, insectivores,
chiropterans, the chimpanzee among the
primates (Tinklepaugh, 1930), and several
genera of rodents in which coagulating
glands have not been identified. Eadie
(1948a) found that in an insectivore, Condylura cristata, there is a peculiar prostatic
secretion from paired ventral lobes. It contains an enormous number of amyloid
bodies resembling the corpora amylacea
present in the prostate gland of man and
some other mammals. These prostatic concretions are generally considered abnormal,
but Eadie suggested that this unusual se
 
 
cretion, which was found in all breeding
males, might be instrumental in the formation of a unique type of copulation plug.
A large ''urethral" gland which lies between the prostate and bulbo-urethral
glands and surrounds the urethra is peculiar
to certain species of bats. Mathews (1941)
considered it probable that the presence of
this gland is correlated with the formation
of a large copulation plug, but he did not
ascribe a specific coagulating function to
the gland (which bears a histologic resemblance to the bulbo-urethral glands in some
bats).
 
The difficulties of homology and classification can be illustrated by the case of the
rabbit. Differences of opinion have existed
concerning the nomenclature and homologies of the seminal vesicles (or prostatic
utricle), vesicular glands (seminal vesicle
or prostate), and paraprostate glands (or
superior Cowper's glands). In studies on
embryologic development and histologic
structure, Bern and Krichesky (1943) clarified the problem. They established that the
domestic rabbit has true seminal vesicles,
vesicular glands (which are considered as
probably homologous with the coagulating
glands of rats), prostates, paraprostates
(usually similar to the bulbo-urethrals in
histologic structure but in about one-third
of the cases, one or more of the paraprostates resembled the prostate histologically),
bulbo-urethral glands, and glandular ampullae. Elschlepp (1952) compared the accessory glands of the cottontail, Sylvilagus
floridamis, with those of the domestic rabbit, and concluded that coagulating glands
(avoiding the usage of "vesicular glands"
which has often been used synonymously
with seminal vesicles) , dorsal prostates, and
bulbo-urethral glands are homologous in
the two species. The adult cottontail has
neither paraprostates nor seminal vesicles
(Fig. 6.4) . Classification of the glands in the
hedgehog and shrew has also presented
problems (see discussion in Eckstein and
Zuckermann, 1956; Eadie, 1947). Among the
Sciuridae, many possess a bulbar gland
which differs from their true Cowper's
glands (Mossman, Lawlah and Bradley,
1932). It is evident that among mammals
 
 
 
374
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
there are many potentialities for forming
accessory glands with varied anatomic
structure, histologic characteristics, and
functional activities.
 
Female prostate. In fetuses of many female mammals, small cords of cells which
represent the homologues of the male prostate bud off from the epithelial lining of the
urethra. These primordia normally retrogress or remain vestigial and only rarely
continue to develop after birth. In the human female, these rudimentary structures
are known as para-urethral glands of Skene.
They have also been referred to as periurethral glands. However, it seems advisable, as Witschi, Mahoney and Riley (1938)
suggested, to restrict the usage para-urethral and peri-urethral to the aggregations
of mucus-secreting glands that have short
ducts opening into the urethra. These clearly
differ from the true female prostate glands.
 
In contrast to the rudimentary prostate
glands which are retained postnatally by
some female mammals, relatively large, well
developed female prostates have been reported postnatally in some insectivores,
chiropterans, rodents, and lagomorphs. The
male accessory glands of many species in
these orders are exceptionally well developed and the prostates are usually lobed.
Female prostates are tubulo-alveolar glands,
as are their male homologues, and they too
form lobes, but the glands are never as
large as those of the male. Their secretory
activity is apparently dependent mainly on
ovarian androgens, but the function, if any,
of the secretion is obscure. Extensive research has shown that the administration of
androgens to rodents, either to pregnant females or fetuses, to fetal lagomorphs, and
to pouch-young oppossums, results in the
formation and retention of prostates in females which normally do not have such
glands (see chapter by Burns).
 
Deanesly (1934) described vaginal glands
in the female hedgehog and suggested that
one pair is homologous with the external
prostates of the male. The female glands extend dorsolaterally on either side of the urethra and a single duct from each lobe opens
into the vagina. They seem to be active
during the breeding season and to retrogress
in the anestrum. In another insectivore,
 
 
 
Hemicentetes, there is a pair of large
"paravaginal glands" which are functionally active in the mature female and have
large acini filled with secretion. They resemble the male prostate in histologic structure and anatomic position, but have no
ducts (Lehmann, 1938). In adult European
moles, most females have bilobed ventral
prostate glands which undergo cyclic
changes in the epithelium. The prostate of
the male is also bilobed and ventral in position and the homology in the two sexes is
clear (Godet, 1949).
 
Mathews (1941) studied the anatomy and
histophysiology of the male and female genital tracts of nine species of African bats.
Female prostates are well developed in four
species, less conspicuous in a fifth, and absent from the remaining four. There is a
marked tendency for greater development
of the glands in pregnant and lactating females. In three species, the female prostates
surround the urethra (as do their male homologues), but in Nycteris luteola the female prostate appears ventrally, whereas
the male prostate in this species is limited
to the dorsal aspect of the urethra. Mathews
considered that the female prostates represent greatly enlarged female urethral glands
which are homologous with the male ])yostate.
 
The occurrence of female prostates and
their relation to hormones have been most
extensively studied in rodents. The first description of a well developed female prostate gland seems to be that of Rauther
(1909), who found such a gland ventral to
the neck of the bladder in the African field
rat, Arvicanthis cinereus. In Rattus norvegicus, Marx (1931, 1932) reported the
sporadic occurrence of female prostates.
Korenchevsky and Dennison (1936) and
Korenchevsky (1937) found prostates in 9
of 56 females and stated that the glands
wei'c atrophic, but when androgens were administered, these glands resembled the
male ventral prostate. On this basis, the
homology of the glands of the female with
the \-entral prostate of the male was suggested. Further studies (Witschi, Mahoney
and Riley, 1938; Mahoney, 1940, 1942; Malioney and Witschi, 1947) showed that the
female prostate of the rat is homologous
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
375
 
 
 
with only the most medioventral part of the
male prostate ; the lobes are bilateral or unilateral, with the right the preferred side;
each lobe has a single duct which opens into
the urethra. The incidence of female prostates varies markedly in different strains,
and can be increased by selective inbreeding, w^iich also increases the occurrence of
bilateral compared with unilateral lobes.
The frequency of female prostates was increased in the Wistar stock from 28 to 99
per cent, but when selective inbreeding was
stopped, the frequency declined.
 
In young untreated female rats, the prostate, when present, develops a histologic
structure identical with that of the male
homologue, but at about 6 weeks of age the
epithelium undergoes regression (Price,
1939; Mahoney, 1940) and becomes histologically well developed again only during
pregnancy and lactation (Burrill and
Greene, 1942; Price, 1942). Thus, the female prostate of the rat is not only homologous with a part of the ventral prostate of
the male on the basis of embryologic development, but during early postnatal development and in periods of pregnancy and
lactation it resembles its male homologue
histologically (Fig. 6.46). In addition, it is
functionally equivalent (see Section II) to
the male ventral prostate in the secretion
of citric acid (Price, Mann and LutwakMann, 1949).
 
Brambell and Davis (1940) found large,
well developed prostate glands in every one
of 104 female African mice, Mastonujs
erythroleucus Temm. These glands consist
of paired lobes, each draining into the
urethra by a single duct. They resemble the
ventral prostate of the male in position,
shape, and histologic structure. On the basis of this evidence it was concluded that
the female glands are the homologues of the
male ventral prostate. In some cases, the
female prostates are nearly as large as their
male homologues and are actively secretory. Brambell and Davis correlated hypertrophy and secretory activity with the luteal phase of the cycle and gestation.
 
Female prostate glands have also been described in the field mouse, Apodemns sylvaenms sylvaticus. Raynaud (1942, 1945)
found bilobed prostates in 51 immature and
 
 
 
adult females collected in the vicinity of
Vabre (Tarn) and in 3 females from three
other regions of France. However, the lobes
were macroscopically visible in only 10 females; in all others, the glands were identified in histologic preparations. There w^as
great variability in histologic structure, but
a well developed epithelium showing secretory activity was found during pregnancy
and lactation. Raynaud established that the
female prostate is homologous with a part
of the male ventral prostate. He concluded
that there is a probability that bilobed female prostates exist normally in all females
of Apodemus sylvaticus.
 
The prostate glands in adult female field
voles, Microtiis arvalis P., are considered
homologous with the ventral lobes and part
of the lateral lobes of the male prostate
(Delost, 1953a, b). The lobes in the female
are lateral in position in part of the gland,
but in other regions they completely surround the urethra. The structure is identical
with that of the ventral prostate of the male.
The epithelium appears secretory in normal
adult females, and during gestation this activity is intense.
 
Bilobed female prostates were found in
the 37 adult cottontail rabbits examined by
Elschlepp (1952). They lie on the dorsal
wall of the vagina (Fig. 6.4) and are similar histologically to the prostate of the male.
The glands are larger in pregnant than in
nonpregnant females and contain more secretion.
 
In summary, well developed female prostate glands are present in immature and
adult females of many species. They may
occur as ventral, lateral, or dorsal lobes; the
lobes may be unilateral or consistently bilateral; their occurrence may be sporadic
or reach an incidence of 100 per cent; they
are found both in laboratory strains and in
wild populations. The genetic studies of
Witschi and his collaborators show that the
incidence in rodents can be increased by
selective inbreeding. In certain populations
of wild rodents the character has become
established. A striking example of this is the
presence of large prostates in all female
Masto)7iys erythroleucus. The secretory activity of the glands seems to be controlled
mainly by ovarian androgens (sec Section
 
 
 
376
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
III) . No function can be ascribed to the secretion.
 
3. Seminal Vesicles
 
The seminal vesicles are paired, usually
elongated glands which may appear relatively simple externally (Figs. 6.2 and 6.3)
but are subdivided internally by complicated villous projections. The name refers
to an old misconception that they are sperm
reservoirs. The seminal vesicles are relatively enormous and distended with secretion in some mammals, for example, the rat,
guinea pig, and hamster; they are large in
others such as the boar, and in still others,
as in man, they are small and compact.
 
Seminal vesicles are absent from the monotremes, marsupials, carnivores, and cetaceans that have been studied, and from some
insectivores, chiropterans, primates, and
lagomorphs. Variability exists among the
edentates ; the sloths and the armadillo have
seminal vesicles which are well developed
in the two-toed sloth and armadillo, but
are very small and rudimentary in the
three-toed sloth. Among the lagomorphs, the
seminal vesicle of the domestic male rabbit
is a large unpaired gland whereas the seminal vesicles in the adult cottontail rabbit
are vestigial or absent although they develop for a time in the fetus (Elschlepp,
1952).
 
4- Ampullary Glands
 
These organs are glandular enlargements
arising from the ampullae of the ducti
cleferentes or the posterior region of the
ductus if a distinct ampullary enlargement
is not present. They may be only slight
glandular enlargements of the wall, or discrete glands which nearly encircle the ductus deferens as in rats, some mice, and hamsters (Fig. 6.2). They are vestigial in
certain pure line strains of mice (Horning,
1947) and lacking in guinea pigs (Fig. 6.3).
In some bats, they attain very large size. In
general, they are absent from many mammalian orders and variable in others (Table
6.1).
 
D. EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF ACCESSORY
REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS OF MAMMALS
 
The well developed male accessory glands
which characterize the niamnialiaii class as
 
 
 
a whole, and form such a conspicuous part
of the reproductive tract in most mammals,
are not found in nonmammalian vertebrates.
These glands appear as anatomically distinct organs in the primitive prototherian
mammals, the monotremes, which are definitely mammalian but which also retain
certain anatomic characteristics of their
reptilian ancestors and still lay shelled eggs.
However, it has been suggested that in the
evolution of the three groups of living mammals from mammal-like reptiles, the line of
descent of monotremes is entirely separate
from that of marsupials and placentals.
Furthermore, the last two groups are probably parallel branches of the mannnalian
stock.
 
The accessory glands of modern mammals represent, then, the parallel evolution
of discrete glands that probably began their
development very early in the evolutionary
history of mammals. In gross structure, size,
and internal complexity they are unique
accessory organs among vertebrates. Modern reptiles have no such glands; the seminal plasma is composed mainly of secretions
from the epididymis and the renal tubules
of the sexual segment of the long, lobulated
kidney. Both these regions become highly
secretory during the breeding season (see
chapter by Forbes) . Parenthetically, the semen of birds (a later offshoot from the reptilian line than mammals) contains only a
small amount of seminal plasma (Mann,
1954a) which is secreted in the cock almost
entirely by the seminiferous tubules and
vasa efferentia (Lake, 1957). In modern
mammals, the epididymal epithelium is
still an important accessory secretory area
(see chapter by Bishop) , but the bulk of the
seminal plasma comes from glandular elaborations of quite different regions, the urogenital sinus (a derivative of the primitive
cloaca) and the posterior part of the Wolffian ducts, the ducti deferentes.
 
Modern monotremes are specialized forms
but in certain characteristics they are primitive. They show almost diagramatically
some of the first steps in the evolution of
accessory glands. The bulbo-urethrals are
already well developed but the concentration of complicated urethral glands at the
neck of the bladder in the duckbill platypus
almost certainlv illustrates the derivation
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
877
 
 
 
of a specialized gland (the prostate) from
simpler glands which are nmnerous along
the urethra. The probable evolution of prostates and bulbo-urethral glands from
smaller, simpler urethral glands has been
suggested in the past. Observations of
Bruner and Witschi (1946) support this
concept. In experiments on fetal hamsters,
it was found that masculinized females developed prostate glands but the ducts
joined the collecting ducts of the urethral
glands and did not open directly into the
urogenital sinus. According to these workers, this may represent an intermediate
stage in the development of specialized
glands.
 
The history of the cloaca may well be important in relation to development of accessory glands (Retief, 1949). The cloaca is
retained in modern reptiles; in monotremes
it is subdivided cranially into ventral urodeum or urogenital sinus and a dorsal coprodeum; it is represented by a pocket in marsupials but is lost as a discrete structure in
all higher mammals. The first development
of a separate urogenital duct or urethra as
it occurs in monotremes may be correlated
with the first appearance of discrete accessory glands from this specific region in
mammals.
 
The marsupials illustrate a more advanced type of glandular development with
three histologically distinguishable regions
in the disseminate prostate and three pairs
of bulbo-urethral glands. Seminal vesicles
and ampullary glands are found only among
higher mammals.
 
The size and structural complexity of
these unique glands in mammals raises the
question of the adaptive value of relatively
large accessory glands associated with the
mammalian reproductive tract. This is a
matter only for speculation. The evolution
of such glands with increased surface for
secretion and enlarged storage space may,
perhaps, have been correlated with a tendency for an increase in volume of seminal
plasma in the ejaculate of mammals. Mann
(1954a) pointed out the variability in the
volume of ejaculated semen and in the
sperm density in various species. With regard to the volume of seminal plasma, he
stated, "In lower animals it may be so
scarce that the emitted semen takes the
 
 
 
form of a very thick lump of spermatozoa,
closely packed together. There is little seminal plasma in bird semen and even among
some of the mammals, but on the whole, the
higher mammals including man, produce a
relatively dilute semen with a considerable
l)roportion of seminal plasma." A second
suggestion, more speculative, is that the
evolution of large mammalian glands may
also have compensated for loss of accessory
reproductive function in the kidney. The
kidney of mammal-like reptiles and ancestral mammals may have contributed to the
formation of seminal plasma (as is true in
modern reptiles, amphibians, and fishes),
but the compact kidney of warm-blooded,
metabolically active mammals may be ill
adapted for such a purpose.
 
II. Function of the Male
Accessory Glands
 
A. INTRODUCTION
 
The only known function of the male accessory glands is to secrete the seminal
plasma. The proportion of this fluid which
originates from the various secretory organs, or even from different lobes of the
same gland, varies greatly from one species
to another. There is also remarkable species
variation in the volume and composition of
the individual secretions. The functional
activity of the accessory glands is governed
primarily by hormones of testicular origin.
The output of androgens is subject to the
control of the anterior hypophysis, and
many factors (e.g., age, light, season, temperature, and diet) affect the secretory activity of the hypophysis and testis. Thus, it
is not surprising that in a given individual,
there may be marked fluctuations in the
cjuantity and chemistry of the secretions of
the accessory glands, and hence of the seminal plasma.
 
The development by Charles Huggins of
ingenious surgical procedures enabled the
secretory activity of the canine prostate to
be measured by simple volumetric methods.
Such studies of prostatic secretion in the
dog established the quantitative relationships between the function of prostatic epithelium and the androgenic status of the
host. In other species, serial collection of the
individual secretions in the same animal
 
 
 
378
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
has not been achieved for purely technical
reasons. The use of "split ejaculates" has
given some insight into the glandular origin
of various conii)oncnts of the seminal
plasma, but this techniciue does not provide
uncontaminated secretions from any one
gland. However, in the last two decades extensive analyses of the chemical and enzymatic constituents of the individual secretions stored in the accessory glands, and of
the whole seminal plasma, have been performed. The levels of many of these substances and enzymes are dependent on androgenic hormones. These findings have
provided a basis for sensitive chemical
methods for the bioassay of androgens.
Moreover, knowledge of the biosynthesis of
these substances by the accessory glands
may point to the primary biochemical locus
of action of androgenic steroids. This chemical approach to the study of the accessory
glands has received great impetus from the
pioneer studies of Thaddeus Mann.
 
The secretions of the accessory glands of
many species are a repository for huge
Cjuantities of substances which are present
only in trace amounts in other tissues and
body fluids. It is obvious that the seminal
plasma must provide an ionically balanced
and nutritive milieu suitable for the survival of sperm in the vagina and uterus.
Certain substances secreted by one or more
of the accessory glands, e.g., fructose, undoubtedly serve as a source of energy for
the sperm. However, there is no evidence
that any component of mammalian seminal
plasma, or any one of the accessory glands,
is absolutely indispensable for fertility. Artificial insemination is successful in some
mammals if sperm from the epididymis are
diluted in a suital)ly prepared medium,
placed in a female in the correct stage of the
estrous cycle, and deposited in a region of
th(; female tract where there is maximal
opiiortunity for their successful ascent. Removal of the coagulating glands in guinea
l)igs (Engle, 1926b) , or dorsolateral prostate
(Gunn and Gould, 1958) in rats does not
prevent insemination and fertilization. Blandau (1945) extirpated the seminal vesicles
and coagulating glands of rats and found
that when these males were mated there was
no copulation plug and, evidently as a result, the spermatozoa did not penetrate the
 
 
 
vaginal canals of the females. Thus the secretions of the coagulating gland and seminal vesicles in the rat assist the transport
of sperm in the female.
 
The following section will consider the
output and composition of the secretions,
and their hormonal regulation, primarily
from a chemical standpoint, rather than in
relation to the anatomy and embryology of
the structures from which they originate.
 
B. VOLUMETRIC (STUDIES OF SECRETION
 
1. Prostatic Isolation Operation
 
Volumetric studies of the secretion of
canine prostatic fluid have yielded great insight into the factors which determine the
functional activity of male accessory glands.
The dog is devoid of both seminal vesicles
and bulbo-urethral glands, and if the urine
is suitably deviated, practically pure prostatic secretion can be collected from the
urethra. Eckhard (1863) ligated the neck
of the bladder of dogs and obtained prostatic fluid by urethral catheterization. This
technique was used by a number of investigators to study the secretory activity of the
i:)rostate gland (Mislawsky and Bormann,
1899; Sergijewsky and Bachromejew, 1932;
Winkler, 19311. A superior modification of
the operation was introduced by Farrell
(1931, 1938; Farrell and Lyman, 1937). The
output of prostatic fluid was increased
greatly either by electrical stimulation of
the nervus erigens or by the injection of
cholinergic drugs such as pilocarpine. These
early prostatic isolation operations suffered
from the signal disadvantage that, for
technical reasons, they permitted only brief
experiments.
 
In 1939, Huggins, Masina, Eichelberger
and Wharton developed a simple surgical
procedure which enabled frequent collection
of canine prostatic secretion over long
l)eriods of time. The original technique was
modified slightly by Huggins and Sommer
(1953) and is depicted in Figure 6.5. The
bladdei' is separated from the prostate
gland, the urine voided through a supral)ubic canula, and the animals circumcised.
Healing was complete within one week after
surgery, and the animals were maintained in
good health. Prostatic fluid could be collected at fre(iucnt intervals for as long as
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
379
 
 
 
two years. Normal adult dogs were found
to secrete 0.1 to 0.2 ml. of prostatic fluid per
hour without external stimulation. Following the administration of pilocarpine, the
canine prostate secreted as much as four
times its weight of fluid (60 ml.) in one
hour. The amount of secretion obtained in
response to a standard dose of pilocarpine remained relatively constant for three
months or more, and bore no direct relationship to the weight of the gland. The volume
and composition of the fluid varied with the
time and intensity of the cholinergic stimulus. Huggins (1947c) found that, after a
single intravenous injection of pilocarpine,
the volume and the content of total protein, certain enzymes (acid phosphatase, fSglucuronidase and fibrinogenase ) , and citrate were maximal in the first 15 minutes,
then declined progressively in three succeeding quarter-hour periods. But the chloride
content always rose initially from the low
values of the resting secretion and reached
maximal levels after the first 15-minute
period. If the drug was administered intramuscularly, maximal values for total protein and citrate were found in the first period, whereas those for the volume and
enzyme content were higher in the second
and third periods. It was concluded from
experiments involving the repeated intravenous injection of pilocarpine that acid
phosphatase and fibrinogenase were definitely secreted and not simply washed out
of the gland. However, a "washing out"
process does occur after an initial stimulus
with respect to total protein and citrate
levels.
 
It was observed by Huggins, Masina,
Eichelberger and Wharton (1939) that infectious diseases {e.g., pyelonephritis, distemper) often decreased the volume of
stimulated fluid. This effect seemed to be
due to inhibition of the hypophysis, because
it could be overcome by injection of gonadotrophin. Soon after castration (7 to 23 days)
the secretion ceased and was restored by the
administration of testosterone propionate.
Androgens also initiated secretion in immature animals. In castrate dogs maintained on
testosterone, neither adrenalectomy nor removal of the thyroid and parathyroid glands
affected the rate of prostatic secretion.
Huggins (1947c) observed that in normal
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.5. The canine prostatic isolation operation.
The connection of the prostatic urethra with the
bhulder has been severed and the prostatic secretion is collected by way of the penis. (From C.
Huggins and J. L. Sommer, J. Exper. Med., 97, 663680, 1953.)
 
animals, secretion was unaffected by injection of either progesterone or desoxycorticosterone.
 
Cystic hyperplasia of the prostate occurs
in many senile dogs. The volume of fluid
secreted by such hypertrophied glands in
response to pilocarpine was smaller than
that obtained from young adult animals
(Huggins and Clark, 1940).
 
Injection of diethylstilbestrol into normal
adult dogs abolishes prostatic secretion. Administration of gonadotrophin restores secretion in such estrogen treated animals,
which suggests that the primary effect of
estrogens under these conditions is on the
hypophysis (Huggins, 1947c). Estrogens
also antagonize the stimulatory effects of
injected androgens. In castrate dogs receiving testosterone, injection of large doses
of diethylstilbestrol decreases the output of
prostatic fluid to very low levels (Huggins
 
 
 
380
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
and Clark, 1940). The neutralization of
androgen action by estrogens in this situation is pronounced but not complete. Thus
the acid phosphatase activity of prostatic
fluid collected from animals treated with
both testosterone propionate and diethylstilbestrol is of the same order of magnitude
as that of normal secretion, despite the fact
that the volume of the secretion is extremely low (Huggins, 1947c). The ratio
of diethylstilbestrol recjuired to antagonize
maximally the action of testosterone was
found to be about 1 : 25. In dogs with either
normal or cystic prostate glands, injection
of amounts of estrogen sufficient to decrease
prostatic secretion leads to shrinkage of the
prostate. Large doses of estrogen cause the
canine prostate gland to enlarge ; the dorsal
segment undergoes squamous metaplasia
and the ventral lobe becomes atrophic
(Huggins and Clark, 1940; Huggins, 1947c).
If both estrogen and androgen are administered simultaneously, the dorsal region becomes squamous and the ventral portion of
the gland retains its columnar epithelium,
although the volume of the prostatic secretion may be drastically reduced.
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.6. The c-anine prostatic translocation operation. (From C. Huggins and J. L. Sommer, J.
Exper. Med., 97, 663-680, 1953.)
 
 
 
2. Prostatic Translocation Operation
 
Huggins and Sommer (1953) transposed
the prostate gland of the dog from its natural position to the perineum, as depicted in
Figure 6.6. This procedure permitted the
size of the prostate to be measured in the
living animal, and provided prostatic fluid
quite uncontaminated with other material.
Pilocarpine was used as a secretory stimulus. Using this technique, Huggins and Sommer found that the effects of androgens and
estrogens on prostatic size and secretion
were similar to those obtained with dogs
that had undergone the prostatic isolation
operation.
 
C. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE
GLANDULAR SECRETIONS
 
Electrolytes. Water is the main constituent of prostatic and seminal vesicle secretions and of seminal plasma, all of which
are approximately iso-osmotic with respect
to blood serum. The vesicular secretion is
usually more alkaline than the prostatic secretion and has a higher dry weight, mainly
because it contains more protein. The electrolyte content of the secretions varies
widely between different species (Huggins,
1945; Mann, 1954a). In general, sodium is
the main cation, although this is not true of
boar vesicular secretion which is very rich
in potassium. Chloride tends to be the main
anion in those species whose accessory gland
secretions do not contain large amounts of
citrate. In this connection it is instructive
to compare the resting prostatic fluid of
man, and the pilocarpine-stimulated prostatic fluid of the dog (Huggins, 1945, 1947c).
The human secretion has a much greater
citrate and calcium content, and a much
smaller chloride level than the corresponding canine fluid, although the total concentration of osmotically active substances is of
the same order of magnitude in both secretions.
 
Zinc. Berti'aiid and X'hidesco (1921 » found
large amounts of zinc in human semen. The
highest concentration of zinc is present in
the first fraction of the ejaculate, which is
largely prostatic secretion (Mawson and
Fischer, 1953). In the rat, the zinc content
of the dorsolateral prostate is especially
lii<i;li (.Mawson and Fisclicr, 1951 ). After in
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
381
 
 
 
tracardiac injection, Zn*'^ is concentrated by
this tissue 15 to 25 times more than any
other organ, including the ventral prostate
(Gunn, Gould, Ginori and Morse, 1955).
The dorsolateral prostate of the rat consists
of two parts which are functionally and anatomically distinct, and only the lateral
portion concentrates Zn*'^ (Gunn and Gould,
1956a, 1957a). A rapid uptake of Zn^'s by
slices of the rat dorsolateral prostate in
vitro has been noted by Taylor (1957) .
 
The zinc content of the rat dorsolateral
prostate, and its uptake of Zn*'^, are under
hormonal control. The concentration of zinc
in this gland increases 6- to 10-fold between
the 35th and 100th day of life (Fischer, Tikkala and IMawson, 1955). In the adult rat,
Gunn and Gould (1956b) observed a
marked decrease in Zn^^ uptake after castration, which could be prevented by androgen treatment. In immature (Alihar,
Elcoate and JNIawson, 1957) and hypophysectomized (Gunn and Gould, 1957b) animals, the administration of testosterone or
gonadotrophin increased the zinc levels and
the rate of Zn*'^ uptake, whereas estradiol
was ineffective.
 
The physiologic function of the zinc in
seminal plasma is problematical. This metal
is an integral component of the enzyme
carbonic anhydrase. The distribution of
carbonic anhydrase among the various lobes
of the prostate gland was studied by Mawson and Fischer (1952). In the rat, the posterior prostate contains about the same
amount of carbonic anhydrase as the erythrocytes, whereas the ventral prostate contains very little of this enzyme. The lateral
portion of the posterior prostate contains
about 6 times as much zinc as the median
part. But only a small portion of the zinc
in the rat dorsolateral prostate, and in human semen, can be accounted for as carbonic anhydrase (Mawson and Fischer,
1953). According to Gunn and Gould
(1958), dorsolateral prostatectomy, which
removes most of the zinc from semen, is
without influence upon either fecundity or
fertility in the rat.
 
Fructose. The presence of a reducing and
yeast-fermentable sugar in mammalian semen has been known for some time (McCarthy, Stepita, Johnston and Killian, 1928;
 
 
 
Huggins and Johnson, 1933). It was assumed by early workers that this sugar was
glucose. Although Yamada (1933) reported
that human semen contained a sugar which
reacted as a ketose, it was not until 1945
that the nature of the main reducing sugar
in most mammalian semens was elucidated
by Thaddeus Mann. Using a highly specific
enzymatic method of estimation, Mann
(1946) showed that the semen of men and
many other mammals contains little or no
glucose. The reducing and yeast-fermentable
sugar of bull seminal plasma was isolated in
the pure state and identified as d( — ) -fructose on the basis of its optical rotation and
formation of methylphenyl fructosazone.
 
Mann (1949) found fructose in the semen
of the bull, ram, boar, goat, opposum, rabbit, guinea pig, mouse, hamster, and man.
It is also present in the European mole
iTalpa) and hedgehog {Erinaceus) (Mann,
1956). Table 6.2 shows that the fructose
content of semen varies greatly from one
species to another. In the five species indicated, the total fructose accounts for all
the yeast-fermentable carbohydrate present, but these species also contain nonfermentable sugars. The semen of some animals contains glucose. This is true of the
rabbit, in which both glucose and fructose
are detectable (]\lann and Parsons, 1950),
and the cock (Mann, 1954a), the semen of
which is devoid of fructose. Ketoses other
than fructose are found in certain semens.
For example, the vesicular and ampullar
secretions of the stallion possess carbohydrates which react in colorimetric tests as
 
TABLE 6.2
Reducing sugars of semen
Values obtained from Mann (1946) and expressed in terms of milligrams of fructose per 100
ml. of semen.
 
 
 
Species
 
 
Total
 
Reducing
 
Sugar
 
 
Fructose
 
 
Yeast
Fermentable Sugar
 
 
Nonfer
mentable
 
Sugar
 
 
Bull
 
 
937
443
528
295
31
 
 
910
340
 
417
 
141
 
9
 
 
917
 
370
 
411
 
144
 
10
 
 
25
 
 
Ram
 
 
73
 
 
Rabbit"
 
 
117
 
149
 
 
Boar
 
 
21
 
 
 
" Small amounts of glucose were occasionallj'
fovmd in rabbit semen by Mann and Par.-ons
(1950).
 
 
 
382
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
ketoses, but cannot be fructose as they are
not fermented by yeast (Mann, Leone and
Polge, 1956) .
 
In most mammals, fructose is formed
mainly in the seminal vesicles (Huggins and
Johnson, 1933; Davies and Mann, 1947;
Mann, 1949; Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman
and Banks, 1956). But in the rat, the seminal vesicles secrete little fructose, most of
which originates from the dorsal prostate
and coagulating glands (Humphrey and
Mann, 1949).
 
Metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis
of seminal fructose by the accessory glands
have been studied extensively. From the results of experiments on diabetic animals,
Mann and Parsons (1950) concluded that
blood glucose was the precursor of seminal
fructose. The hyperglycemia resulting from
the administration of alloxan to rabbits was
accompanied by a parallel increase in the
fructose content of semen. Injection of insulin into such diabetic animals led to a fall
in the levels of both blood glucose and seminal fructose. Similarly, the concentration of
fructose in human semen was found to be
abnormally high in diabetic patients. Mann
and Lutwak-Mann (1951b) incubated
minced accessory gland tissue with glucose
and observed the formation of small amounts
of fructose. Cell-free extracts of bull seminal
vesicle showed marked phosphoglucomutase
and phosphohexoisomerase activity. The
same preparations hydrolyzed both glucose
6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate to the
corresponding free sugars. Slices of seminal
vesicle glycolyzed glucose at much greater
rates than fructose. On the basis of these
facts, Mann and Lutwak-Mann (1951a, b)
postulated that the conversion of glucose to
fructose involved an initial phosphorylation
of glucose to glucose 6-phosphate by hexokinase, with adenosine triphosphate as the
])hosphate donor. After enzymatic isomerization of glucose 6-phosphate to fructose
6-phosphate, the latter was dephosphorylated to free fructose. It was assumed that
any glucose formed by the dephosphorylation of glucose 6-phosphate was rcutilized,
whereas fructose was not, and hence accumulated in the secretion. This formulation
is consonant with the properties of the hexokinase of seminal vesicle (Kellerman, 19551
wliicli, at low sugar concentrations, phos
 
 
phorylates glucose at much faster rates than
fructose.
 
It was suggested by Mann and LutwakMann (1951a, b) that the dephosphorylation of hexosemonophosphates by accessory
glands was catalyzed by an alkaline phosphatase which attacked the 6-phosphate esters of both glucose and fructose. Kuhlman
(1954) claimed, on histochemical evidence,
that rat seminal vesicle contains a phosphatase specific for fructose 6-phosphate
which is most active in the vicinity of pH 7.
Kellerman (1955) stated that, although the
microsome-bound alkaline phosphatase of
guinea pig seminal vesicle hydrolyzes the
6-phosphate esters of glucose and fructose
at approximately the same rate, the mitochondria of this tissue contain a phosphatase
which, at pH 5.8, hydrolyzes fructose 6-phosphate ten times as rapidly as glucose 6-phosphate. However, Hers (1957a) was unable
to confirm these observations.
 
An alternative pathway for the conversion of glucose to fructose was suggested by
Williams-Ashman and Banks (1954a), who
found that certain fructose-secreting accessory glands of rodents contain an enzyme,
ketose reductase, which catalyzes the reversible oxidation of sorbitol to fructose.
This enzyme attacks a number of higher
polyols and uses diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPN) as a specific hydrogen acceptor
(Williams-Ashman, Banks and Wolf son,
1957). The presence of an active ketose reductase in male accessory sexual tissues was
confirmed by Hers (1956, 1957a) who discovered another enzyme, aldose reductase,
which catalyzes the reduction of glucose to
sorbitol with dihydrotriphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPNH) as the hydrogen donor.
Hers suggested that seminal fructose was
formed from glucose by the combined action
of ketose and aldose reductases, as follows:
 
Glucose + TPNH + H+ ;^± Sorbitol + TPN+
 
Sorbitol + DPN+ <=^ Fructose + DPNH + H+
 
Glucose + TPNH + DPN+
 
-^ Fructose + TPN^ + DPNH
 
this nu'chanism for fructose biosynthesis
accounts for the following observations
( Hers. 1957a) : (1) extracts of sheep seminal
vesicle convert C'^-labelcd glucose to fruc
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
383
 
 
 
tose without rupture of the carbon chain;
(2) TPNH and DPN are required for this
transformation, during which sorbitol is produced, and becomes radioactive; (3) inhibitors of aldose reductase {e.g., glucosonej inhibit the conversion of glucose to fructose
and sorbitol; and (4j sorbitol is present,
alongside fructose, in the secretions of sheep
seminal vesicle and of certain accessory
glands of other species [vide injra) .
 
The relative importance of these phosphorylative and nonphosphorylative pathways for the biosynthesis of seminal fructose
remains to be determined.^
 
The fructose content of semen and of the
accessory glands is strictly controlled by
testicular hormones. The experiments of
Mann and Parsons (1950), depicted in Figure 6.7, show that in the sexually mature
rabbit, seminal fructose levels fell dramatically soon after castration. This decrease
in seminal fructose was prevented by implantation of a pellet of testosterone. Later
administration of androgen to the orchidectomized animals restored seminal fructose
to normal levels. Measurement of the fructose content of ejaculated semen may be
a sensitive index of androgenic activity,
and has the signal advantage that the timesequence of changes which result from alterations in the level of circulating androgen
can be determined without sacrifice of the
animal. This "fructose test" has been used
to assess the production of testicular androgen, or the hormonal activity of exogenous
substances, in man (Harvey, 1948; Landau
and Longhead, 1951; Tyler, 1955; Nowakowski and Schirren, 1956; Nowakowski,
1957) and in other animals (Gassner, Hill
and Svdzberger, 1952; Branton, D'Arensbourg and Johnston, 1952; ]\Iann and Walton, 1953; Glover, 1956; Davies, Mann and
Rowson, 1957) .
 
The amounts of fructose in semen and in
the accessory glands are not determined
solely by androgenic hormones, as Mann
(1954a, 1956) has emphasized. The relative
size and storage capacity of the accessory
 
^Samuels, Harding and Mann (1960) measured
the aldose and ketose reductase levels in the various accessory glands of the rat, and in the seminal
vesicles of the sheep, bull, boar, and horse. They
found that the level of fructose production could
be correlated with the activity of the least of the
two enzymes.
 
 
 
g 200
 
 
 
 
WEEKS AFTER CASTRATION
 
Fig. 6.7. Postcastrate fall and testosterone-induced rise of seminal fructose in the rabbit. The
pellet contained 100 mg. of testosterone. (Redrawn
from T. Mann, The Biochemistry of Semen,
Methuen & Co., 1954.)
 
glands play an important role. Another factor which complicates the fructose test is
frequency of ejaculation. In man and the
stallion, a single ejaculation largely depletes
the seminal vesicles (Mann, 1956). In the
bull, however, the seminal vesicles have a
remarkable storage capacity such that the
fructose content of eight consecutive ejaculations obtained within one hour is practically the same (Mann, 1954a) . Blood sugar
levels can influence seminal fructose, but
there is no evidence that the abnormally
large quantities of fructose in diabetic semen
(Alann and Parsons, 1950) result from increased output of androgenic hormones. Interruption of the blood supply to an accessory gland is another factor which affects the
amount of fructose it secretes (Clegg, 1953).
In immature animals, there seems to be a
short time after birth when the accessory
glands will not produce fructose in response
to testosterone (Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman and Banks. 1956). Obstruction of the
ejaculatory ducts will, of course, prevent the
appearance of fructose in semen, as Young
(1949) found in a patient with congenital bilateral aplasia of the vas deferens.
 
 
 
384
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
The anterior hypophysis may determine
indirectly the secretory activity of accessory
glands, and the amounts of fructose and
other chemical substances which accumlate
therein. Mann and Parsons (1950) showed
that hypophysectomy in the rabbit results
in a decline in the fructose content of semen,
and of the prostate gland and glandula vesicularis. These changes were similar to those
induced by castration, and could be reversed
by treatment with androgens or with gonadotrophin. The deleterious effect of inanition,
or a deficiency of certain B vitamins, on
fructose formation in the accessory glands
is almost certainly related to a concomitant
depression of gonadotrophin secretion by the
anterior pituitary gland (Lutwak-Mann and
Mann, 1950 ) . In the bull (Davies, Mann and
Rowson, 1957j, underfeeding leads to a
greater depression of fructose levels in semen than of sperm formation.
 
Analysis of fructose in excised ]irostate
gland or seminal vesicle has been used
widely as an indicator of androgenic activity. This procedure has yielded much information concerning the relationship between
the time of onset of androgen secretion by
the testes and the initiation of spermatogenesis. In the rabbit (Davies and Mann,
1949), rat (Mann, Lutwak-Mann and Price,
1948), bull (Mann, Davies and Humphrey,
1949), boar (Mann, 1954b), and guinea pig
(Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman and Banks,
1956) , fructose can be detected in the accessory glands before spermatozoa are produced. The androgenic potency of exogenous
substances can be determined by application
of the fructose test to the accessory glands
of animals castrated before or after puberty.
The increase in fructose content of the coagulating gland of castrated rats in response
to testosterone is greater than the corresponding change in organ weight (Mann and
Parsons, 1950) . The prostate gland and seminal vesicle of the rat (Rudolph and Samuels,
1949; Rudolph and Starnes, 1955; Rauscher
and Schneider, 1954) and the seminal vesicle
of the guinea pig (Levey and Szego, 1955b;
Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman and Banks,
1956) behave in a similar fashion. This technique has provided evidence for the slight
androgenic activity of progesterone (Price,
Mann and Lutwak-Mann, 1955), and for
the antagonistic (Parsons, 1950) or syner
 
 
gistic (Gassner, Hill and Sulzberger, 1952)
influence of estrogens on the action of androgens.
 
Intact vascular and neural links are not
necessary for the male accessory glands to
accumulate fructose after androgenic stimulation. Subcutaneous transplants of these
tissues into male rats will grow and produce
fructose. After castration, the fructose content falls and can be restored by testosterone
therapy (Mann, Lutwak-Mann and Price,
1948). Fructose secretion was also observed
in accessory tissues transplanted into female
hosts which had received androgens (Lutwak-Mann, Mann and Price, 1949), or were
injected with gonadotrophins. which probably stimulate the secretion of ovarian androgens (Price, Mann and Lutwak-]Mann,
1955).
 
The fructose in seminal i^lasma serves as
a source of energy for spermatozoa under
both anaerobic and aerobic conditions
(Mann, 1954a).
 
Sorbitol. Sorbitol has been detected in the
seminal vesicles of the sheep ( Hers, 1957a,
b) and the coagulating gland of the rat
(Wolfson and Williams-Ashman, 1958), as
well as in the semen of many species ( King,
Isherwood and Mann, 1958; King and Alann,
1958, 1959). The sorbitol content of semen
tends to be high in those animals which exhibit high levels of seminal fructose, although it is also present in the semens of the
stallion and cock, which are virtually devoid
of fructose (Table 6.3). Sorbitol can be synthesized in the accessory glands by the
action of either ketose reductase (WilliamsAshman and Banks, 1954a; Williams-Ashman, Banks and Wolfson, 1957; Hers, 1956,
1957a) or aldose reductase (Hers, 1956,
1957a). Under anaerobic conditions, spermatozoa will not glycolyze sorbitol (unlike
fructose) to lactic acid, but will reduce both
fructose and glucose to sorbitol. In oxygen,
spermatozoa readily oxidize sorbitol (Mann
and White, 1956), and also form sorbitol
from glucose and fructose. The interconversion of fructose and sorbitol by spermatozoa
is catalyzed by a DPN-specific ketose re(Uictas(> (sorbitol dehydrogenase) which is
similar to that of the accessory glands
(King and ^Nlann, 1959). Although the spermatozoa can affect the ratio of the levels of
soi'bitol and fi-uctose in seminal plasma,
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
385
 
 
 
most of the seminal sorbitol is probably derived from the accessory glands.
 
Inositol. During his studies on the vesicular secretion of the boar, Mann (1954b) isolated large amounts of a crystalline, nonreducing carbohydrate which he identified
rigorously as ?weso-inositol. This cyclic
polyol was found only in the seminal vesicle, being absent from the epididymis and
Cowper's gland. The concentration of inositol in boar vesicular secretion was as high
as 2.6 gm. per 100 ml., and constituted as
much as 70 per cent of the total dialyzable
material therein. Using a specific microbiologic method of estimation, Hartree (1957)
found that in the boar, the inositol content
of seminal plasma was usually greater than
600 mg. per 100 ml., although much smaller
quantities (less than 60 mg. per 100 ml.)
were present in the bull, ram, stallion, and
man. In all of the species examined, the bulk
of the inositol in seminal plasma was in the
free state, and in amounts much greater
than those in blood or cerebrospinal fluid. In
most animals, seminal inositol originates
from the seminal vesicles, but it has been
detected in the prostate gland of the hedgehog, and in the ampullar secretion of the
stallion.
 
The levels of inositol in human semen, together with those of fructose, are increased
after the administration of testosterone according to Kimmig and Schirren (1956).
 
The physiologic function, if any, of the
inositol in seminal plasma is unknown. Since
boar vesicular secretion, unlike other body
fluids of the pig, contains immense amounts
of inositol and very little sodium chloride,
j\Iann (1954b) suggested that inositol is concerned with the maintenance of the osmotic
ecjuilibrium of boar seminal plasma.
 
Ascorbic acid. Deproteinized extracts of
the seminal plasma of many species reduce
2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol in the cold.
This property has been attributed to the
presence of ascorbic acid in the semen of the
bull (Phillips, Lardy, Heiser and Ruppel,
1940), guinea pig (Zimmet, 1939), and man
(Nespor, 1939; Berg, Huggins and Hodges,
1941; Huggins, Scott and Heinen, 1942).
However, it is now established that ascorbic
acid does not always account for the total
reducing power of semen. In some animals,
e.g., the boar, ergothioneine is responsible in
 
 
 
TABLE 6.3
Sorbitol and fructose content of fresh seminal
 
plasma
In some oases the .samples represented semen
which had lieen pooled; the number of individuals
is given in brackets. (From T. E. King and T.
Mann, Proc. Roy. Soc. London, ser B, 151, 2262-13, 1959.)
 
 
 
Number of
Species \ Samples Sorbitol ; Fructose
 
Analyzed
 
 
 
 
Ram. . .
Rabbit.
Bull . . .
Boar. . .
Stallion
Dog .. .
Cock...
Man . . .
 
 
 
mg./lOO ml.
 
150-600 (12)
 
40-150 (4)
 
120-540 (14)
 
20-40 (4)
 
<1 (4)
 
<1 (5)
 
<1 (14)
 
154 (3)
 
 
 
large i^art for the reduction of indophenol
[vide infra), and bull semen contains sulfite
and another, unidentified, reducing substance (Larson and Salisbury, 1953) . Nevertheless, ascorbic acid is undoubtedly present
in seminal plasma. Employing a specific
analytical method based on the formation
of its dinitrophenylhydrazone, ]\Iann
(1954a) found that the seminal vesicle secretion of the rat, bull, guinea pig, and man
contains ascorbic acid in amounts varying
from 5 to 12 mg. per 100 ml. Mann's values
for the ascorbic acid content of human semen (10 to 12 mg. per 100 ml.) agree well
with those reported by Berg, Huggins and
Hodges (1941), which were based on indophenol reduction.
 
Amino sugars. After hydrolysis with acid,
boar semen contains considerable amounts
of amino sugars (Mann, 1954a). The epididymal "semen" contains more amino
sugar than the vesicular secretion.
 
Ergothioneine. The vesicular secretion of
the boar (Leone and Mann, 1951 ; Mann and
Leone, 1953) is a rich source of ergothioneine. This sulfur-containing base is also
found in the accessory glands of the European hedgehog and mole (Mann, 1956) , and
in the ampullar secretion of the stallion
(Mann, Leone and Polge, 1956). Little or no
ergothioneine is present in the semen of the
bull, ram, and man.
 
Experiments with S^^-labeled precursors
suggest strongly that seminal ergothioneine
 
 
 
386
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
is not synthesized in the animal V)ody (Alelville, dtken and Kovalenko, 1955; Heath,
Rimington and Mann, 1957). Because
orally ingested S'^'"'-labeled ergothioneine
l)asses into the seminal plasma of the boar
(Heath, Rimington, Glover, ]Mann and
Leone, 1953) , it is possible that those accessory glands which secrete ergothioneine
concentrate this substance from the blood.
 
Mann and Leone (1953) are of the opinion
that the function of ergothioneine in seminal
plasma is to protect the spermatozoa from
the poisonous action of oxidizing agents. It
is remarkable that the seminal fluids of the
boar and the stallion, both of which contain
ergothioneine, have common characteristics
which would render their spermatozoa especially sensitive to oxidizing agents, viz.,
large volume, low sperm density, and small
content of glycolyzable sugars.
 
PoLYAMiNES. Large amounts of spermine
and spermidine are present in the prostate
gland of many species (Harrison, 1931 ;
Rosenthal and Tabor, 1956). The chemical
structure of these polyamines was elucidated
by Dudley, Rosenheim and Starling (1926,
1927). Human seminal plasma contains as
much as 300 mg. spermine per 100 ml., most
of which is derived from the prostate gland.
If human semen is allowed to stand for a
few hours at room temperature, the spermine
present crystallizes in the form of spermine
phosphate ("Boettcher's crystals").- Both
spermine and spermidine are oxidized by the
diamine oxidase of human seminal plasma
(Zellcr, 1941; Zeller and Joel, 1941). These
polyamines via their degradation products
are highly toxic to spermatozoa (Tabor and
Rosenthal, 1956) , and it seems unlikely that
 
"In a letter written to llie Royal Society of
London in November 1677, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek described for the fir.'^t time the presence and
movement of spermatozoa in human semen. In
the same letter, he also mentioned that "threesided bodies," which were "as bright and clear as
if they had been crystals," were deposited in the
aged semen of man. These crystals were undoubtedly composed of spermine phosphate. The liistory of the discovery of spermine in semen is admirably summarized by Mann (1954a), with special
reference to the contributions of Louis Vauquelin
(see footnote 3), and also of Alexander von Pcihl,
whose claims for the therapeutic proiinities' of
spermine aroused much interest aiul controversy
at the end of the 19th centurv.
 
 
 
their presence in seminal plasma is of functional value.
 
Choline DERIVATIVES. Florence (1895) described the formation of brown crystals
upon the addition of a solution of iodine in
potassium iodide to semen. This reaction was
used as the basis of a medico-legal test for
semen stains. Bocarius (1902) showed that
choline was responsible for the formation
of this material. In the rat, the seminal
fluid is by far the richest source of choline
of any tissue or body fluid (Fletscher, Best
and Solandt, 1935). A series of careful studies by Kahane (Kahane and Levy, 1936;
Kahane, 1937) revealed that human semen
contains very little free choline immediately
after ejaculation, but that large amounts of
the free base are formed if the semen is allowed to stand at room temperature. Lundquist (1946, 1947a, b, 1949) isolated phosphorylcholine from human seminal plasma
and showed that it was converted to choline
and inorganic phosphate by seminal acid
phosphatase. However, the French investigators (Diament, Kahane and Levy, 1952.
1953; Diament, 1954) isolated a-glycerophosphorylcholine from the vesicular secretion of rats, and suggested that this substance, rather than phosphorylcholine, was
the precursor of free choline in aged semen.
Lundquist (1953) also found glycerophosl^horylcholine in the vc'sicular secretion of
the rabbit, rat, and guinea pig. WilliamsAshman and Banks (1956) showed that the
amount of glycerophosphorylcholine in rat
vesicular secretion falls rapidly after castration, and can be restored to normal levels by
administration of testosterone. Rezek and
Sir (1956) found both ]')hosi)liorylcholinf
and glyceroi)hospliofylclu)line in lunnan
ejaculates.
 
A thorough study of the wat('i'-s()lul)lf
choline (lerivati\-cs in seminal plasma was
made by Dawson, Maiui and White (1957).
They foimd (Tabh'().4i that in most species,
gh^cerophosphoryh-holine is the only derivati\'e preseiu, but ill man there are consider■a\)\v (|uantities of phosphoiyh'lioline as well.
The lattei- substance is rai)idly dephospholylated after ejaculation, but glycerophosphoryh'holine is not degradeil by enzymes
in seminal phisnia or \'esiculai' secretion. In
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
387
 
 
 
TABLE 6.4
 
Phosphor ylchoUne and a-glycerophosphorylcholine in semen and in
secretions of accessory reproductive glands
 
 
 
Species
 
 
 
Concentration (mg. per 100 gm.) of:
 
 
 
Phosphorylcholine a-Glycerophosphorylcholine
 
 
 
Ram
 
Ram
 
Bull
 
Bull
 
Bull
 
Bull
 
Bull
 
Cioat
 
Boar
 
Boar
 
Boar
 
Stallion. . .
Stallion. . .
 
Man
 
Rat
 
Rat
 
Rabbit...
Hedgehog.
Hedgehog.
Monkey. . .
Cock..'....
 
 
 
Semen
 
Seminal pla.sma
 
Semen
 
Seminal plasma
 
Vesicular secretion
 
Epididymal secretion
 
Ampullar secretion
 
Semen
 
Seminal plasma
 
Vesicular secretion
 
Epididymal secretion
 
Semen
 
Ampidlar secretion
 
Semen
 
Vesicular secretion
 
Seminal vesicle
 
Semen
 
Secretion of "Prostate I and 11"
 
Secretion of "Prostate III"
 
Vesicular secretion
 
Semen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Present
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
256-380
 
 
 
 
Present
Present
Present
Present
 
 
 
1185-1942
 
1601-2040
 
237-460
 
110-496
 
 
 
1490
 
94
 
1382-1550
 
108-235
 
190
 
3060
 
38-113
 
120
 
59-90
 
654; 530-765"
 
190-515"
 
215-370
 
Present
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
° Results from Williams-Ashman and Banks (1956); all other values from Dawson, Mann and White
 
lf57).
 
 
 
the bull and boar, the epidiclymi.^ is the ])rincii)al source of the glyceroiihosi)horylcholine
of the seminal plasma.
 
Williams-Ashman and Banks (1956) in-ovided evidence that the choline moiety of the
glycerophosphorylcholine in vesicular secretion is not derived from a direct reaction
between glycerol and cytidine diphosphate
choline. The latter nucleotide was shown
to be a precursor of lecithin in rat seminal
vesicle tissue. The glycerophosphorylcholine
of seminal plasma may originate from the
enzymatic degradation of the choline-containing lipids of the seminal vesicle epithelium.
 
Choline and glycerophosjihorylcholine are
not metabolized by spermatozoa, and do not
affect their respiration (Dawson, Mann and
White, 1957). There is no evidence that the
water-soluble choline derivatives of seminal
plasma serve any useful function.
 
Lipids. That lipid-containing granules are
l^resent in human seminal plasma has been
known for more than a century. They are
found in prostatic secretion (Thompson,
 
 
 
1861 1, and were termed "lecithin-kornchen"
by Fuerbringer (1881). However, Scott
( 1945 ) showed that lecithin is absent from
both of these fluids, and that the majority
of the phospholipid therein is phosphatidyl
ethanolamine. Neutral fat is virtually absent from human seminal plasma and prostatic secretion, one-third of the total lipid
of which can be accounted for as cholesterol.
 
According to Boguth (1952), about onethird of the total plasmalogen in bull semen
(30 to 90 mg. per 100 ml.) is in the seminal
plasma. In the ram, only 10 per cent of the
seminal plasmalogen is found outside the
spermatozoa (Hartree and ]Mann. 1959).
 
Large amounts of 7-dehydrocholesterol
were found in the preputial gland and epididymis of the rat (Ward and ]\Ioore, 1953) .
One gram of the hydrocarbon heptacosane
(CH3(CHo)o5CH3) was isolated from an alcoholic extract of 18 liters of human semen
by Wagner-Jauregg (1941). The partition
of heptacosane, and of steroidal estrogens
(Diczfalusy, 1954) and androgens (Dirscherl and Kniicliel, 1950) between the sjierm
 
 
 
388
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
and plasma of human semen remains to be
determined.
 
Citric acid. Citric acid was first detected
in human semen by Schersten (1929). The
distribution of citric acid in the semen and in
the secretions of the accessory glands of various species is summarized in Table 6.5. In
some animals, {e.g., the rat and man), citric
acid is produced mainly by the prostate
gland, and in others {e.g., the bull, boar, and
guinea pig), most of it originates from the
seminal vesicles.
 
The citric acid content of the seminal
 
 
 
plasma and of the secretions of accessory
glands depends on androgenic hormones.
Citric acid disappears from these fluids after
castration, and is formed again after treatment with testosterone. This ''citric acid
test" has been used to determine the time of
onset of secretory function in accessory
glands (Mann, Davies and Humphrey, 1949;
Ortiz, Price, Williams- Ashman and Banks,
1956), hormonal influences on secretion in
subcutaneous transplants (Mann, LutwakMann and Price, 1948; Lutwak-jNIann.
Mann and Price, 1949 L the androgenic ac
 
 
TABLE 6.5
 
Citric acid in semen and in the secretions of accessory reproductive glands
 
 
 
Species
 
 
Material
 
 
Citric Acid
 
 
Reference
 
 
 
 
 
 
(tng./lOO gm.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Man
 
 
Semen
 
 
140-637
 
 
Huggins and Xeal (1942)
 
 
 
 
Man
 
 
Prostatic secretion
 
 
480-2()88
 
 
Huggins and Neal (1942)
 
 
 
 
Man ....
 
 
Seminal vesicle secretion
Hypertrophic adenoma of the
 
 
15-22
201-1533
 
 
Huggins and Neal (1942)
Barron and Huggins (1946a)
 
 
 
 
Man
 
 
 
 
 
 
prostate gland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Man
 
 
Carcinoma of the prostate gland
 
 
12-137
 
 
Barron and Huggins (194()a)
 
 
 
 
Bull
 
 
Semen
 
 
510-1100
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Bull
 
 
Seminal gland secretion
 
 
670
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Bull
 
 
Ampullar semen
 
 
550
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Bull
 
 
Epididvmal semen
 
 
 
 
 
Humphrey and IVIann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Bull
 
 
Epididymis
 
 
18
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Boar
 
 
Semen
 
 
130
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Boar
 
 
Cowper's gland secretion
Epididymal semen
Seminal yesicle secretion
 
 
 
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Boar
 
 
 
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Boar
 
 
580
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Ram
 
 
Semen
Semen
 
 
110-260
110-550
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
Himiphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Epididymis
 
 
54
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Prostate (I, II and III)
 
 
62
 
 
Himiphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Cowper's Gland
 
 
42
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Ampulla
 
 
273
 
 
Himiphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rat
 
 
Seminal vesicle
Coagulating gland
Ampulla
Dorsolateral prostate
 
 
39
 
 
 
Humi)hrey and :\Iann (1949)
Hunii)hrc\ and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rat
 
 
 
 
Rat
 
 
 
 
 
Humplucv and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rat
 
 
20
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
 
 
 
 
Rat
 
 
Ventral prostate
Semen
 
 
122
 
 
Humphrey and Mann (1949)
Mann, Leone and Polge (1956)
 
 
 
 
Stallion
 
 
8-53
 
 
 
 
Stallion
 
 
Seminal vesicle
 
 
77
 
 
Mann, Leone and Polge (1956)
 
 
 
 
Guinea pig. . . .
 
 
Seminal vesicle
 
 
153-216
 
 
Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman
Banks (195())
 
 
 
 
Guinea pig. . . .
 
 
Semiiuil vesicle sec'retion
 
 
320-357
 
 
Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman
Baidvs (1956)
 
 
 
 
Guinea pig. . . .
 
 
Coagulating gland
 
 
26-40
 
 
Ortiz, Price, Williams- Ashman
Banks (1956)
 
 
 
 
Guinea pig. . . .
 
 
Lateral i)rostate
 
 
16-20
 
 
Ortiz, Price, Williams- Ashman
Banks (1956)
 
 
 
 
Guinea i)ig. . . .
 
 
Doi'sal ])i(is1at(>
 
 
47-75
 
 
Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman
Banks (195(i)
 
 
 
 
Dog
 
 
Prostatic secretion
 
 
0-30
 
 
Barron and Huggins (1946a)
Barron and Huggins (1946a)
Mann, Leone and Polge (1956)
 
 
 
 
Dog
 
 
Prostate gland
Vesicular secretion
 
 
8
 
 
 
 
Jackass
 
 
22-82
 
 
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
389
 
 
 
tivity of various hormones (Mann and Parsons, 1950; Price, Mann and Lutwak-JMann,
1955; Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman and
Banks, 1956), and the effect of nutrition on
the onset of androgen secretion and sperm
formation in bull calves (Davies, Mann and
Rowson, 1957).
 
The androgen-induced changes in the citrate levels in semen and various accessory
glands are reminiscent of similar alterations
in the fructose content of these tissues. However, the concentrations of these substances
do not necessarily parallel one another in response to hormonal stimulation. In the postcastrate animal, the fall in citric acid and its
reappearance after androgen treatment is
usually more sluggish than that of fructose.
Also, the seminal fructose of some species
may not be secreted by the same accessory
organ (or lobes of the gland ) which produces
citric acid. Thus in the rat, fructose is secreted by the anterior and dorsolateral prostate, whereas citric acid is derived from the
seminal vesicles and dorsolateral and ventral prostates, but is totally absent from the
anterior prostate (Humphrey and Mann,
1949). In the guinea pig, however, the seminal vesicles are the principal source of both
fructose and citric acid (Ortiz, Price, Williams-Ashman and Banks, 1956).
 
Using a strain of rats in which the incidence of the female prostate is very high,
Price, ]Mann and Lutwak-JVIann (1949)
showed that the growth of this gland which
follows the injection of testosterone is accompanied by a tremendous increase in its
content of citric acid. In this way the female
prostate resembles the ventral prostate gland
of the male rat.
 
Citric acid is synthesized in the i)rostate
gland by the usual reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (Williams-Ashman, 1954;
Williams-Ashman and Banks, 1954b). No
other organic acids are present in more than
trace amounts in the secretions of those accessory glands that accumulate citrate. The
enzymatic machinery for the degradation of
citric acid via the tricarboxylic acid cycle is
jH-esent in the rat ventral prostate gland
OVilliams-Ashman, 1954; Williams-Ashman
and Banks, 1954b; Williams-Ashman, 1955)
and there is no evidence, despite suggestions
to the contrary (Awapara, 1952a), that cit
 
 
ric acid accumulates because it cannot be
oxidized. It has been suggested that a common denominator affecting the androgendependent accumulation of citric acid and
fructose in the accessory glands is the intracellular balance between the oxidized and
reduced forms of DPN and TPN (Talalay
and Williams-Ashman, 1958).
 
^lann (1954a) has summarized the ideas
of various authors concerning the possible
functional role of citric acid in seminal
plasma. All of these suggestions are based
more upon conjecture than experimental
fact.
 
Catecholamine^. There is evidence for the
presence of both epinephrine and norepinephrine in seminal pla.sraa (Brochart, 1948;
Beauvallet and Brochart, 1949). Extracts of
human prostate and seminal vesicle contain
a monoamine oxidase which oxidizes catecholamines (Zcller and Joel, 1941). Katsh
(1959) detected serotonin and histamine in
human ejaculates.
 
Amino acids. Chromatographic studies
have revealed the presence of many free
amino acids in human semen (Jacobbson,
1950; Lundquist, 1952), from which crystalline tyrosine was isolated by WagnerJauregg (1941). According to Barron and
Huggins (1946b), human prostatic adenoma
is very rich in free glutamic acid, and the
nonprotein amino-nitrogen of this and dog
prostatic tissue is high. Bovine seminal
plasma contains free serine, alanine, glycine,
and aspartic and glutamic acids (Gassner
and Hopwood, 1952). A similar distribution
of amino acids is found in the vesicular and
ampullary secretions of the bull. The free
amino acid levels of bull seminal plasma fall
greatly after castration. In the rat, Marvin
and Awapara (1949) found that the concentration of free amino acids in the whole prostate decreased markedly following orchidectomy, and could be restored to normal levels
in the castrate animal by treatment with
androgen. In this species, Awapara (1952a)
observed that the content of free amino acids
in the ventral lobe of the prostate was much
higher than in the dorsal lobe. After castration, there was a marked drop in the content
of most amino acids with the exception of
aspartic and glutamic acids, which seemed
 
 
 
390
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GOXADS
 
 
 
to remain at almost normal levels (Awapara,
1952b j.
 
Seminal plasma and the secretions of the
male accessory glands contain a battery of
proteolytic enzymes [vide infra). For this
reason, changes in the levels of free amino
acids in these fluids resulting from hormonal
treatments should be interpreted with caution. Jacobbson (1950), for example, has
shown that in human semen, the nonprotein
nitrogen and amino-nitrogen content increases many fold within 60 minutes after
ejaculation.
 
Prostaglandin. A vasodepressor substance, designated j^rostaglandin, was found
by von Euler (1934, 1936) in the prostatic
and vesicular secretions of man, and also in
the accessory glands of sheep (von Euler,
1939). The prostaglandin of ram prostate
was i^urified by Bergstrom ( 1949), who suggested that it was an unsaturated fatty acid
devoid of nitrogen. According to Eliasson
(1957), the prostaglandin of human semen
and of the prostate gland of sheep are identical.
 
The pharmacologic effects which result
from the injection of seminal plasma icf.
Kurzrok and Lieb, 1931; von Euler, 1934,
1936, 1939; Goldblatt, 1935; Cockrill, Miller and Kurzrok, 1935; Asplund, 1947) are
complex, and are probably due to the combined action of many constituents of this
fluid. The hypotensive action of protein
fractions of the secretions of some accessory organs (Freund, Miles, Mill and Wilhelm, 19581 is discussed below.
 
Uric acid. Bull seminal vesicles may contain as much as 70 mg. per cent of uric
acid (Leone, 1953). The uric acid content of
the semen of other animals is much lowci'
(Mann, 1954a).
 
Urea. The urea content of human and
ram semen is much higlici' than that found
in the bull, boar, and stallion (Mann.
1954a).
 
Major protein constitiiknts. Human
seminal plasma contains from 3.5 to 5.5
gm. of protein-like material per 100 niL
(Huggins, Scott and Heinen, 1942). Less
than 18 per cent of this material is coagulable by heat, and as much as 68 per cent
of it is dialyzable. Thus the majority of
the seminal proteins of man can be classified as proteoses. Electrophoretic analyses
 
 
 
of the nondialyzable proteins of human
seminal plasma have been performed by
Gray and Huggins ( 1942 1 and by Ross,
Moore and Aliller (1942). The major components bore some correspondence to those
of blood serum, although the amount of
albumin was small. The proteins of bovine
seminal plasma are less dialyzable, and
more coagulable by heat, than those of man
(Larson and Salisbury, 1954). Electrophoretic studies showed the presence of three
major and eight minor constituents, which
seemed to be distinct from the proteins of
bovine blood serum. In this species giycoor lipoproteins were present only in very
low concentrations. Larson, Gray and Salisbury (1954) found that the bovine seminal
plasma proteins are highly antigenic. They
obtained immunologic evidence that the
major protein constituents of this fluid are
distinct from any of the main ])rot(>ins of
either blood or milk.
 
Enzymes, (i) Acid phosphatase. Kutscher and Wolbergs (1935) discovered that
human semen and prostate contain a very
active phosphatase which is optimally active at pH 5 to 6. This enzyme is resjjonsible for the greater phosphatase activity of
male as compared with female urine. Its
secretion by the prostate accounts for the
fact that male urine collected from the
renal pelvis exhibits very little enzyme activity (Scott and Huggins, 1942). Human
prostatic acid phosjihatase hydrolyzes a
number of phosphate monoesters (Kutscher
and Worner, 1936; Kutscher and Pany,
1938). The enzyme has been purified extensively (London and Hudson, 1953; Boman, 1954; London, Sommer and Hudson,
1955). In addition to hydrolyzing phosphate esters, human prostatic acid phosphatase catalyzes the transfer of phosphate
from various donors to alcohols such as glucose, fructose, and methanol (London and
Hudson, 1955; Jeffree, 1957). L-Tartrate
inliibits the enzyme competitively (AbulKadl and King, ^1948).
 
'I'hc activity of acid phosphatase in the
human jjrostate is low in childhood and increases about 20 times at i)uberty (Gutman
and Gutman, 1938a). In adult men, the
acid phosphatase content of semen seems
to reflect the circulating levels of androgenic hoi-niones (Gutman and Gutman,
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
391
 
 
 
1940). High levels of acid })hosphatase are
also present in osteoplastic metastases of
prostatic carcinoma (Gutman, Sproul and
Gutman, 1936). Acid phosphatase does not
seem to enter the circulation from the prostate gland in healthy individuals unless
they are subject to prostatic massage. But
in about 65 per cent of men with metastatic
carcinoma of the prostate, the serum levels
of this enzyme are abnormally high (Gutman and Gutman, 19381); Robinson, Gutman and Gutman, 1939; Huggins and
Hodges, 1941). The diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of carcinoma of the prostate
in men has been aided greatly by measurements of the acid phosphatase levels of
serum. Inhibition of the acid phosphatase
activity of blood serum by L-tartrate has
been used as an index for the outflow of
prostatic acid phosphatase into the serum
in neoplastic diseases of the prostate gland
(Abul-Fadl and King, 1948; Fishman and
Lerner, 1953).
 
The prostate gland of the monkey (Gutman and Gutman, 1938a) and dog (Huggins and Russell, 1946), and the seminal
vesicle of the guinea i)ig (Bern and Le\y,
1952) exhibit powerful acid phosphatase
activity, whereas the levels of this enzyme
in the prostate of the rabbit (Bern and
Levy, 1952) and rat (Huggins and Webster, 1948) are relatively low. The properties of these enzymes from different species
are strikingly similar (Novales and Bern,
1953) . In the monkey and dog, the prostatic
acid jihosphatase activities are controlled
by androgenic hormones. This is also true
in the rat (Stafford, Rubinstein and Meyer,
1949), and guinea pig (Ortiz, Brown and
Wiley, 1957).
 
{2} Alkaline phosphatase. An enzyme,
activated by magnesium ions, which hydrolyzes a variety of phosphate monoesters at
pH 9, is present in the seminal fluid and
accessory glands. In some species, e.g., the
l)ull (Reid, Ward and Salisbury, 1948 ) , the
levels of seminal alkaline phosphatase are
much greater than those of the acid phosphatase. In the rat, alkaline phosphatase
activity in the prostate and seminal vesicles
decreases markedly after castration (Stafford, Rubinstein and Meyer, 1949).
 
(3) 5'-Nucleotidase. Reis (1937, 1938)
noticed that human seminal plasma dcphos
 
 
phorylated adenosine 5'-phosphate and inosine 5'-phosphate very rapidly. He proposed
the term ''5'-nucleotidase" for enzymes
which specifically hydrolyze the 5'-monophosphates of ribose and its nucleosides.
Mann (1945) reported that bull seminal
plasma is exceedingly rich in 5'-nucleotidase. The enzyme was purified from this
source by Heppel and Hilmoe (1951a). It
was inactive towards adenosine 2'- and 3'phosphates, but catalyzed the hydrolysis
of the 5'-monophosphate esters of adenosine, inosine, cytidine, uridine, and ribosyl
nicotinamide. The 5'-nucleotidase of bull
semen is optimally active at pH 8.5, and
requires magnesium ions for maximal activity.
 
(4) Inorganic pyrophosphatase. Heppel
and Hilmoe (1951b) reported the presence
of an inorganic pyrophosphatase in bull
seminal plasma. The enzyme was not purified extensively, and it is not clear whether
it is different from other in'rophosphatases
in semen.
 
(5) Nucleotide pyrophosphatases. The
enzymatic hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by seminal plasma was observed by Mann (1945) and by MacLeod
and Summerson (1946). Three distinct
ATPases were isolated from bull seminal
plasma by Heppel and Hilmoe (1953). The
first of these enzymes catalyzed the hydrolysis of ATP to inorganic pyrophosphate
and adenosine 5'-phosphate. The other two
catalyzed the liberation of inorganic orthophosphate from ATP, and were active at
pH 5 and pH 8.5 respectively. The possible
identity of any of these proteins with other
enzymes which hydrolyze the pyrophosphate linkage of ]iyridine nucleotides (Williams-Ashman, Liao and Gotterer, 1958)
and cytidine diphosphate choline (Williams-Ashman and Banks, 1956) remains
to be established.
 
The physiologic function of any of the
phosphatases in seminal plasma is unknown.
 
{6) Proteolytic enzymes. The proteolytic
activity of human semen was first noted by
Huggins and Neal (1942), and has been
studied extensively by Lundquist and his
collaborators. An enzyme similar to pepsinogen, and probably secreted by the seminal vesicles, was discovered in human semi
 
 
392
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
nal plasma by Lundquist and Seedorf
(1952). Three other proteolytic enzymes
were partially purified from human semen
by Lundquist, Thorsteinsson and Buus
(1955). The first enzyme resembled chymotrypsin, and the second was an aminopeptidase. The third enzyme hydrolyzed benzoylarginine ethyl ester, and seems to be
identical with the arginine ester hydrolyzing enzyme described in male accessory reproductive glands by Gotterer, Banks and
Williams-Ashman (1956). The relationship
of these enzymes to the hydrolysis of fibrin
or fibrinogen by prostatic secretion is discussed below with reference to the coagulation and liquefaction of semen.
 
(7) Glycosidases. Using phenolphthalein
glucuronide as a substrate, Talalay, Fishman and Huggins (1946) determined the
/?-glucuronidase activity of the male accessory glands of the rat. The levels of this
enzyme in the epididymis fall about 50 per
cent after castration, and can be restored
to normal levels by the administration of
testosterone (Conchie and Findlay, 1959).
When the corresponding phenol- or p-nitrophenol-glycosides were employed as substrates, Conchie, Findlay and Levvy (1956)
showed that the epididymis of the rat is
particularly rich in y3-iV-acetylglucosaminidase. The levels of this enzyme were found
by Conchie and Mann (1957) to be very
much greater than those of seven other
glycosidases in male accessory secretions.
The levels of various glycosidases in the
epididymis of rodents increases enormously
at puberty. In adult animals the activity
of some of these enzymes {e.g., a-mannosidase and /?-iV-acetylglucosaminidase) fell
to negligible values after castration, and
were restored only partially by treatment
with testosterone.
 
(8) Miscellaneous enzipnes. The kneels of
a number of oxidizing enzymes in human
seminal plasma were studied by Rhodes and
Williams-Asluiuiii (1960», who noted the
presence of a x'cry active TPN-linked isocitric dehydrogenase. The ability of luiinan
semen to hydrolyze acetylclioline is rather
fe(>!)le, and the bulk of the activity resides
in the seminal plasma (Zeller and Joel,
1941). According to Sekine (1951), boar
semen exhibits powerful choline esterase
activity, wliicli is confined mainly to the
 
 
 
s])ermatozoa. The activity of phosphohexoisomerase (Wiist, 1957) and lactic dehydrogenase (MacLeod and Wroblewski,
1958) in human seminal plasma has been
documented.
 
The levels of the following soluble enzymes have been determined in the accessory glands of male rodents: phenol sulfatase (Huggins and Smith, 1947). nonsi)ecific
esterase (Huggins and ]\Ioulton, 1948),
enolase, and dehydrogenases for lactate,
malate, glucose 6-phosphate, 6-phosphogluconate and isocitrate (Williams- Ashman,
1954; Rudolph, 1956), aldolase and a-glycero])hosphate dehydrogenase (Butler and
Schade, 1958). The nucleoside phosphorylase and adenosine deaminase activities of
bull seminal vesicle were measured by
Leone and Santoianni (1957). The vesicular secretion of the bull is rich in flavins,
and exhibits strong xanthine oxidase activity (Leone, 1953). Leone and Bonaduce
(1959) described a very active diphospho]5yridine nucleotidase in the vesicular secretion of the bull.
 
Conclusions. The foregoing survey indicates that, just as the size and morphology
of the accessory glands differ profoundly,
so there are wide species variations in the
chemistry of their secretions, which comprise the seminal plasma. Some seminal
constituents {e.g., fructose) are found in
many mammals. Other substances, such as
ergothioneine, are present in appreciable
amounts in the seminal plasma of only a
few species. The biochemistry of the accessory glands is still in its infancy, and it
may be expected that future research will
disclose other species-restricted comjionents
of seminal plasma. Mann (1954a, 1956)
I'ightly emphasizes that the finding of substantial concentrations of certain substances in the semen of only relatively few
species does not necessarily detract from
their physiologic value. The high levels of
ci-gotliioneine in the seminal plasma of the
boar and stallion is a case in point. The
cjacuhitcs of these species have peculiarities
which may render their spermatozoa particularly susceptible to the immobilizing
action of oxidizing agents, and the suggestion (Mann and Leone, 1953; IMann, Leone
and Polge, 1956) that ergothioneine, in virtue of its reducing properties, serves a pro
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
393
 
 
 
tective function in boar and stallion semen
seems an eminently reasonable one. However, the accessory glands of many animals
secrete certain substances {e.g., glycerophosphorylcholine, spermine, citric acid)
that do not appear to be of any particular
value for the survival of spermatozoa in
the male or female genital tracts. Perhaps
these substances are simply by-products
of the secretory mechanisms of the glands
from which they originate, or represent biochemical vestiges.
 
The widespread occurrence of fructose in
accessory gland secretions deserves further
comment. The only other situation where
large amounts of fructose are present in
mammalian extracellular fluids under normal physiologic conditions is in the fetal
blood of ungulates (Bernard, 1855; Bacon
and Bell, 1948; Alexander, Huggett, Nixon
and Widdas, 1955). Mammalian spermatozoa metabolize glucose just as well as fructose as a source of energy under anaerobic
and aerobic conditions. Indeed, glucose has
been used widely as the sole glycolyzable
sugar in artifi^l diluents employed in the
storage of semen for artificial insemination
(Mann, 1954a). Thus fructose does not
seem to be more beneficial than glucose
to the well being of spermatozoa. There is
evidence that the utilization of fructose, in
contrast to glucose, is not impaired in the
diabetic state (Chernick, Chaikoff and
Abraham, 1951 ; Renold, Hastings and Nesbett, 1954) . It is conceivable that the presence of fructose in semen w^ould render the
spermatozoa relatively insensitive to insulin. But it would seem more probable that
the physiologic value of seminal fructose
is related to factors other than the maturation or survival of spermatozoa. Mann
(1954a) has pointed out that if glucose
were the only glycolyzable sugar in semen,
its concentration would not be expected to
exceed that of blood. The transformation of
blood glucose into seminal fructose by the
accessory glands permits the establishment
of very high levels of fructose in semen.
Furthermore, the formation of seminal fructose is strictly controlled by androgenic
hormones, and it would be hard to conceive
of a similar hormonal dependence of glucose levels in semen.
 
Although the volume and chemical com
 
 
})osition of seminal plasma are influenced
by many factors, androgenic hormones are
undoubtedly the principal determinants of
the secretory activity of the accessory
glands. Chemical and enzymatic constituents of accessory gland secretions such
as fructose, citric acid, and acid phosphatase have proved to be exquisitely sensitive
indicators of androgenic activity. The application of such "chemical tests" for androgen action has provided important
corroborative evidence for previous conclusions, based on purely morphologic
studies, that the initiation of mature secretory function of the accessory glands precedes the appearance of sperm in the seminiferous tubules, and also that the adverse
effects of malnutrition on the functional
activity of the prostate gland and seminal
vesicle are mediated via the hypophysis.
Chemical investigations have established
that the major portion of certain components (glycerojihosphorylcholine, glycosidases ) of the seminal plasma of some species
originates from the epididymis. The way
to the successful treatment of metastatic
carcinoma of the prostate in man by antiandrogenic measures was paved by the
availability of a chemical systemic index
of the hormonal dependence of many of
these neoplasias, viz., the acid phosphatase
of blood serum. Changes in the chemistry
of some accessory organs (e.g., the fructose
content of the rat coagulating glandj seem
to l)e more sensitive indicators of the action of exogenous androgens in castrated
animals than the weights or histologic
structure of these organs. The application of
such chemical methods to the bioassay of androgens holds much promise for the future.
Finally, it may be mentioned that chemical studies of the secretions of the accessory
glands have given insight into the homology
of these organs. The finding of high concentrations of citric acid, but not of fructose, in the rat female prostate after stimulation with androgens shows that the
secretion of this tissue resembles that of the
ventral prostate gland of the male rat. On
the other hand, structures which are usually considered to be anatomically and
functionally homologous may secrete quite
different substances. Thus in the guinea
pig and bull, both citric acid and fructose
 
 
 
394
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
are secreted by the seminal vesicles,
whereas in the rat, citric acid is produced
by the seminal vesicles and fructose is
formed only in the dorsolateral prostate
and coagulating glands.
 
D. METABOLISM OF THE PROSTATE AND
SEMINAL VESICLE
 
The metabolism of the male accessory
reproductive glands, and the activity of
many enzymes therein, are influenced profoundly by steroid hormones. In adult animals, excision of the testes results in a
rapid decline in the respiration, but not of
the anaerobic glycolysis, of slices of the
prostate gland of the dog (Barron and
Huggins, 1944), and of the rat prostate
(Homma, 1952; Nyden and Williams-Ashman, 1953; Bern, 1953; Rudolph and
Starnes, 1954; Butler and Schade, 1958)
and seminal vesicle (Rudolph and Samuels,
1949; Porter and Melampy, 1952; Rudolph
and Starnes, 1954j. The post-castrate fall
in oxygen consumption by these tissues can
be reversed by the administration of testosterone. The respiration of the epithelium
(but not of the muscle) of the guinea pig
seminal vesicle responds in a similar way to
androgen deprivation (Levey and Szego,
1955b). The stimulatory effect of testosterone on the respiration of the prostate
gland and seminal vesicle of castrated rats
is not prevented by the simultaneous administration of hydrocortisone (Rudolph
and Starnes, 1954).
 
The activity of a number of respiratory
enzymes in the rat prostate gland is decreased by castration to about the same
extent as the respiration of slices of this
tissue. This is true for the succinic and cytochrome oxidase systems (Davis, Meyer
and McShan, 1949), and for fumarase,
aconitase, and malic dehydrogenase (Williams-Ashman, 1954). But the succinic oxidase levels in two other androgen-sensitive
tissues are uninfluenced by castration, viz.,
the epithelium of the guinea pig seminal
vesicle (Levey and Szego, 1955b), and the
levator ani muscle of the rat (Leonard,
1950). In the rat prostate, androgens have
little influence on the activity of the glycolytic enzymes enolase and lactic (l(>hydrogenase, and of the TPN-specific enzymes
which oxidize isocitrate, glucose 6-ph()s
 
 
i:)hate and 6-phosphogluconate (WilliamsAshman, 1954; Rudolph, 1956). The enzymatic machinery responsible for the respiration of the male accessory glands seems to
be similar to that of other mammalian tissues (Barron and Huggins, 1946a, b; Nyden
and Williams-Ashman, 1953; WilliamsAshman, and Banks, 1954b; Williams-Ashman, 1954, 1955; Levey and Szego, 1955a).
Glock and McLean (1955) have shown
that, as in most other mammalian tissues,
the levels of DPN in rodent prostate and
seminal vesicle are higher than those of
DPNH, whereas the content of TPNH is
much greater than that of TPN.
 
Nyden and Williams-Ashman (1953)
found that the respiration-coupled synthesis of long-chain fatty acids from acetate
by ventral prostate slices m viti'o was depressed by castration to a greater extent
than the respiration, and could be restored
to normal levels by testosterone therapy.
Certain other synthetic reactions (the incorporation of P^--labeled inorganic phosphate into phospholipids, total nucleic
acids, and phosphoproteins) were less sensitive to androgens under these conditions.
However, in experiments involving the injection of P-^--labeled inorganic phosphate
into animals, the administration of androgen increased the turnover of various acidinsoluble phosphorus containing fractions.
Thus Levin, Albert and Johnson (1955)
observed that testosterone increases the
turnover of various phospholipids in the
lirostate gland and seminal vesicle. In the
seminal vesicle, Fleischmann and Fleischmann (1952) found that the entry of P-'into the desoxyribonucleic acid fraction
was increased 100-fold by androgen administered to castrate rats, whereas the
sjiecific radioactivity of the ribonucleic
acid was increased only 2-fold. Cytoplasmic basophilia in the rat seminal vesicle
(Melampy and Cavazos, 1953), and the
endoplasmic reticulum of the ventral prostate gland (Harkin, 1957a), which are intimately associated with cytoi)lasmic ribonucleic acid, are influenced profoundly by
androgenic hormones.
 
Transamination bet^^■een glutamate and
cither pyruvate or a-ketoglutarate was
shown by Barron and Huggins (1946b) to
proceed rapidly in canine and human pros
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
395
 
 
 
tate tissues. Awapara (1952a. bl reported
that the ahmine (but not aspartic) transaminase activities of the ventral prostate
gland of the rat were decreased by castration, and increased by testosterone therapy.
 
Rudolph and Starnes (1954) studied the
water distribution in the rat accessory
glands. The extracellular water in normal
seminal vesicles and prostates was 13.8 per
cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively. The
corresj^onding values in castrate animals
were 37.0 per cent and 31.8 per cent. The
growth of the glands which resulted from
treatment with testosterone was accompanied by a greater increase in the intracellular water than in extracellular water.
Rudolph and Samuels (1949) provided evidence that changes in the water content of
seminal vesicles induced by treatment of
castrate rats with testosterone did not \)recede metabolic changes (e.g., fructose synthesis) in this tissue.
 
The pronounced effects of androgen administration in vivo on the metabolism and
enzymatic activity of the accessary glands
cannot be mimicked by the addition of androgens in vitro. Dirscherl, Breuer and
Scheller (1955) reported that low levels of
testosterone stimulated the respiration of
mouse seminal vesicles if the control respiration was low. But others have found that
the respiration and glycolysis of male accessory glands are uninfluenced by the direct addition of androgens /// I'itro except
at high concentrations (>5 X 10~^ m), at
which testosterone is inhibitory (Bern,
1953; McDonald and Latta, 1954, 1956; Andrewes and Taylor, 19551. According to
Farnsworth (1958), the direct addition of
testosterone to prostate tissue impedes citrate synthesis to a greater extent than oxygen consumption. Williams-Ashman (1954)
found that the in vitro addition of testosterone did not affect the activity of a number of respiratory and glycolytic enzymes
in the rat A-entral prostate gland.
 
The mechanism of action of androgenic
hormones at a molecular level is not known.
There is no evidence that androgens are directly involved in the large changes in the
activity of some enzyme systems in accessory glands which follow the administration
or deprivation of these hormones. Recent
studies wliich indicate that minute concen
 
 
trations of certain steroid hormones can
stimulate the transfer of hydrogen between
pyridine nucleotides by isolated enzyme
systems deserve further comment. A soluble
enzyme in human placenta catalyzes an
estradiol- 17y8-dependent exchange of hydrogen between TPNH and DPN (Talalay
and Williams-Ashman, 1958). There is evidence in favor of the hypothesis (Talalay,
Hurlock and Williams-Ashman, 1958; Talalay and Williams-Ashman, 1960) that estradiol- 17^ transports hydrogen in this reaction by undergoing reversible oxidation
to estrone:
 
Estrone + TPNH + H+ ^ Estradiol-17/3 + TPN
EstradioI-17/3 + DPN ^
 
Estrone + DPNH + H+
TPNH + DPN ^ TPN + DPNH
 
Hagerman and Villee (1959), however,
believe that estradiol- 17/;^ and estrone mediate transhydrogenation between TPXH
and DPN by a mechanism which does not
involve oxido-reduction of the steroids.
Hurlock and Talalay (1958) showed that
a soluble 3a-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
isolated from rat liver catalyzes hydrogen
transfer between pyridine nucleotides in the
presence of catalytic levels of androsterone
and some other 3a-hydroxysteroids. In this
instance also, it seems that the steroids act
in a coenzyme-like manner by undergoing
alternate oxidation and reduction. However,
biologically inactive steroids such as etiocholan-3a-ol-17-one are even more active
than androgenic substances such as anch'osterone in this isolated enzyme system.
Hurlock and Talalay (1959) reported that
the particle-bound 3a- and 11^-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases of rat liver react at
comparable rates with both TPX and DPN,
and they suggest that these dehydrogenases
might function as transhydrogenases in the
presence of their appropriate steroid substrates. The hydroxy steroid dehydrogenases
for which there is direct or circumstantial
evidence for their ability to function as
transhydrogenases are localized either in
the microsomes (endoplasmic reticulum) or
in the soluble cell sap. Other enzymes that
catalyze the transfer of hydrogen between
pyridine nucleotides are bound to the mitochondria of many animal tissues (Stein,
 
 
 
396
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Kaplan and Ciotti, 1959; c/. Talalay, Hurlock and Williams-Ashman, 1958). These
mitochondrial transhydrogenases do not require steroid hormones as cof actors. According to Hmiiphrey (1957), the large cytoplasmic particles of rat prostate gland and
seminal vesicle are devoid of transhydrogenase activity. Slices of human prostate
gland convert testosterone to androst-4ene-3,17-dione (and other metabolites)
(Wotiz and Lemon, 1954; Wotiz, Lemon
and Voulgaropoulos, 1954). This suggests
that the human prostate contains a 17/3hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase which could
conceivably function as a transhydrogenase
in the presence of low levels of testosterone.
Baron, Gore and Williams (1960) reported
the presence of androsterone-stimulated
transhydrogenase reactions in the prostate
gland of rodents and man. On the contrary,
Williams-Ashman, Liao and Gotterer
(1958), and Samuels, Harding and Mann
(1960) were unable to demonstrate any activation by testosterone of hydrogen transfer between TPNH and DPN in rat prostatic tissue. DPNH and TPNH serve
rather different metabolic functions (c/.
Talalay and Williams-Ashman, 1958), and
it is possible that steroid-mediated transhydrogenations might exert a controlling
influence over the balance between the oxidized and reduced forms of pyridine nucleotides in the extramitochondrial regions of
certain cells. However, at present there is no
direct evidence in support of this hypothesis
(cf. Talalay and Williams-Ashman, 1960).
 
E. COAGULATION OF SEMEN
 
Mammalian semen is emitted from the
urethra as a liquid. In some species, e.g.,
the bull and the dog, the semen remains
permanently in the liquid state. But the
seminal fluid of many other mammals may
undergo remarkable changes in its physical
IM^operties on standing. Rodent semen clots
rapidly and, if ejaculated into the vagina,
forms a solid vaginal plug. This structure
assists fertilization by preventing an outflow of semen from the vagina after copulation (Blandau, 1945). The subsequent
dissolution of the vaginal plug, probably
as the result of the action of leukocytic enzymes, was studied by Stockard and Pajianicolaou (1919). A copulatory plug lias
 
 
 
also been described in certain Insectivora,
Chiroptera, and Marsupiala (Camus and
Gley, 1899; Engle, 1926a; Courrier, 1925;
Eaclie, 1948a, bj.
 
It has been stated that in the opposum
(Hartman, 1924) and in the bat (Courrier,
1925), the vaginal plug results from the
coagulation of the female secretions by
seminal plasma. However, the semen of
many other species clots on its own accord.
Camus and Gley (1896, 1899) were the
first to recognize that in the rat and guinea
pig, the clotting process involves the solidification of the vesicular secretion by an
enzyme of prostatic origin, which they
termed vesiculase. The classical experiments of Walker (1910a, b) showed that
this enzyme is secreted solely by the anterior prostate or "coagulating" gland. In
the rhesus monkey, the secretion of the
cranial lobe (but not of the caudal lobe) of
the prostate gland coagulates the vesicular
secretion (van Wagenen, 1936) . The "soft
calculus" frequently present in the urinary
bladder of male but not female rats is
l^robably formed by clotting of the seminal
vesicle secretion by the action of enzymes
from the coagulating gland (Vulpe, Usher
and Leblond, 1956) .
 
More recently, the mechanism of action
of vesiculase has been studied in considerable detail. A crude preparation of the proteins of the vesicular secretion that are
clotted by this enzyme can be obtained in
a stable form, and the clotting process may
l)e measured quantitatively by simple spectrophotometric procedures (Gotterer, Ginsburg, Schulman, Banks and Williams-Ashman, 1955; Gotterer and Williams-Ashman,
1957; Zorgniotti and Brendler, 1958). The
over-all coagulation process is extremely
sensitive to the ionic strength of the solution in which it takes place, and is abolished
by the addition of metal chelating agents
such as Versene (ethylcnediaminetetraacetic acid), o-i)henanthroline, and a,adipyridyl, and also by heavy metals such
as mercuric ions. The inhibitory action of
Versene can be overcome by manganous
ions, or by somewhat higher concentrations
of calcium ions. Experiments involving the
delayed addition of either heavy metal ions
or of metal chelating agents established that
till' coagulation process can be separated
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
397
 
 
 
into two distinct phases (Gotterer and
AVilliams-Ashman, 1957). The first of these
requires a metal ion such as Mn++, is inhibited by Versene, and does not necessarily
involve the precipitation of insoluble material. The second phase, which is insensitive to the action of metal chelating agents,
is inhibited by mercuric ions and leads to
the formation of a coagulum. The coagulated material is protein in nature.
 
Further fractionation of the vesicular
secretion by Speyer (1959) led to the isolation of a heat-stable protein, coagulinogen, which is the precursor of the insoluble
material of the vaginal plug, but is not
clotted by vesiculase. Speyer (1959) isolated another, heat-labile protein from
vesicular secretion which he designated
procoagulase, and which is converted into
a clotting enzyme coagulase by the action
of vesiculase. The coagulation of the seminal vesicle secretion by the prostatic enzyme vesiculase thus seems to take place
by the following reactions:
 
„ , Vesiculase „ ,
 
rrocoagulase > Coagulase
 
Coagulinogen °^^" '^^^ — ^ Coagulated protein
 
Only the first reaction is inhibited by
Versene.
 
Partial purification of vesiculase has
l>een achieved (Gotterer, Ginsburg, Schulman. Banks and Williams-Ashman, 1955).
Vesiculase is quite distinct from another
enzyme in the secretion of the coagulating
gland of guinea pigs which hydrolyzes, inter alia, tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester
(TAMe) (Gotterer, Banks and WilliamsAshman, 1956). Unlike thrombin, vesiculase does not hydrolyze TAMe and does not
clot fibrinogen. The dissimilarity between
the coagulation of blood and of semen is
further borne out by the failure of thrombin
to clot the proteins of the vesicular secretion, and by the inability of TA]\Ie (which
depresses the action of thrombin) to inhibit
vesiculase action.
 
Electrical stimulation of the head of the
guinea pig induces ejaculation without
voiding of either urine or feces (Batelli,
1922). Ejaculates obtained in this manner
from normal, sexually mature guinea pigs
coagulate rapidly. After castration, the semen is no longer coagulable, but becomes
 
 
 
so a few days after treatment with androgens (Moore and Gallagher, 1930). This
"electric ejaculation test" can be used as
an indicator for androgenic activity (c/.
Sayles, 1939, 1942).
 
It is generally believed that human semen is ejaculated as a fluid, and then coagulates (Lane-Roberts, Sharman, Walker
and Wiesner, 1939; Joel, 1942; Huggins
and Neal, 1942; Lundquist, 1949), although
some authors state that it is emitted in a
gelatinous form (Pollak, 1943; Hammen,
1944; Oettle, 1954). But there is no doubt
that the semen from normal men subsequently liquifies if kept at room temperature.^ Human semen possesses strong fibrinolytic activity (Huggins and Neal,
1942; Harvey, 1949; Ying, Day, Whitmore
and Tagnon, 1956). The prostate gland of
men secretes a proteolytic enzyme, fibrinolysin, which is probably responsible for the
phenomenon of liquefaction. Prostatic fibrinolysin is produced in large amounts by
certain cancers of the prostate in man, and
seems to enter the circulation since there
is a pronounced bleeding tendency in such
patients (Tagnon, Schulman, Whitmore
and Leone, 1953; Scott, Matthews, Butterworth and Frommeyer, 1954; Swan, Wood
and Owen, 1957). Canine semen, which
does not clot, contains little fibrinolysin,
but is rich in another proteolytic enzyme,
fibrinogenase, which hydrolyzes fibrinogen.
Little fibrinogenase is present in human
semen (Huggins and Neal, 1942). The presence of related proteolytic enzymes in the
secretions of the male accessory glands is
described above.
 
^ Louis Nicolas Vauquelin published the first
paper on the chemistry of seminal fluid (Vauquelin, 1791). This remarkable study includes a
detailed and accurate account of the liquefaction
of human semen which is quite unexcelled by later
writings. It also describes the formation, in ejaculates which had stood for three or four days, of
"cristaux transparens, d'environ une hgne de long,
tres-minces, et qui se croisent souvent de maniere
a representer les rayons d'une roue. Ces cristaux
isoles nous ont offer, a I'aide d'un verre grossissant,
la forme d'un solide a quatre pans, termines par
des pyramides tres-allongees, a quatre faces." Although Vauquelin believed that these crystals were
composed of calcium phosphate, Mann (1954a)
has pointed out that he had, in reality, obser\ed
the deposition of spermine phosphate in aged
semen.
 
 
 
398
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Freund and Thompson (1957) reported
that intravenous injection of crude guinea
pig coagulating gland secretion into rabbits or guinea pigs induces hypotensive
shock. Edema results if the secretion is
injected locally. The secretion of the coagulating gland of the rat does not possess
these properties. Further studies by Freund,
Miles, Mill and Wilhelm (1958) showed
that two main protein fractions can be separated from the secretion of the guinea pig
coagulating gland by preparative starch
electrophoresis. Fraction I was hypotensive
and a potent permeability factor in rabbits
and guinea pigs. It hydrolyzed TAMe rapidly and may be identical with the TAMehydrolyzing enzyme described in guinea
pig coagulating gland l)y Gotterer, Banks
and Williams-Ashman (1956). The latter
enzyme is not present in the coagulating
gland of the rat. Fraction II isolated by
Freund and his associates is ]n"obably vesiculase.
 
III. Structure and Function in
Relation to Hormones
 
A. INTRODUCTION
 
Some of the effects of removal of the
testes in males have been recognized ever
since castration was first practiced on man
and domestic animals. Aristotle's writings
include accurate descriptions of the effects
of castration on secondary sex characters
in birds and in man. The classical studies
of John Hunter (1792) laid the basis for
an understanding of the relation between
the presence of the testes and the size and
functional state of the accessory reproductive glands of mammals, although he did
not postulate the existence of testicular
hormones.
 
Hunter demonstrated experimentally
that the seminal vesicles of guinea pigs are
not reservoirs for semen and concluded that
this a])plies to the seminal vesicles in man
and in other mammals. He not only described the gross anatomy of the seminal
vesicles in many species (hedgehog, iiiole.
man, boar, bull, horse, buck, mouse, rat,
beaver, guinea pig) and their absence fi'om
others, but he observed tliat they arc smaller
in the gelding than in the stallion. In
refei'ence to other glands, he generalized
 
 
 
that "the prostate gland, Cowper's glands
and the glands along the urethra . . . are in
the perfect male large and pulpy, secreting
a considerable quantity of slimy mucus
which is salt to the taste . . . while in the
castrated animal these are small, flabby,
tough and ligamentous, and have little secretion." In addition, he made the equally
important discovery that the testes of
mammals (and birds as well) are very
small in winter in animals ''which have
their seasons of copulation" and the seminal vesicles and prostates are "hardly discernable." He concluded that "from these
observations it is reasonable to infer that
the use of the vesiculae in the animal
oeconomy must, in common with many
other parts, be dependent upon the testicles."
 
Over 100 years later, many of his observations were rediscovered, extended, and
interpreted in the light of the first demonstration that the testis is an endocrine organ (Berthold, 1849). In the early part of
the 20th century the interest in attempting
to isolate and characterize androgens from
testis tissue and urine led to a search for
rapid and dependable bioassay methods.
The cock's comb provided a sensitive and
convenient test object (Pezard, 1911). In
addition, some of the accessory reproductive glands of mammals were found to
atrophy rapidly after castration and proved
also to be sensitive indicators for the presence of androgenic hormones. Cytologic
tests using the rat prostate, seminal vesicles, and Cowper's glands were developed
and an electric ejaculation test in the guinea
l)ig was devised (Moore, 1932, 1939).
Weights, sizes, cytologic structure, and mitotic activity in mouse seminal vesicles
were suggested as bioassay methods for androgenic hormones (Deaneslv and Parkes.
1933).
 
After th(> successful isolation and chemical characterization of androgens and estrogens from various sources, interest centered on the fundamental relationships of
androgens to normal develojjment, histologic structure, and secretory activity of
the accessory glands in many species of
inainmals. The effects of estrogens and gestagens and the competitive and synergistic
i'elationshii)s of steroid hormones were
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
399
 
 
 
examined. The results of this early work
contributed extensively to the fields of biochemistry, biology, and medicine. More
recently there have been studies on the relation of hormones to the ultrastructure, histochemistry, and metabolism of the glands,
and to the chemical composition of their
secretions ( Section II I .
 
In the following section, the hormonal
control of structure and function will be
discussed with particular reference to the
luniierous studies on the prostate glands
and seminal vesicles of rats and mice.
 
B. EFFECTS OF ANDROGENS
 
The term androgen will be used in the
collective sense for substances that are
capable of stimulating accessory reproductive glands in castrated animals and
maintaining normal histologic structure and
secretory activity in the epithelium. Androgenic substances are formed by the testes,
ovaries, and adrenal cortex. All androgens
which have been characterized are steroids.
The urine contains many androgen metabolites, mainly in the form of their conjugates
with either glucuronic or sulfuric acids.
Testosterone is the principal androgen secreted by the testis and this substance, or
tiie longer acting testosterone propionate,
is most commonly used as a replacement
for testicular androgen. In the last two
decades a number of unnatural androgens
[e.g., 17a-methyl testosterone) have been
synthesized and found to possess strong
biologic activity. The relationship between
chemical structure of steroids and andro
 
 
genic activity in a variety of bioassay procedures is discussed by Dorfman and Shipley (1956).
 
1. Testicular Androgens
 
The effects of endogenous and exogenous
androgen on weight, histologic structure,
and secretory activity of the accessory
glands have been reviewed by Moore
(1939), Price (1947), Burrows (1949),
Dorfman (1950), Dorfman and Shipley
(1956) and many others. Aspects of metabolic activity have been treated by Roberts
and Szego (1953) and Mann (1954a).
 
The first detailed cytologic studies of
male accessory glands and the changes following castration and hormone administration were made on the prostates, coagulating glands, and seminal vesicles of adult
rats (Moore, Price and Gallagher, 1930;
Moore, Hughes and Gallagher, 1930). Extensive research on structure and function
of these and other accessory glands in many
species followed this early work, but the
cytologic structure of prostates and seminal
vesicles of rats and mice remains one of the
most sensitive indicators for androgenic
hormones.
 
Rat PROSTATE AND SEMINAL VESICLES. Ventral prostate. In the normal adult gland, the
columnar secretory epithelium has basal
nuclei with conspicuous nucleoli and chromatin particles, and a supranuclear clear
zone or light area in the cytoplasm corresponding to the position of the Golgi zone
(Figs. 6.8, 6.9, and 6.14). In osmium preparations, the Golgi apparatus appears as
 
 
 
 
Fics. (3.8 Axn 6.9. Rat ventral prostate from a normal adult male. X 5UU and lOUU. Boinnhematoxylin preparations. (From C. R. Moore, D. Price and T. F. Gallagher, Am. J. Anat.,
45, 71-107, 1930.)
 
 
 
400
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
heavy strands or networks (Figs. 6.19 and
6.22) which do not conform precisely to
the shape or area of the cytoplasmic clear
zone. Mitochondria are distributed as rods
or granules in all parts of the cell. The secretion in the lumina of the alveoli is eosinophilic and mainly granular. A basement
membrane rests on a stroma of connective
tissue containing smooth muscle strands
and blood vessels. Occasional small basal
cells are wedged between the tall secretory
cells. These observations were made by
light microscopy of tissues fixed and stained
by routine methods (Moore, Price and Gallagher, 1930).
 
 
 
Electron microscopy (Harkin, 1957a)
shows that the epithelial cells have an endoplasmic reticulum or ergastoplasm composed of membrane-lined sacs with a finely
granular component in the spaces between
them (Figs. 6.27 to 6.29) ; the outside of
the thin membrane is studded with Palade's
granules (Palade, 1955). The arrangement
of the sacs tends to parallel the long axis
of the cells, but in cross section the pattern
ai)pears concentric or lamellar, particularly
in the supranuclear region (Fig. 6.29). The
ergastoplasmic sacs occupy more space than
the matrix apically, but basally the two are
equally prominent (Fig. 6.28). The mem
 
 
TABLE 6.6
 
Summary of the effects of testicular androgen, on the rat prostate and coagulating glands
 
 
 
Normal Males
 
 
 
Castrated Males
 
 
 
General Characteristics
 
 
 
All lobes
alveoli witli folded inueosa; secretion in the lumina..
columnar epithelial cells: cytoplasm granular or foamy.
supranuclear clear zone in cytoplasm (ventral lobe)
 
Golgi supranuclear networks
 
mitochondria as rods or granules
 
nuclei basal or central
 
stroma of connective tissue and smooth muscle
 
 
 
Size reduced; villi lost; secretion reduced
 
Size reduced; pseudostratified; cytoplasm less dense
 
Clear zone lost
 
Reduced in amount; fragmented
 
Still numerous but reduced in relative numbers
 
Shrunken and pyknotic
 
Increased fibromuscular tissue
 
 
 
Specific Characteristics
 
 
 
Ventral lobes
 
Histochemical observations:
 
secretion in lumina strongly PAS- and alkaline phosphatase-positive . . .
 
cytoplasm weak PAS, strong alkaline phosphatase activity;
 
basophilic reaction except in clear zone
 
Golyi accumulations of PAS-positive granules
 
stroma some alkaline phosphatase activity
 
Electron microscopic observations:
 
cytoplasm moderately distended ergastoplasmic sacs
 
Golgi supranuclear microvesicular complex
 
mitochondria numerous, prominent apically
 
Lateral lobes
 
Histochemical observations:
 
cyioplasm luminal border organelle with high concentrations of zinc and
basophilic material; osmiophilic, argentophilic
 
nucleoli high concentrations of zinc and marked basophilia
 
stroma high concentrations of zinc; basojihilic material (jresent
Dorsal lobes
Histochemical observations:
 
cytoplasm in apical region strongly basophilic; basally, some zinc
 
nucleoli high concentrations of zinc and marked basophilia
 
stroma basophilic material; strong alkaline i)hosphatase reaction
 
Electron microscopic observations:
 
cytoplasm distended ergastoplasmic cisternae;
 
Coagulating glands (anterior prostate)
Histocheinical observations:
 
secretion strongly PAS-positive
 
cytoplasm weak P.\S reaction
 
stroma some alkaline phosphatase activity
 
Electron microscopic observations:
 
cyioplasm extremely dilated ergastoplasmic cisternae
 
 
 
Some phosphatase activity retained
Phosphatase activity low
 
 
 
Sacs collapsed; granvilar component reduced
 
Reduced in size
 
Reduced in relative numbers
 
 
 
Cisternae collapse
 
 
 
granules reduced
 
 
 
pears unalterc
 
 
 
Cisternae collapsed; granules reduced
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
401
 
 
 
hrane is continuous with the outer nuclear
membrane. The Golgi complex is conspicuous as microvesicles midway between nucleus and lumen. Mitochondria lie in the
matrix between the sacs and are very prominent in the most apical region. Microvilli
project into the lumina of the alveoli with
no interruption of the cytoplasmic, or
plasma, membrane. The membrane at the
base of the cell is double (see Fig. 6.28) ;
one component, the basement membrane,
continues unbroken under adjacent cells;
the second forms a part of the double
plasma membrane between cells. Brandes
and Groth (1961) have confirmed Harkin's findings and added further observations. Nuclei contain patches of granules
which are frequently along the inner nuclear membrane; the Golgi complex consists
of vesicles, vacuoles, and parallel meml)ranes; vesicles and granules surrounded
by smooth-surfaced membranes are disposed in the cytoplasmic matrix and are
more numerous apically; the dilated sacs
or cisternae of the supranuclear region
seem to intercommunicate.
 
Histochemical studies of basophilia, alkaline phosphatase activity, and the localization of i^eriodic acid-reactive carbohydrates (Periodic acid-Schiff or PAS
reaction) add further information (Table
6.6). Davey and Foster (1950) found basophilia (which was abolished by ribonuclease) distributed through the cytoplasm
except in the clear area described by Moore,
Price and Gallagher (1930) as corresponding to the position of the Golgi zone. Stroma
of the ventral prostate shows some degree
of alkaline phosphatase activity but luminal secretion and epithelial cells are
strongly positive (Bern, 1949a), especially
at the luminal and basal borders (Stafford,
Rubenstein and Meyer, 1949). The secretion also gives a fairly intense PAS reaction whereas the epithelial cells are only
slightly reactive; occasionally the Golgi
apparatus is visible as PAS-positive granules (Leblond, 1950).
 
After castration, there is reduction in cell
height and loss of the cytoplasmic clear
zone (Fig. 6.15) within 4 days. On subsecjuent days, cell size continues to decrease
and nuclei become small and pyknotic
(Figs. 6.10. 6.16 to 6.18). The Golgi ap
 
 
paratus begins to fragment by 10 days; by
20 days it consists of granules much reduced in amount (Fig. 6.20) and the basement membrane of the cells disappears
(Moore, Price and Gallagher, 1930).
 
Harkin (1957a) reported changes observable by electron microscopy within 24
hours after castration; distention of apical
ergastoplasmic sacs and reduction in size
and number of microvilli. By 2 days, there
is dilation of Golgi microvesicles, collapse
of the apical ergastoplasmic sacs, and reduction in mass of apical cytoplasm; at 4
days, massive collapse of sacs, reduction
in mitochondrial number, and increase in
electron-dense bodies (Fig. 6.30). The
granular component is not reduced until 8
days after castration or longer. Brandes and
Portela (1960a) noted, briefly, collapse in
the cisternae of the ergastoplasm, loss of
the ribonucleic acid- (RNA) rich granules
from the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, and apparent increase in mitochondria but with a reduction in their size
(Table 6.6).
 
The distribution of alkaline phosphatase
in the stroma, epithelium, and secretion is
unchanged 32 days after castration; the
stroma is still reactive at 120 days but the
epithelium is completely atrophic (Bern
and Levy, 1952). (Quantitative determinations of alkaline and acid phosphatases
showed, however, that activities of both
enzymes are reduced markedly by 8 days
(Stafford, Rubenstein and Meyer, 1949).
The epithelium loses the ability to secrete
citric acid (see Section IT).
 
Changes after gonadectomy are prevented or reversed by administration of
androgenic substances. Extracts of bull
testes (:\Ioore, Price and Gallagher, 1930)
prevented involution of the epithelium in
castrates (Fig. 6.11 and 6.21) and androsterone, testosterone, and testosterone propionate prevented or repaired castration
changes CMoore and Price, 1937, 1938).
The response of the castrate to androgen
is rapid; cell hypertrophy begins within
23 hours after a single injection of testosterone propionate into males castrated for
40 days ; at 35 hours mitotic activity begins
and reaches a maximum at 43 hours (Burkhart, 1942).
 
Ergastoplasmic sacs in the epithelial cells
 
 
 
402
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
;;^.. Da .^.^^
 
 
 
 
 
 
I I'- <; II) 0.13. Rat ventr;il lu-o-tatc (Figs. 6 10. H.U) and coagulal iim aland ( Fm- C) 12,
(i.lo). All pliotomicrographs , lOUU. Fig. 6.10. 20-day cabtiatc. Fig. 6.11. 20-day ca.^tratf injected with testis extract. Fig. 6.12. 20-day castrate. Fig. 6.13. 20-day castrate injected with
testis extract. (From C. R. Moore, D. Price and T. F. Gallagher, Am. J. Anat., 45, 71-107,
1930.)
 
 
 
are prevented from collapsing by treatment
of castrates with testosterone and the process is reversed if the androgen is given after
castration changes have developed (J. C.
Harkin, personal communication). Alkaline and acid phosphatase levels are essentially normal in castrates injected with
testost(M'one propionate (Stafford, Rubinstein and Meyer, 1949).
 
Lateral prostate. The epithelial cells in
normal adult glands are columnar and the
nuclei are basal, but cell size and nuclear
position arc more variable than in the ventral prostate ( Korenchevsky and Dcnnison.
193.51. The Golgi apparatus appears as
 
 
 
l^rominent supranuclear networks in osmium stainecl preparations (Rixon and
Whitfield, 1959).
 
Histochemical studies employing a dithizone zinc stain demonstrated high concentrations of zinc in the apical jiart of the
cells (Gunn and Gould, 19o6a). Fleischhauer (1957) observed (macroscopically)
heavy staining that was visible in this lobe
after intravenous or subcutaneous injections of dithizone. In mifix(Hl frozen sections,
he found in tlic basal regions of all epithelial cells numerous stained granules
which lie interpreted as zinc-positive material. 'Hie nature of a rather wide diffusely
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
403
 
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
IB
 
 
 
 
 
 
IB
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
0'^
 
 
 
 
 
 
IE
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
Figs. 6.14-6.26
 
 
 
 
Figs. 6.14-6.22. Rat ventral prostate. Figs. 6.14-6.21. Camera lucida drawings X 3000. Figs.
6.19-6.22. Mann-Kopsch preparations for Golgi apparatus. Fig. 6.14. Normal male. Figs. 6.156.18. From males castrated for 4, 10, 20 and 90 days. Fig. 6.19. Normal male. Fig. 6.20. 20-day
castrate. Fig. 6.21. 20-day castrate injected with testis extract. Fig. 6.22. Normal male ; photomicrograph X 1000. (From C. R. Moore, D. Price and T. F. Gallaglier, Am. J. Anat., 45, 71107, 1930.)
 
Figs. 6.23-6.26. Rat coagulating gland. Figs. 6.23-6.25. Camera lucida drawings X 3000.
Fig. 6.23. Normal male. Fig. 6.24. 20-day castrate. Fig. 6.25. 20-day castrate injected with testis
extract. Fig. 6.26. Normal male; photomicrogaph X 1000; Mann-Kopsch preparation for
Golgi apparatus. (From C. R. Moore, D. Price and T. F. Gallagher, Am. J. Anat.. 45, 71-107,
1930.)
 
 
 
404
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
■^f
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
«#
 
 
 
Fig. 6.27. R:it xcniinl |.in~i,ii( ikhihiI mil. I ,li . 1 1 uiiiuicrograpli X 8500; LuftV ])prmanganate fixative. Aliciuvilli lxIlikI a^ i)iul()n^atioii.-. ol the cytoplasm into the lumen; a major
part of the cytoplasm is a labyrinth of ergastoplasmic sacs with scattered mitochondria ; nuclei are basal ; half-way between nucleus and cell apex is a zone of small vesicles and canals,
the Golgi complex (From J. C. Harkin, un])u})lishe(l.)
 
 
 
 
stained area in the ai)ical cytoi)lasin was
not clear. Ki.xoii and Whitfield 11959) reported high concentrations of zinc in the
apical cytoplasm, nucleoli, and stroma in
fixed tissues stained with dithizone. Tn the
apical cytoplasm, the zinc is conccnti atcd
at the tip of the cells in a "luminal l)order
organelle" which is osmiophilic (distinct
from the (Jo].o;i apparatus), argent()i)hilic,
 
 
 
and basophilic. Nucleoli and subepithelial
sti'oma are basophilic.
 
Castration results in a typical pattern
of involution in the epithelial cells: size is
!•(■( bleed, nuclei become small and jwknotic,
and changes occur in the density of the cytoplasm (Korenchevsky and Dennison,
1935; Price, Mann and Lutwak-Mann,
1955). The zinc content of the gland (dor
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
405
 
 
 
solatcral or lateral prostate) and the rate
of Zn*^^ uptake decrease after gonadectomy
as does the secretion of citric acid and fructose (see Section II).
 
Dorsal prostate. The epithelium in the
dorsal prostate of normal rats is columnar
or cuboidal depending on distention of the
alveoli; nuclei are basal and stain heavily;
there is cytoplasmic vacuolization which is
usually limited to the basal region (Korenchevsky and Dennison, 1935) .
 
Brandes and Groth (1961) described the
ultrastructure of two different cell types
in the dorsolateral (or dorsal) lobe. These
types differ in the relation of cytoplasmic
matrix to endoplasmic reticulum. In both,
the matrix is moderatelv homogeneous and
 
 
 
contains small particles, but in cell type 1,
the matrix appears as separate profiles and
the reticulum as membrane-bounded individual cavities. In cell type 2, the reticulum
forms dilated membrane-bounded cisternae
which are intercommunicating and the cytoplasmic matrix is reduced mainly to thin
strands appearing isolated within the cisternae.
 
Gunn and Gould (1956a) reported a
zinc-negative histochemical reaction in the
epithelium of the dorsal prostate. Fleischhauer (1957) observed a slight dithizonestain macroscopically, and in unfixed frozen
sections, individual groups of cells contain
the distinctive basal zinc-positive granules
that are characteristic of all epithelial cells
 
 
 
...\
 
 
 
Fl(.i. li..'N. l;;il v,l,ii;,l |Mm-;;:h, n,uM,:,l in.ih. 1 ,1. r i ,, ,i i li i in . ,-i:i [ .1, . 2(;,()()(); 1 ),-| ll ( )ll's
chrome o^niic and hxatixi . Il;i>:il pari ot epithelial cell to show the character of the granular
component and ergastopla>iiiic -acs which are essentially equal in amount in this region.
Double basement membrane indicated by arrow. (From J. C. Harkin, Endocrinology, 60,
185-199, 1957.)
 
 
 
406
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
■:^lVi4
 
 
 
l'"i(..G.2U. Rat \(;iilial lUo.-Uilu, iiuinial iiiak;. I'^lcctionnu'
acid fixative with sucrose. Supranuclear region of epithelia
plasmic sacs. (From J. C. Harkin, unpublished.)
 
 
 
.-laph Is.iiOO; Paladps osmic
•ell sliowing laniellatetl ergasto
 
 
in the lateral lolje. Tiiere is no diffuse staining of the apical cytoplasm. Nucleoli arc
intensely zinc-positive after fixation and
staining with dithizone; nucleoli, apical cytoplasm and stroma are basophilic fRixon
and Whitfield, 1959). The stroma is also
strongly alkaline phosphatase - positive
(Bern, 1949a).
 
Epithelial cells respond to castration l»y
reduction in cell and nuclear size, and loss
of granulation in the cytoplasm (Korenchevsky and Dennison, 1935). Brandes and
Portela (1960a) observed in electron micrographs the V)eginning of collapse of the
 
 
 
cisternae of the endoi)lasmic reticulum, reduction in RNA-rich particles, and changes
in mitochondria. Histochemical studies
( Iicni and Levy, 1952) indicate that distribution of alkaline phosphatase activity remains unchanged. Fructose content is reduced in the gland after castration (Price,
Mann and Lut\vak-]\Iann, 1955).
 
CocKjulating gland {anterior prostdte) . In
normal males, the ei)ithelium is columnar
and rests on a well marked basement membrane; nuclei stain heavily and homogeneously and ai'e situated midway between the
basement meml)i';iiie and lumen. The cvto
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCriVE GLANDS
 
 
 
407
 
 
 
plasm is not as granular as in the ventral
prostate and appears vacuolated, particularly in the basal region and around the
nuclei; the apical cytoplasm is condensed
and granular (Fig. 6.13, a gland from a
castrated male injected with testicular extract, illustrates essentially the characteristics of the normal epithelium). Golgi bodies
( Fig. 6.26) form large networks close to the
 
 
 
luminal end of the cells (Moore, Price and
Gallagher, 1930).
 
The striking characteristic of these cells
in electron microscopy (Brandes, Belt and
Bourne, 1959; Brandes and Groth, 1961)
is the great dilation of the cisternae of the
endoplasmic reticulum (Fig. 6.31) which
fill the greatest part of the cell and are particularly distended in the basal region. The
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.30. Rut \entral prostate, 4-day castrate. Electronmicrograph X 26,000; Dalton's
chrome osmic acid fi.xative. Portion of nucleus and di.stal region of epithelial cell. An electron
dense body lies above the nucleus and below dilatated Golgi microvesicles. Arrow points to
collapsed ergastoplasmic sacs. (From J. C. Harkin, Endocrinology, 60, 185-199, 1957.)
 
 
 
408
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.31. Rat coagulating gland, normal male. Electronmiciogiaplis, lefl X 7200; upper and
lowei- right X 39,000. Caulfield's modification of Palade's osmic acid fixative. Left, ba.sal portions of two epithelial cells; right, details of basal region: bni, basement membrane; ci,
dilated cisternae; cm, plasma membrane; cy, cytoplasmic matrix; G, Golgi complex; bn,
limiting membrane of endoplasmic reticulum; w, mitochondria; n, nucleus. (From D.
Brandes, unpublished.)
 
 
 
cytoplasmic matrix appears as strands
within the cisternae. The Golgi complex
is represented by parallel rows of membranes, vacuoles, and smaller vesicles.
 
Histochemically (Table 6.6), the secretion is intensely PAS-positive and the cytoplasm is slightly reactive (Leblond, 19501.
The stroma is strongly alkaline phosphatase-positive (Bern, 1949a).
 
The effects of castration arc not ai)i)arent
by light microscopy as early as in the ventral prostate and seminal vesicles. At 10
days after castration the cells are slightly
smaller and the cytoplasm less dense; by
20 days, the cells are markedly reduced in
size, nuclei smaller, cytoplasm clear, basement membrane absent or less well defined
(Figs. 6.12 and 6.24). The Golgi apparatus
is reduced in amount but not fragmontcnl.
It still retains the shape of strands or
threads which cap around tlic nucleus at
 
 
 
90 days of castration but the mass is reduced (Moore, Price and Gallagher, 1930).
 
Brandes and Portela (1960a) state that
castration produces gradual and slow collapse of cisternae in the endoplasmic reticulum, changes in mitochondria, and reduction and loss of RNA-rich particles from
the membranes. Studies of functional activity show that the ability to secrete fructose and vesiculase is lost (see Section II).
 
Depending on the length of the interval
between the operation and administration
of the hormone, treatment of castrates with
testis extracts (Figs. 6.13 and 6.25) or
testosterone prevents or repairs histologic
and functional changes.
 
Seminal vc.'iicles. The secretory epithelium is colunuiar in normal males; nuclei
are basal and contain one or two conspicuous nucleoli and smaller chromatin masses
(Table 6.7). Seci-etion granules, surrounded
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
409
 
 
 
TABLE 6.7
Summary of the effects of testicular androgen on rat and mouse seminal vesicles
 
 
 
Normal Males
 
 
 
Castrated Males
 
 
 
General Characteristics
 
 
 
Rat and mouse
 
mucosa folded; acidophilic secretion in lumen Villous folding reduced; secretion greatly reduced
 
columnar epithelial cells: secretion granules supranuclear Cell size reduced; granules lost
 
Golgi supranuclear networks \ Reduced in volume; fragmented
 
mitochondria as rods or granules ' Apparently reduced in relative numbers (rat)
 
nuclei basal; nucleoli prominent I Nuclei shrunken and pyknotic; nucleoli disappear
 
stroma of connective tissue and smooth muscle Amount appears increased
 
 
 
Specific Characteristics
 
 
 
Rat
Histochemical observations :
secretion in lumen PAS-positive, intensity variable; acidophilic
 
ci//opZasm slight PAS reaction; strongly acid phosphatase-positive;
 
strongly basophilic
 
secretion granules in epithelium strongly acid phosphatase-positive
 
nuclei strong acid phosphatase reaction
 
stroma slight PAS reaction; acid phosphatase-positive; strong alkaline
 
phosphatase reaction
 
Mouse
Histochemical observations :
 
secretion in lumen moderately PAS-positive and acidophilic
 
cytoplasm moderately basophilic at base and lateral margins of cells;. . .
 
apical granules acid phosphatase-positive
secretion granules in epithelium weakly PAS-positive and acidophilic...
Golgi region; granules PAS-positive and acidophilic
stroma intensely PAS- and alkaline phosphatase-positive
Electron microscopic observations:
cytoplasm complex pattern of basal and lateral ergastoplasmic membranes;
 
 
 
Phosphatase activity reduced
 
Slight basophilia
 
Activity lost
 
Remained weakly acid phosphatase-positive
 
Acid and alkaline phosphatase activity reduced
 
 
 
Secretory granules less acidopliiliWeakly basophilic
 
 
 
abundant RNA-rich granules
 
Golgi region; parallel arrays of smooth-surfaced membranes and vesicles
 
 
 
Reduced in number; less acidophilii
Phosphatase activity reduced
 
 
 
Ergastoplasmic channels less distended and contorted
Relative number reduced
 
 
 
by vesicular zones are present in the supranuclear region (Fig. 6.36) and resemble the
secretion in the lumen in staining reactions.
The Golgi complex appears in osmium preparations as irregular networks or a vesicular structure (Fig. 6.32); the basement
membrane is poorly defined or absent
(Moore, Hughes and Gallagher, 1930).
 
The extracellular secretion is only slightly
PAS-positive but varies in the intensity of
reaction; there is little reaction in the epithelial cells except in some cells with stained
granules; fibers of the lamina propria,
smooth muscles, and walls of arterioles are
weakly reactive (Leblond, 1950; ]\Ielampy
and Cavazos, 1953). Stroma and capillaries
are strongly alkaline phosphatase-positive
(Bern, 1949a; Dempsey, Greep and Deane,
1949; :\lelarapy and Cavazos, 1953). The
cytoplasm, secretion granules, nuclei, and
stroma give an intense acid phosphatase
reaction; the cytojilasm is strongly baso
 
 
philic and the reaction is abolished by ribonuclease (]\lelampy and Cavazos, 1953).
 
The response to castration is rapid. In 2
days the cells are reduced in height mainly
by reduction in apical mass ; secretion granules are few, small, and indistinct. By 10
days, cells are small, secretion granules are
gone, nuclei are small with heavily staining
chromatin (Fig. 6.35), and Golgi bodies
have begun to fragment; at 20 days, these
changes are more advanced and the remnant of the Golgi bodies (Fig. 6.33) occupies almost the entire supranuclear region
(Moore, Hughes and Gallagher, 1930). In
a cytometric study, Cavazos and ]\Ielampy
(1954) found a statistically significant reduction in cell height by 6 hours after castration; by 48 hours many nucleoli are
smaller than normal and by 60 hours most
nucleoli are small; nuclear diameters are
reduced but change more slowly.
 
 
 
410
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
'0 (?rCf
 
 
 
f-\
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
 
 
r-^
 
 
Q'
 
 
 
 
 
 
''1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
Figs. 6.32-6.36. Rat seminal vesicle; camera lucida drawing.s ,: 3000. Figs. 6.32-6.34. ManuKopsch preparations for Golgi apparatus. Fig. 6.32. Normal male. Fig. 6.33. 20-day castrate.
Fig. 6.34. 20-day castrate injected with testis extract. Fig. 6.35. 10-day castrate. Fig. 6.36. 20day castrate injected with testis extract. (From C. R. Moore, W. Hughes and T. F. Gallagher,
Am. J. Anat., 45, 71-107, 1930.)
 
 
 
Gonadectomy causes gradual reduction
and disappearance of alkaline phosphatase
activity (Dempsey, Greep and Deane, 1949;
Melampy and Cavazos, 1953) and hypophysectomy, with consequent diminution of
testicular hormones, gives similar results
(Dempsey, Greep and Deane, 1949). Bern
and Levy (1952) reported some retention of
alkaline phosphatase activity in the fibromuscular tissue of castrates. Acid phosphatase activity decreased within 10 days following castration (Melampy and Cavazos,
1953).
 
In early experiments (Moore, Hughes
and Gallagher, 1930) , administration of bull
testis extracts to castrated rats maintained
normal histologic structure or repaired involutional changes (Figs. 6.34 and 6.36),
 
 
 
and androsterone, testosterone, and testosterone propionate gave similar resvdts
(Moore and Price, 1937, 1938). Androgen
treatment in castrates produced detectable
changes within 2 days. Burkhart (1942 1
observed cell hypertrophy ahd enlargement
of nuclei 23 hours after a single injection
of testosterone propionate into 40-day castrates; mitotic activity began at 35 hours
and reached a maximum at 43 hours. Cavazos and Melampy (1954) treated castrates
with testosterone propionate and found increases in nuclear diameter within 12 hours,
cell height within 24 hours, and nucleolar
size l)y 36 hours; mitotic activity was evident at 48 hours. The same hormone restoi'cd normal alkaline and acid phosphatase activity in castrates within 10 days
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
411
 
 
 
(Dempsey, Grecp and Deane, 1949; Melampy and Cavazos, 1953).
 
Mouse prostate and seminal vesicles.
Ventral prostate. The epithelial cells in the
adult gland are low to moderately tall
columnar; acini are surrounded by a thin
fibromuscular layer; lumina contain finely
granular, acidophilic secretion. The cytoplasm appears somewhat foamy with a
clear zone in the supranuclear Golgi region
and rather dense basophilia near the lumen
(Franks, 1959). In approj)riate histologic
preparations, the Golgi apparatus is visible
as a network in the apical cytoplasm close
to the nucleus and the twisted strands are
oriented parallel to the long axis of the cell
(Horning, 1947).
 
Brandes and Portela (1960c) observed by
electron microscopy an endoplasmic reticulum of cisternae or vesicles that are usually
flattened but have dilations. RNA-rich
granules are attached to the outer surface
of the thin membranes bounding the vesicles
and occur also in the cytoplasmic matrix;
the arrangement of cisternae may be parallel or in a random pattern. The luminal
margin of cells exhibits small cytoplasmic
projections covered by the cell membrane.
There are also extensions of the margin
which ai)pear similar to fragments of cytoplasm that seem to lie free in the lumen,
and are presumably detached from the apical tips of cells. The lumina also contain
structures that resemble profiles of the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The
supranuclear Golgi complex consists of
vacuoles of various sizes and flattened vesicles; endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria are present in the Golgi zone.
 
Histochemical findings (Table 6.8) indicate alkaline phosphatase activity in the
stroma with a positive reaction in the basement membrane, endothelium of blood vessels, and sheaths of smooth muscle fibers
(Brandes and Bourne, 1954). With longer
incubation periods of the tissue (Bern,
1949a), the epithelium and secretion in the
lumina are strongly reactive and the stroma
shows some activity. Brandes and Bourne
(1954) reported acid phosphatase activity
in the epithelium; the Golgi region gave
the strongest reaction and the nuclei were
moderately positive. Luminal secretion, ag
 
 
gregations of granules in the Golgi region
and apical cytoplasm, basement membranes, and capillary endothelium were
PA8-positive. Sulfhydryl and disulfide reactions were moderately strong in epithelial
cells and basement membranes.
 
Gonadectomy results in typical cell retrogression with reduction in cell height and
nuclear size. Brandes and Bourne (1954)
summarized their results as follows: after
gonad removal, the Golgi apparatus showed
some fragmentation and was not so dense
by 12 to 14 days; alkaline phosphatase activity was slightly less intense by 4 days;
changes in acid pliosphatase activity in the
Golgi region were evident by 4 days and
marked by 21 to 22 days; the PAS reaction
was reduced by 8 days and almost lost in
the epithelium by 21 to 22 days. Subcutaneous implantation of pellets of testosterone propionate 13 to 32 days after castration produced a rapid return to normal
of Golgi apparatus and phosphatase activity and a gradual recovery of normal
PAS reactions. Allen (1958) reported a significant increase in mitotic activity in the
epithelium of 30-day castrates within 30
to 36 hours following a single injection of
16 /xg. of testosterone propionate; peak activity was reached in 42 to 48 hours.
 
Dorsal prostate. The epithelial cells resemble rather closely those of the coagulating gland but the cytoplasm is more granular, the centrally placed nuclei darker, and
the Golgi apparatus in the apical cytoplasm (in close contact with the nucleus) is
less dense than the Golgi networks in the
coagulating gland (Horning, 1947). Histochemically, the distribution of phosphatase
activities and PAS reaction in normal
males, castrates, and castrates treated with
testosterone propionate are similar to the
findings in the coagulating gland (Bern,
1949a, 1951; Brandes and Bourne, 1954).
 
Coagulating gland {anterior prostate).
The secretory cells are columnar and the
nuclei are approximately midway between
basement membrane and lumen. The cytoplasm is granular and the condensed Golgi
apparatus is a flattened network oriented
transversely in the most apical region of
the cytoplasm (Horning, 1947).
 
Electron microscopic studies by Brandes
 
 
 
412
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
TABLE 6.8
 
Summary of the effects of testicular androgen on the mouse prostate and coagulating glands
 
 
 
Normal Males
 
 
 
Castrated Males
 
 
 
General Characteristics
 
 
 
All lobes
alveoli with folded
 
 
 
lucosa; secretion in luniina.
 
 
 
columnar epithelial cells
 
cytoplasm of epithelial cells granular or foamy
 
nuclei basal .
 
stroma of connective tissue and smooth muscle
 
Histochemical observations:
 
secretion in lumina PAS-positive
 
cytoplasm acid phosphatase-positive; sulfhydryl reaction
 
intracytoplasmic granules PAS-positive; near luminal border
 
Golgi region PAS-positive granules; strong acid phosphatase activity.
 
basement membrane PAS- and alkaline phosphatase-positive
 
Stroma PAS- and alkaline phosphatase-positive
 
Electron microscopic observations:
 
epithelial cells with microvilli
 
Golgi complex smooth surfaced membranes and vesicles
 
 
 
Iveolar size; loss of villi and bulk of
 
 
 
Reduction i
 
secretion
 
Reduction in cell size; pseudostratification
.\ppears less dense
Shrunken and pyknotic
Fibromuscular increase
 
Almost completely negative
 
Phosphatase activity reduced
 
Almost completely negative
 
Almost completely negative
 
Activity retained; less intense
 
Activity retained in sheaths of smooth muscles
 
Cell size reduced
 
 
 
Specific Characteristics
 
 
 
Ventral lobes
 
Histochemical observations :
secretion in lumina strong alkaline phosphatase activity
cytoplasm alkaline pliosphatase-positive
 
Golgi loose networks in apical cytoplasm
 
Electron microscopic observations:
cytoplasm; ergastoplasm with generally flattened cisternae..
Dorsal lobes
Histochemical observations :
 
Golgi compact networks in apical cytoplasm
 
Coagulating glands (anterior prostate)
Histochemical observations :
Secretion in lumina intense protein reaction; PAS-positive;.
 
sulfhydryl reaction
 
cytoplasm high concentrations of RNA basally and apically
 
protein reactions, intense apically
 
sulfhydryl reaction, especially strong apically
 
Golgi condensed apical networks
 
Electron microscopic observations:
cytoplasm extremely dilated ergastoplasmic cisternae
 
 
 
Reduced in amount; fragmented
Cisternae collapsed; reduced granules
 
Retluced in amount; fragmented
 
 
 
Some PAS reaction retained
 
Sulfhydryl reaction lost
 
Markedly decreased
 
Greatly reduced
 
Reaction lost
 
Reduced in amount; fragmented
 
Cisternae collapsed; granules reduced
 
 
 
and Portela (1960b) show that these epithelial cells are characterized by an endoplasmic reticulum with greatly dilated cisternae. This dilation is more marked in
the middle of the cell and in the basal region (Fig. 6.37) where the dilated cisternae
appear as intercommunicating channels in
which the cytoplasmic matrix forms isolated profiles or strands containing mitochondria and other organelles. The matrix
is more abundant in the Golgi region and
protrudes from the luminal margin of the
cells as microprojections covered by tlu;
cell membrane.
 
Alkaline phosphatase activity is localized
in the stroma (Bern, 1949a, 1951 ; Brandes
 
 
 
and Bourne, 1954; Bern, Alfert and Blair,
1957) ; acid phosphatase activity (Brandes
and Bourne, 1954) is found in the epithelium and is particularly strong in the Golgi
zone. Brandes and Bourne (1954) and Bern,
Alfert and Blair (1957) reported PAS-positive reactions in the epithelial cells in the
Golgi region and apical cytoplasm, and intense reactions in luminal secretion, basement membrane, and stroma. Sulfhydryl
and disulfide reactions are evident in luminal secretion, epithelium (especially in the
a]ucal region), basement membrane, and
fibromuscular tissue. The reactions are
stronger than in the ventral prostate. Bern,
Alfert and Blair (1957) found high con
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODTTCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
4i;
 
 
 
cy
 
 
 
/Jf-!^
 
 
 
pc
 
 
 
N.pc
 
:y
 
 
 
 
. .... ^
 
 
 
cy
 
 
 
 
\
 
 
 
m
 
 
 
..^cy
 
 
 
^"^^
 
 
 
^m
 
 
 
V*'
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
cy
 
 
 
 
 
 
IS
 
 
 
Fig. 6.37. Mouse coagulating gland, normal male. Electronmicrograph X 39,000. Caulfield's
modification of Palade's osmic acid fixative. Basal portion of an epithelial cell; insert, details of basement membrane region: bm, basement membrane: ci, dilated cisternae: cm,
plasma or cell membrane; cy, cytoplasmic matrix; ?n, mitochondrion: /;, nucleus. (From D.
Brandes, unpublished.)
 
 
 
centrations of RNA basally and apically in
the epithelial cells. Strong protein reactions
are present in luminal secretion and apical
regions of the cells.
 
The response to gonadectomy (Brandes
and Bourne, 1954) includes reduction of alkaline and acid phosphatase activity within
4 days, PAS reactions by 8 days, and slight
 
 
 
fragmentation and loss of density of the
Golgi apparatus by 12 to 14 days. Changes
are more marked after longer periods of
castration (Table 6.8), although Bern
(1951) observed retention of stromal alkaline phosphatase for long periods. RNA
concentrations in the cell (Bern, Alfert and
Blair, 1957) are greatly decreased but some
 
 
 
414
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.38. Mouse seininul \esick\ norniMl male. Pliotomicrograpli
preparation. (From E. Howard, Am. J. Anat., 65, 105-149, 1939.)
 
 
 
50. Houm-liematoxvlin
 
 
 
accunuilation remains in the apical region.
The sulfhydryl reaction is partially lost luit
the cells retain apical reactivity.
 
Testosterone propionate implanted subcutaneously 13 to 32 days after testis removal (Brandes and Bourne, 1954) rapidly
restored the Golgi apparatus and enzyme
activity to normal, and the PAS reaction
returned gradually. Allen (1958) showed
that the epithelium of 30-day castrates responds to a single injection of 16 fig. of
testosterone propionate by an increase in
mitotic activity within 30 to 36 hours.
 
Se7ninal vesicles. The epithelial cells in
adult glands are colunniai- with basal nuclei
and secretory granules surrounded by halos
in the supranuclear cytoplasm (Fig. 6.35) ;
the epithelium rests on a layer of smooth
muscle and connective tissue stroma (Howard, 1939).
 
In electron micrographs (Deane and
Porter, 1959), it can be seen that the surface membranes of secretory cells Ivdvv
microvilli which extend into the lumen. The
supranuclear region contains secretory
granules enclosed in vesicles or cisternae,
smaller membrane-bound vesicles, and parallel arrays of smooth Golgi membranes.
Moderately distended ergastoplasmic cliannels with membranes studded with pi'csumed libonucleoprotein ])articles lorm
comi)lex convolutions along the latci'al luai'gins and at the base of cells. The nucleus
possesses clumped chromatin along the
meml)rane (Figs. 6.39, 6.42, and 6.43). Fu
 
 
jita (1959) described essentially the same
type of endoplasmic reticulum and the
presence of microvilli and secretion granules. In addition, small granules in the
Golgi region were interpreted as precursors
of secretory granules.
 
Histochemical preparations (Table 6.7)
show strong alkaline phosphatase activity
in stromal elements (Atkinson, 1948; Bern.
1951 ) ; acid phosphatase activity is present
in the apical or Golgi region of the epithelial cells (Deane and Dempsey, 1945). Secretory material and secretory granules in
the lumen and cytoplasm are acidophilic
and weakly PAS-positive, whereas the reticulum in the lamina propria is intensely
PAS reactive (Fig. 6.44). Lateral margins
and basal regions of the cells (Fig. 6.45)
are moderately basophilic (Deane and Porter, 1959).
 
Following castration of adult mice, the
secretory epithelium retrogresses with loss
of secretion granules and reduction in cell
heiglit and nuclear size. Effects of gonadectomy may be retarded and not uniform in
all cells (Howard, 1939), but changes
within 5 days have been rei:)orted for cell
and nucleai- size (Martins and Rocha,
1 929 ) .
 
{electron mici'osco])ic and histochemical
studies (Table ().7l reveal marked changes
within a week aftei' gonad removal (Deane
and Porter, 1959). Cell size is reduced,
there are fewer secretory granules, ergastoplasmic channels are less distended and
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
415
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.39. Mouse seminal vesicle, normal male. Electronmierograph X 4200; osmic acid
fixation with sucrose. Epithelial cells showing basal and lateral ergastoplasmic channels and
membranes, and supranuclear \-psicles containing .secretory granules. (From H. W. Deane
and K. R. Porter, unpubli.shed.)
 
 
 
coin-oliitcd (Fig. 6.40). The relative number
of riboniicleoprotein particles is somewhat
leduced, secretory granules are less acidophilic, and the cytoplasm is only weakly
basophilic (Fig. 6.45). Secretion granules
were still visible by electron microscopy 10
days after castration but they were not
visible at 25 days (Fujita, 1959) .
 
Atkinson (1948) found that alkaline phosphatase activity disappears almost completely from the stroma within 10 days, but
Bern, Alfert and Blair (1957) observed retention in the fibromuscular tissue.
 
Martins and Rocha (1929) reported complete prevention of castration effects by injection of extracts of bull or goat testes.
The epithelium of castrates responds readily to androgens. A single dose of 16 /x,g. of
testosterone propionate in 30-day castrates
resulted in increased mitotic activity beginning 30 to 36 hours after treatment and
 
 
 
reached a peak at 42 to 48 hours (Allen,
1958). Administration of testosterone to
castrates completely restored the fine
structure to normal (Fujita, 1959). Alkaline phosphatase activity in the stroma
returned to normal within 10 days with testosterone propionate administration (Atkinson, 1948). The same hormone given to
normal males for one week resulted in increased cell height, more abundant and
acidophilic secretion and secretory granules, increased basophilia (Fig. 6.45), more
distended and convoluted ergastoplasmic
channels (Fig. 6.41), and a relative increase
in ribonucleoprotein particles (Deane and
Porter, 1959).
 
Discussion. The secretory cells in the
epithelia of rat and mouse prostatic lobes
and seminal vesicles have many histologic
characteristics in common and some marked
dissimilarities. In light microscopy with
 
 
 
416
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
V\v, 6 40 Mouse seminal vesicle, 7-(lay castrate. Electronmicrograph X 4200; osmic acid
fixation wjtli sucrose. Note the reduction in cell height, number of secretory granules, and
contortion of the ergastoplasmic membranes. Arrow indicates microvilli. (From H. W. Deane
and K. R. Porter, unpublished.)
 
 
 
routine fixation and stains, the most obvious differences are in cell height, position
and staining intensity of the nuclei, presence or absence of secretory granules, and
in such cytoplasmic characteristics as the
supranuclear clear zone in the rat ventral
prostate and the basal vesicular region in
the coagulating gland. The Golgi apparatus
varies in density, structure, and position
in the apical cytoplasm. Studies on ultrastructure reveal striking differences in the
degree of dilation and the disposition of the
endoplasmic reticulum. In the rat ventral
prostate the most dilated cisternae are in
the supranuclear region; in the dorsal lobe,
generally distended vesicles are disposed
throughout the cytoplasm in both cell
types; in the coagulating gland, there is
extreme dilation of the sacs, particularly in
the basal region. The flattened vesicles of
the mouse ventral prostate are disposed at
random; the coagulating gland, like that of
the rat, shows greatly dilated cisternae,
especially basally. Moderately distended
ergastoplasmic channels in the basal and
lateral regions of cells are characteristic of
the mouse seminal vesicles.
 
Changes following castration are detect
 
 
able by light microscopy within 2 days in
the rat seminal vesicle; 4 days in the ventral prostate; 10 days in the coagulating
gland.
 
Harkin (1957a) suggested a correlation
between distention of the sacs and secretory
activity of the cells in the rat ventral prostate. Within 24 hours after gonadectomy,
he observed dilation of the sacs, but within
2 days, collapse of the apical sacs was
marked and by 4 days, there was general
collapse of the vesicles in other regions of
the endoplasmic reticulum. At this stage
secretory activity of the cells was apparently reduced.
 
Brandes and Portela (1960a, b, c) discussed the relation of the cisternae to secretion in the mouse glands. They proposed
that the extremely dilated cisternae of the
coagulating glands contain secretory products which are released into the lumina of
acini by some undetermined mechanism.
They found no evidence that the Golgi complex is involved in the elaboration of secretory material in the cisternae, but histochemical findings suggest that it might take
part in formation of secretory products that
are not intracisternal. The ventral prostate
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
417
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.41. Mouse seminal vesicle, intact male treated with testosterone propionate for 7
days. Electron micrograph X 4200; osmic acid fixation with sucrose. Note increase in cell
height, abundance of secretory granules and contortion of the ergastoplasmic membranes.
(From H. W. Deane and K. R. Porter, unpublished.)
 
 
 
is characterized by flattened vesicles. Brandes and Portela doubted that there is transport of secretory material to these cisternae
and release from the intracisternal spaces
into the acinar Imnen. They suggested an
apocrine type of release involving extrusion
of portions of the apical cytoplasm from the
 
 
 
free margin of cells. The possibility of implication of the Golgi apparatus in the production of secretory material was considered.
 
From a study of the rat, Brandes and
Groth (1961) concluded that the dilated
cisternae of coagulating glands, dorsolat
 
 
418
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.42. Moil. M - :,,:ii il , i -id, , nui n, il n, ,i , I i_ (,;(,) l-.l, ,ii,m
micrograpli X 36,000: omiik- ;ici(l tixation; section liiat((l with iii.myl cicclatc to enhance the
density of nucleoi)ro1(Mn.-^. Infianuclear region of an epithehal cell; nucleus at the top ; ergastopla.sniic channel.s with inomhianes studded with particles; arrow indicates a mitochondrion.
(From H. W. Deane and K. R. Porter, unpublished.)
 
 
 
eral and ventral prostates contain secretory
products, and that it is probable that the
membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum
(or the granules associated with them)
play an active role in the syntheses of the
proteins present in the glandular secretions.
Attemi)ts have been made to correlate
 
 
 
structure of cells as observed by light and
electron microscopy with histochemical localizations of mucoproteins (PAS reaction),
alkaline and acid phosphatase activity, and
basophilic material. Various interpretations
have been offered for the functional significance of these substances, all of which
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVK GLANDS
 
 
 
419
 
 
 
are under control of andi'ogcnic hormones
of testicular origin. Leblond (1950) stated
that the presence of PAS-positive granules
in the Golgi region supjiorts the concept of
participation of the Golgi apparatus in the
secretory process. Brandes and Portela
(1960b) suggested that the vesicles and
vacuoles in the Golgi zone might represent
presecretory or secretory material. The possibility that collapse of ergastoplasmic sacs
after gonadectomy might be correlated with
reduction in PAS-positive secretory material was proposed by Harkin (1957a).
 
Alkaline and acid phosphatase activity is
also found in the Golgi region, but the significance of this localization is not clear.
Harkin (1957a) suggested that reduction in
acid phosphatase activity following castration might be correlated with the decrease
in numbers of mitochondria.
 
The histochemical pattern of enzyme activity has been discussed by Brandes and
Bourne (1954), and the functional significance of distribution of epithelial and stromal alkaline phosphatase activity has been
treated by Bern (1949a).
 
Cytoplasmic basophilia that was abolished by ribonuclease was demonstrated in
the epithelial cells of the rat seminal vesicle
(Melampy and Cavazos, 1953). In the
mouse seminal vesicle, Deane and Porter
(1959) found cytoplasmic basophilia (all
of which was attributable to ribonucleic
acid) localized in regions which corresponded to the distribution of ergastoplasmic membranes with their associated particles of presumed ribonucleoprotein. The
relative number of particles was apparentlj^
reduced after one week of castration, and
increased with testosterone propionate administration to normal males. These
changes were not considered marked enough
to account for the pronounced reduction in
basophilia following gonadectomy, and the
increase with androgenic hormone treatment of normal males.
 
Rixon and Whitfield (1959) found high
concentrations of zinc, lipid, and basophilic
material in a luminal border organelle in
the lateral prostate of rats. Silver staining
demonstrated fibrils, and it was suggested
that zinc may be involved in the ergastoplasmic reticulum, possibly with lipopro
 
 
tein, and would be associated with the
microsome fraction in homogenatcs.
 
In the discussion of changes in structure
and histochemical localizations of substances after gonadectomy and with hormone administration, no specific mention
was made of differences in response among
the glands. There arc, however, pronounced
differences in rate of regression following
withdrawal of testicular hormone, and in
rate and degree of response to administered
androgen. These differences in hormone
sensitivity or threshold have been established by such end points as changes in
histologic structure, weight (which includes
increase in mass of cells and accumulation
and storage of secretion), and secretion of
specific substances such as fructose and
citric acid (Mann, 1954a). In order of
sensitivity they are first, secretory function,
second, histologic structure, and finally,
weight, whichis frecjuently used as an end
point (Dorfman and Shipley, 1956).
 
Responsiveness of the epithelial cells depends on many factors and varies with specific glands, age of the animal, genetic
strain, and species. A few examples will
illustrate these points. Following castration
of adult rats the seminal vesicles retrogress
more rapidly than the ventral prostate and
recjuire higher doses of testosterone propionate to restore normal histological structure (Price, 1944a). The ability of the
seminal vesicles and the ventral ])rostate
in young rats to respond to testosterone
propionate increases with age to a peak
which is specific for the organ (Price and
Ortiz, 1944; Price, 1947). This is true also
for the female prostate (Price, 1944b) and
the accessory glands in young male hamsters (Ortiz,' 1947). The effect of age on
responsiveness in the mouse ventral prostate was studied by Lasnitzki ( 1955a ) who
cultured glands from mice 4 to 6 weeks of
age and 6 months old in normal control medium and in the presence of testosterone
propionate. Young prostates regressed on
the control medium but retained normal
histologic structure when the hormone was
added. In the control medium, older glands
maintained normal structure and became
hyperplastic with addition of the androgen.
Franks (1959) also found differences re
 
 
420
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
. (i 1.; .Mnii-i -(iiiiiiit Ill III ill - iiiir ~|icciiiii'ii. Ill, muilii Ml Kill, and preparation as Fig. 6.39). Suprunuclcur icgiuu of au epilht'lial c-ell ; nucleus at the hottoui; numerous
membrane-bound vesicles with secretory granules in the larger vesicles; arrows indicate some
of the parallel arrays of smooth-surfaced Golgi membranes. (From H. W. Deane and K. R.
Porter, unjiuhlished.)
 
 
 
lated to age in the response of cultured
mouse ventral prostate to testosterone propionate. The Long-Evans and SpragueDawlcy strains of rats differ in responsiveness of the ventral prostate of adult
hypojihysectomized castrates to testosterone
 
 
 
propionate (Lostroh and Li, 1956). Species
differences in rate of retrogression of accessory glands in adult castrates are marked.
As reported above, changes in histologic
structure occur rapidly in rats, more slowly
and less uniformly in mice (Howard, 1939),
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
421
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.44. Mouse seminal vesicle, normal male. Photomicrofirapli - 250. Carnoy's fixative,
stained by the periodic acid-Schiff method, counterstained with hematoxylin. Note the intense PAS-reaction in the reticulum in the lamina propria and surrounding the smooth muscle
fibers; secretory material in the lumen is moderately reactive. (From H. W. Deane and K. R.
Porter, unpublished.)
 
 
 
ctncl slowly and somewhat incompletely in
guinea pigs (Sayles, 1939, 1942) and hamsters (Ortiz, 1953). It should be noted that
in adult castrated guinea pigs the ability
to secrete fructose and citric acid is apparently lost in cells which show only partial
retrogression histologically (Ortiz, Price,
Williams-Ashman and Banks, 1956).
 
Another type of variation in responsiveness is demonstrated when weights of seminal vesicles and ventral prostrates in immature castrated rats are used as end
points for the potency of various C19 steroids (Dorfman and Shipley, 1956 L When
lower dosages of testosterone and 17aniethyl-A^-androstene-3^ , 17/?-diol are given
the ventral prostate is more responsive than
the seminal vesicles, but at high dosage levels the percentage increase in seminal vesi
 
 
cle weight equals or exceeds that of the prostate. Three other C19 steroids are far more
effective on the ventral prostate than on
seminal vesicles.
 
The female prostate in adult rats responds histologically and gravimetrically
to a number of C19 steroids (Korenchevsky,
1937). These findings have been confirmed
and extended by Huggins and Jensen
 
(1954) and Huggins, Parsons and Jensen
 
(1955) in hypophysectomized female rats.
These workers examined the relation of molecular structure to the growth-promoting
ability of the steroids.
 
Atrophy in male accessory glands of rats
and mice has been reported under conditions of inanition and vitamin deficiency.
These results are not usually attributable
to reduction in responsiveness of the glands
 
 
 
422
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.45. Moil-^c .^einiiial mmcIi- l'li(iiniiiicinmn|ilis x 7UU. C'ain(>\-'- ti\ati\ c-nictliylcnie
blue. Top, normal mali' ; in k Idle 7-ila\ ca-tiaN , iMJitoin, intact male ticatcil wil li ic.-tostcionp
proprionate for 7 days. Hasoi)lidic inatciial ( ciga-tDplasm) occurs at the hasc and along lateral margins of cells; the Golgi zone appears clear; secretory granules are unstained. Basophilic material and Golgi zone are less evident after castration and more highly developed
after testosterone treatment than normal. (From H. W. Deane and K. R. Porter, unjniblished.)
 
 
 
themselves Init to (liiuiniition in <2;onadotrophin titer by way of pituitary inhibition. Moore and Samuels (1931) showed
that gonadotrophin or androgen treatment
repaired the atrophied accessory glands in
vitamin B-deficient rats and in those on
limited food intake. Further, Lutwak-Mann
and Mann (1950) demonstrated reduction of
fructose and citric acid in accessory glands
of rats on a vitamin B-deficient diet, but
treatment with chorionic gonadotrophin not
only restored the levels of these substances
to normal but produced hypersecretion.
Grayhack and Scott ( 1952 ) reported that the
growth response to testosterone propionate
of the ventral and posterior prostate in castrated rats on reduced food intake, vitaminfree casein, or glucose was little different
from normally fed rats at lower dosages, but
at higher levels there was less resj^onse in
rats on limited dietarv intake. Testosterone
 
 
 
propionate did not produce normal stimulation of the accesisory glands in castrated
mice on limited food intake (Goldsmith and
Nigrelli, 1950) . In adult rats, a folic acid antagonist (Aminopterin) partially prevented
the reduction in jirostatic weight produced
by estradiol but did not interfere with
testosterone stimulation of the prostate in
castrated adults or intact immature animals
(Brendler, 1949).
 
The senile changes which occur in adx'anced age in the prostate glands of the
rat, mouse and of man have been describetl
by Moore (1936) and interjireted on tht.
basis of decrease in testicular androgen.
Presenile variations in histologic structui'e
are pr()l)al)ly ivhited to changes in responsiveness to andi'ogens. In a brief report on
electron microscopy (Harkin, 1957b), involutional changes in the rat ventral prostate were described. With increasing age.
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
423
 
 
 
eloctron-denye material is deposited in the
Golgi region of epithelial cells and these
bodies are said to resemble structures found
in hyperplastic prostates in man.
 
2. Adrenal Androgens
 
A large Ixxly of evidence jioints to effects
of hormones from the adrenal cortex on the
accessory reproductive glands of male rats
and mice and on prostate glands of female
rats. The significance of this relationshi})
is unknown and the effects are slight in
many cases. Reviews by Parkes (1945),
Ponse (1950), Courrier, Baclesse and Marois (1953), Moore (1953) and Delost
(1956) deal extensively with the subject. In
man, a relationship between pathologies of
the adrenal cortex and virilism is well recognized (Dorfman and Shipley, 1956).
 
The marked development of the ventral
prostate in young castrated rats (Price,
1936) was attributed by Howard (1938) to
the action of androgen from the adrenal
cortex. The same explanation was suggested for the extensive development of the
seminal vesicles and prostate in young castrated mice (Howard, 1939). The ventral
prostate does not develop in immature castrated-adrenalectoraized rats according to
Burrill and Greene (1939a) and Howard
(1941), but Gersh and Grollman (1939) did
not confirm these findings. The impairment
of prostate and seminal vesicle development in young castrated-adrenalectomized
mice (Howard, 1946) was considered to be
the result of poor physical condition rather
than loss of adrenal androgen. Gonadectomy in young male mice of an inbred
strain (Woolley and Little, 1945a. b) produced adrenal cortical carcinoma correlated
w^ith strong stimulation of the prostate and
seminal vesicles. Spiegel (1939) castrated
young guinea pigs and found the development of adrenal-cortical tumors and evidence of stimulation of prostates and seminal vesicles.
 
In the field vole {Microtus arvalis P.),
Delost (1956) observed extensive development of the ventral prostate in young castrated males. Gonadectomy of adult males
during the breeding season results in atrophy of seminal vesicles, and dorsal and lateral prostate, whereas the ventral prostate
 
 
 
shows an intense secretory activity by one
month after testis removal. Adrenalectomy
of castrates produces complete involution
of the ventral prostate. Outside the breeding period, there is atrophy of all accessory
glands except the ventral prostate which
exhibits strong activation that can be prevented by adrenalectomy.
 
The prostate gland of young female rats
undergoes development and differentiation,
and resembles the male ventral prostate
with which it is homologous (Price, 1939;
Mahoney, 1940). Development still occurs
following ovariectomy (Burrill and Greene,
1939b; Price, 1942) or adrenalectomy (Burrill and Greene, 1941), but not in ovariectomized-adrenalectomized females. A comparison of the responsiveness of female and
male prostates indicated that the male gland
is more sensiti\'e to adrenal androgens
(Price, 1942).
 
Autotransplants of adrenals into one
seminal vesicle of adult castrated rats produced slight local stimulation of the gland
and also androgenic effects on the other
seminal vesicle and on the ventral prostate
(Katsh, Gordon and Charipper, 1948). But
androgenic action was local and barely
discernible in somewhat similar experiments (.lost and Geloso, 1954). Price and
Ingle (1957) autotransplanted adrenals into
seminal vesicles and ventral prostates of
adult castrates and observed definite but
local stimulation of seminal vesicles, coagulating glands, and ventral prostates. Negative results of adrenal transplants in seminal vesicles of nonadrenalectomized rats
were reported by Moore (1953). Takewaki
(1954) failed to detect any androgenic effect of autotransplants of adrenals placed
subcutaneously in contact with seminal vesicle grafts in castrated males.
 
The finding that treatment of young castrated male rats with adrenocorticotrophin
caused stimulation of the ventral prostate
(Davidson and Moon, 1936) has been confirmed by Deanesly (1960) who observed,
in addition, a slight stimulation of the seminal vesicles. Nelson (1941) also found androgenic effects on accessory glands following ACTH treatment but Moore (1953),
van der Laan (1953), and Takewaki (1954)
obtained negative results. In hypophysec
 
 
424
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
tomized-castrated rats, ACTH was reported
ineffective in increasing ventral prostate
weight (van der Laan, 1953; Grayhack,
Bunce, Kearns and Scott, 1955) , but Lostroh
and Li (1957) obtained some growth of
ventral pi'ostates and seminal vesicles at
certain dosage levels. They emphasized that
dosage is a critical factor in demonstrating
the androgen-secreting ability of the adrenal cortex under ACTH stimulation. Administration of ACTH to hypophysectomized-castrated-adrenalectomized rats does
not affect the accessory glands.
 
There has been no general agreement on
the androgenicity of desoxycorticosterone
on the accessory glands (see reviews by
Parkes, 1945 and by Courrier, Baclesse and
Marois, 1953). Lostroh and Li (1957) reported that ll-desoxy-17-hydroxy-corticosterone and 11-dehydro-corticosterone displayed an androgenic activity equivalent to
4 fxg. of testosterone propionate on the ventral prostates and seminal vesicles of hypophysectomized-castrated adult rats. Corticosterone, cortisone, and hydrocortisone
were ineffective. Grayhack, Bunce, Kearns
and Scott (1955) found cortisone ineffective
on the weight of ventral prostates in hypophysectomized castrates. In the field vole
(Microtus arvalis P.), Delost (1956) produced effects on the ventral prostate by
cortisone administration.
 
3. Ovarian Androgens
 
It has long been known that mammalian
ovaries can secrete androgenic hormones
which have virilizing effects in females. Discussion of the evidence for androgenic activity of the ovary has been presented by
Ponse (1948) and Parkes (1950). More recently the subject has been extensively reviewed (Ponse, 19541), 1955). Much of the
interest in ovarian androgens in the rodent
has centered on the question of their site of
origin in the ovary and the effects of temperature and gonadotrophin administration
on androgen production (see reviews, and
Chapter 7 by Young) . However, the use of
male accessory glands as bio-indicators for
ovarian androgen has contributed to our
knowledge of the responsiveness of the
glands.
 
Methods for approaching this problem include transplantation of ovaries into vai'i
 
 
ous sites in castrated male rats and mice;
])lacing ovarian autotransplants into the
ears of females ; transplantation of male accessory glands into females; and observations of prostate glands in females of the
so-called female prostate strains of rats.
The use of such females as hosts for grafts
of male prostatic tissue has permitted a direct comparison of responsiveness in these
homologous glands.
 
The first observations that ovarian grafts
maintain normal prostates and seminal vesicles in castrated males w^ere made in guinea
pigs (Lipschiitz, 1932) and mice (de Jongh
and Korteweg, 1935). Hill (1937) transplanted ovaries into the ears of castrated
male mice and obtained stimulation of the
prostate and seminal vesicles. Deanesly
( 1938) reported similar findings in rats.
Local effects from ovaries grafted into seminal vesicles of castrated rats w^ere shown
by Katsh (1950). Takewaki (1953) also
found local stimulating effects on seminal
vesicles when rat ovaries and seminal vesicles were transplanted close together into
the spleens of gonadectomized males and
females.
 
In experiments in which ventral prostates
and seminal vesicles were transplanted subcutaneously into adult female rats (Price,
1941, 1942) it was sliown that the ventral
prostate is well maintained in virgin females (Fig. 6.46) and highly stimulated
during jiregnancy and lactation in the host.
It is comi)letely retrogressed in spayed females. Seminal vesicle grafts, however, are
stimulated only rarely. This occurs only in
females that have littered repeatedly and
have been lactating for long periods. This
indicates that the threshold of response of
the ventral prostate to ovarian androgens
is lower than that of the seminal vesicles.
Evidence of functional stimulation with
production of fructose and/or citric acid
was obtained in coagulating glands, and
ventral, lateral, and dorsal prostates trans])lanted into female rats in which the ovaries were stimulated by gonadotrophin
treatment (Price, Mann and LutwakMann, 1955). It may be assumed that the
effects were attributable to ovarian androgens since ventral prostate grafts in spayed
females (Greene and Burrill, 1939) are not
stimulated histologicallv when gonado
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
425
 
 
 
 
Fig. 6.46. Rat male and female prostates. Photomicrographs X 650. Bouin-hematoxylin
preparation. Top, host prostate from an adult virgin female; middle, male prostate graft from
the above female host; bottom, prostate from a pregnant female. Note the semi-regressed
epithelium in the female prostate of the virgin female host compared with the columnar
epithelium and light areas in the male prostate graft and the prostate from a pregnant female. (From D. Price, Anat. Rec, 82, 93-113, 1942.)
 
 
 
trophin is administered. Great stimulation
of ventral prostate grafts in the ovarian
bursa of females was obtained by Ponse
(1954a).
 
The female prostate gland is normally
jiartially retrogressed in adult females except during pregnancy and lactation (Fig.
6.46) when it appears stimulated (Burrill
and Greene, 1942; Price, 1942); in spayed
females it is atrophic (Price, 1942). The
striking development of the female prostate
in pregnancy and lactation in a number of
species of mammals is discussed in Section
I. Hernandez (1942) obtained stimulation
of female prostates by autotransplants of
oA-aries into ears, hind legs, or tails of rats.
 
Transplantation of rat ventral prostates
into virgin females shows that the male
 
 
 
prostate has a lower threshold to ovarian
androgens than the female gland and maintains high epithelium and cellular light
areas whereas the epithelium of the host
prostate (Fig. 6.46) is low and retrogressed
(Price, 1942).
 
4- Progesterone
 
The administration of progesterone in
relatively enormous doses has stimulating
effects as determined by weight, histologic
structure, and function of some of the accessory glands in castrated male rats, mice,
and guinea pigs. The literature has been
reviewed by Greene, Burrill and Thomson
(1940), Parkes (1950), and Price, Mann
and Lutwak-Alann (1955).
 
Burkhart (1942) treated adult 40-day
 
 
426
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
castrated rats with one or two 20-mg. doses
of progesterone and observed a slight stimulation of mitotic activity in the ventral
prostate and seminal vesicles after 55 hours
but a pronounced hypertrophy of epithelium and connective tissue in both glands.
The ventral prostate is more sensitive to
progesterone than the seminal vesicles.
 
In castrated rats (Price, IMann and Lutwak-Mann, 1955), treatment with 25 mg.
of progesterone daily stimulated the secretion of fructose or citric acid in seminal
vesicles, coagulating glands, and ventral,
lateral and dorsal prostates, and produced
histologic changes in the last three glands.
The effect, however, was only equivalent
to that of about 5 /xg. of testosterone propionate. The lowest threshold to the hormone is in the ventral prostate and the
highest in the seminal vesicles. Lostroh and
Li (1957) found no effects of 0.5 mg. of
progesterone daily on the ventral prostate
and seminal vesicles of hypophysectomizedcastrated adult rats, but the same dose of
17a-hydroxy progesterone was the androgenic equivalent of 4 /xg. of testosterone propionate. It may be noted that the following
transformations are involved in the biosynthesis of testicular androgens: cholesterol —> pregnenolone — > progesterone — >
17a-hyclroxy progesterone — > androst-4-ene3,17-dione -^ testosterone (Dorfman,
1957). The slight androgenic actions of progesterone and 17a-hydroxy progesterone
may result from their conversion to androstane derivatives by extragonadal tissues. The findings of Katsh (1950) that
progesterone crystals implanted directly
into the seminal vesicles of castrated rats
have no stimulating influence may be significant in this regard.
 
C. EFFECTS OF ESTROGENS
 
Administration of estrogenic hormones to
normal males affects the accessory glands
both indirectly and directly. The effects fall
into three categories: inhibition as evidenced by weight changes, involution of the
epithelium, and loss of secretory activity
(attributable to inhibition of pituitary gonadotro])hin and reduction in endogenous
androgen) ; direct stimulation of fibromuscular tissue; and stimulation of hyi)erplasia
and stratified squamous metaplasia of the
 
 
 
ei)ithelium with possible keratinization. In
no case does estrogen induce secretory activity of epithelial cells. The reduction in
seci'etion as determined cjuantitatively (see
Section II) may result from castration atrophy of secretory cells, or from hyperplastic and metaplastic transformations of
the e])ithelium witli resultant loss of normal
secretory function.
 
The observed responses to estrogen treatment in glands of intact and castrated
males, and in organ cultures of prostatic tissue, represent the dual effects of androgen
withdrawal and estrogen addition. The extensive literature on the effects of estrogen
and the evidence for so-called antagonistic, cooperative and synergistic effects of
simultaneous administration of androgen
and estrogen have been discussed extensivelv (Zuckerman, 1940; Emmens and
Parkes, 1947; Ponse, 1948; Bern, 1949b;
Burrows, 1949).
 
The observation that administration of
estrogen to intact male rats causes atrophjof the accessory glands which is mediated
by way of reduction of pituitary gonadotrophin and failure of secretion of testicular
hormones was made by Moore and Price
(1932). Estrogen-induced atrophy was prevented by simultaneous treatment with
gonadotrophin or androgen. Direct stimulating effects were reported by Freud
 
(1933) and David, Freud and de Jongh
 
(1934) who observed fibromuscular growth
in seminal vesicles of estrogen-treated castrated rats and stratification in the duct
epithelium of the lateral prostate. Simultaneous treatment with androgen enhanced
the hypertrophic effect of estrogen on the
fibromuscular wall of the seminal vesicle
but prevented epithelial change in the lateral prostate ducts. Korenchevsky and Dennison (1935) found estrogen stimulation of
the muscular layer of the rat seminal vesicle with no effect on the epithelium, but in
coagulating glands (and to a lesser degree
in the dorsal prostate ) there was not only fibromuscular hypertrophy but also metaplastic transformation of the epithelium
with stratification; changes in the ventral
and lateral lobes were slight and the epitiieHum was unaffected. Androgen treatment
prevented the jxithologic changes induced
by estrogen. Harsh, Overholser and Wells
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
427
 
 
 
(1939) noted stratified, sqiuinious epithelium in the ducts of the seminal vesicles,
and ducts and acini of coagulating glands
following estrogen administration. But a
slight delay in castration atrophy and a
weak stimulating effect of estrogen on seminal vesicle epithelium were observed by
Overholser and Nelson ( 1935 ) and Lacassagne and Raynaud (1937).
 
Ovaries transplanted into castrated male
rats (Pfeiffer, 1936) induce fibromuscular
hyi^ertrophy in host seminal vesicles and
coagulating glands; stratified sciuamous
cornified epithelium appears also in coagulating glands, and hyperplasia and metal^lasia are present in lateral prostates. Estrogenic stimulation of fibromuscular tissue
occurs (Price, 1941) in seminal vesicle
grafts in normal female hosts but no such
effects are evident in ventral prostate
grafts.
 
Burkhart (1942) injected a single dose
of estradiol benzoate into 40-day-castrated
rats and observed no effect on the ventral
prostate. But in the seminal vesicles, hypertrophy of epithelial cells occurred by 27
liours after treatment and by 55 hours,
mitotic activity was evident in the epithelium and to some extent in the connective
tissue.
 
In histochemical studies (Bern and Levy,
1952) , metaplastic changes were observed
in the seminal vesicle epithelium after estrogen treatment but no cornification occurred; the replacing epithelium was alkaline phosphatase-positive in contrast to the
negative reaction in the original epithelium
(Table 6.7). Fibromuscular hypertrophy
was found but no definite alteration in enzyme concentrations except an absence of
activity in edema of the subepithelial
stroma. No metaplastic changes appeared
in the coagulating gland epithelium, but
the ducts of the dorsal prostate underwent
metaplasia; alkaline phosphatase activity
of the stroma in both glands was retained
as in the castrate. The ventral prostate ejnthelium was atrophic but still enzyme-active after 120 days of treatment and the
stroma reacted positively.
 
The effects of estrogen on the accessory
glands of mice are far more marked than
in rats. Long continued and strong doses of
■estrogen cause hyperplasia, metaplasia and
 
 
 
keratinization in the epithelium of mouse
coagulating glands (Lacassagne, 1933 ) . The
same effects, with fibromuscular hypertrophy, were described in coagulating glands
and prostates by Burrows and Kennaway
(1934), Burrows (1935a), and de Jongh
(1935) who prevented epithelial metaplasia
in prostates by simultaneous treatment with
androgen. Burrows (1935b) studied the localization of responses to estrogenic compounds and found that in order of time of
response, the coagulating gland is first,
seminal vesicles next, and finally the prostatic lobes. Changes begin in the urethral
ends of ducts and jirogress peripherally into
the acini. Li the degree of response, the coagulating glands and seminal vesicles show
the most drastic changes with the appearance of stratified, squamous, keratinizing
epithelium and ultimate loss of acini. The
effects on the lobes of the prostate include
stratified, cornifying epithelium but the
changes are not so i)ronounced. Some hypertroj^hy of fibromuscular stroma occurs
in all the glands and hyperplasia is marked
in the fibromuscular wall of the seminal
vesicles.
 
Tislowitz (1939) found stimulation of
mitotic activity in muscle and connective
tissue of seminal vesicles and ventral prostate glands of immature castrated mice
treated with estrogen. Stratification and
cornification appear in the ventral prostate
epithelium, with mitoses in the basal cell
layers and also in seminal vesicle epithelium. Allen (1956) compared the mitogenic
activity of a single dose of 16 /xg. of estradiol
benzoate on seminal vesicles, coagulating
glands, and ventral prostates of 30-daycastrated mice. Significant increases in mitotic activity occur in seminal vesicles and
coagulating glands about 24 hours after
treatment; the ventral prostate does not respond significantly until 72 hours and gives
a low absolute value of mitoses.
 
Horning (1947) studied some of the initial changes in prostatic epithelium of intact mice receiving estrogen. Slight hypertrophy of epithelial cells and extensive
fragmentation and dispersal of hypertrophied portions of the Golgi network occur
by 8 days in the coagulating gland. At the
same period, hypertrophic changes are less
pronounced in the ejuthelium of the dorsal
 
 
 
428
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
prostate and there is only slight fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus. In the ventral
prostate no epithelial hypertrophy is found
but the Golgi network hypertrophies without fragmentation or dispersal. The ventral
prostate is definitely less sensitive to estrogen than the other two glands.
 
After longer periods of estrogen administration, Bern (1951) observed fibromuscular hypertrophy of the seminal vesicle and
intense alkaline phosphatase activity as in
untreated intact males (Table 6.7) ; the
epithelium, which is normally negative in
enzyme activity, becomes positive and the
beginning of metaplastic changes is occasionally visible. In the coagulating gland,
stratified scjuamous metaplasia with masses
of keratin is found and the metaplastic
epithelium is strongly alkaline phosphatasepositive; enzyme activity is retained in the
stroma but is variable. Bern, Alfert and
Blair (1957) reported that the metaplastic
coagulating gland epithelium is strongly
alkaline phosphatase reactive, virtually
PAS-negative, has dense homogeneous
RNA concentrations decreasing in amount
from base to lumen, and a dense homogeneous cytoplasmic protein reaction with a
gradient of increasing intensity from base
to lumen. The enlarged vesicular nuclei of
the metaplastic epithelium have lower concentrations of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
than the nuclei of normal epithelial cells.
The cytoplasm of these cells is as reactive
as normal cells for sulfhydryl groups, and
the newly formed keratin is intensely reactive; the greatest concentrations of disulfide
groups are in superficial keratin.
 
In the dorsal prostate (Bern, 1951), estrogen causes fibromuscular hypertrophy
with variable retention of alkaline phosi)hatase activity. Metaplastic changes involving
basal cell proliferation and stratification begin and the metaplastic epithelium is intensely alkaline phosphatase active, a rvversal of the normal reaction.
 
Brandes and Bourne (1954), using diethylstilbestrol, observed an increase in
fibromuscular stroma in coagulating glands.
dorsal and ventral prostates, and epithelial
hyperplasia and stratification in varying
degrees. The most pronounced changes occurred in the coagulating gland. The effects
of estrogen on Golgi networks, and on PAS
 
 
 
and acid and alkaline phosphatase reactions
are in general similar to the results of castration (Table 6.8).
 
Ventral prostate glands have been grown
in culture by the watch glass method, with
estrogens added to the medium. Lasnitzki
(1954, 1958) reported hyperplasia and
squamous metaplasia of the epithelium in
young i^rostate tissue from C3H mice. In
older glands, stimulation of fibromuscular
tissue occurred. Franks (1959) using the
C57 strain and a different culture medium
observed no epithelial hyperplasia and
metaplasia, but obtained increases in stroma
and muscle. He attributed atrophic changes
in the epithelium, which appear more
marked in estrogen-treated than in control
cultures, to direct inhibition by the hormone. Ventral prostate tissue from young
mice is more sensitive to estrogen than tissue from adult or old males.
 
In the dog, Huggins and his collaborators
demonstrated the effects of estrogen and
combinations of estrogen and androgen on
histologic structure and secretion in the
prostate (see Section II). Estrogen causes
decrease or increase in prostatic size depending on the dosage and on the levels of
endogenous or exogenous androgen (Huggins and Clark, 1940) . Sciuamous metaplasia
of the epithelium of ducts and acini occurs
with estrogen treatment, but only in the
posterior lobe.
 
Discussion. The results of estrogen administration to rats and mice vary with
species, age of animal, specific gland under
consideration, dosage, duration of treatment, and presence or absence of endogenous or exogenous androgen. Interpretation
of the findings rests on the understanding
that androgen directly stimulates mitotic
and secretory activity in the epithelial cells.
Estrogen inhibits i)ituitary function and
thus i-eduees testicular androgen in intact
males. It directly increases mitotic activity
in th(> epithelium of the accessory glands,
and inckices (>pithelial liy|)erplasia and
iiietaphisia, and fibromuscular hyperplasia.
Whether the effects of simultaneous presence of androgen with exogenous estrogen
are classified as protective, competitive
(antagonistic), or cooperative (synergistic)
on the acce.ssoiy glands depends on the
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
429
 
 
 
relative levels of the two hormones. Both
affect mitotic activity directly.
 
In a comparison of the effectiveness of
androgen and estrogen on mitotic activity,
Allen (1956, 1958) showed that a dose of
16 fjig. of testosterone propionate induces
statistically significant increases in mitotic
activity of the epithelium of seminal vesicles, coagulating glands and ventral prostates of castrated mice in 30 to 36 hours.
The same dose of estradiol benzoate increases mitotic activity in 24 hours in seminal vesicles and coagulating glands, but not
until 72 hours in ventral prostates.
 
Differences in responsiveness to estrogen
are evident between rats and mice but in
both species there is a gradient of reactivity
with coagulating glands showing the most
marked changes, seminal vesicles next, and
prostatic lobes least. In glands of both species, the duct epithelium is more sensitive
than acinar epithelium and the first observable effects are on urethral ends of
ducts. Hyperplastic and metaplastic responses to estrogen occur also to varying degrees in accessory glands of other mammals
— man, monkey, dog, cat, ground squirrel,
and guinea pig. Zuckerman (1940) reviewed
the effects of estrogen in male and female
rodents and other mammals and suggested
from the evidence that "stratified squamous
proliferation or metaplasia is usually a primary response of tissue in whose development oestrogen-sensitive entodermal sinus
epithelium has played a part."
 
On the basis of the pathologic effects of
estrogen on the mouse coagulating glands
and the protective action of androgen, several workers originally suggested that benign prostatic hypertrophy in man might
result from a primary imbalance in the normal ratio of estrogenic to androgenic hormones in the male organism (Zuckerman,
1936). Further study has not supported this
concept.
 
D. HORMONAL CONTROL OF SPONTANEOUS
PROSTATIC NEOPLASMS
 
Spontaneous tumors of the prostate occur
in rodents rarely if at all, but benign
growths are extremely common in aging
dogs and men, and prostatic cancer is a
major prol^lem in man. It is noteworthy that
 
 
 
neoplasms of the seminal vesicles in man
are rare (Dixon and Moore, 1952).
 
1. Benign Growths
 
In the dog, prostatic enlargement which
is essentially due to cystic hyperplasia of
the epithelium occurs in almost all senile
males with functioning testes, but is not
found in castrates (Huggins, 1947b). In
these prostatic growths, which characteristically involve the entire gland, tall columnar secretory epithelium is always present
in some acini. Canine prostatic hyperplasia
is under control of testicular androgens
(Huggins and Clark, 1940) and marked involution of these tumors as evidenced by
their size and secretory activity (see Section II) can be induced by gonadectomy or
treatment with suitable dosages of estrogen.
Estrogen overdosage, however, causes prostatic enlargement and a metaplasia of the
posterior lobe which does not resemble cystic hyperplasia. Huggins and Moulder
(1945) reported that dogs feminized by estrogen-secreting Sertoli cell tumors of the
testis do not have cystic hyperplasia. The
important factors in this pathologic growth
seem to be age and testicular androgens
(Huggins, 1947b), but prolonged administration of testosterone propionate to aged
castrate dogs results in normal-appearing
prostates and not cystic hyperplasia.
 
Benign prostatic hypertrophy in man is
rarely encountered before the age of 40
(Moore, 1943; Huggins, 1947b) but it is
extremely common in old men. It differs
markedly from prostatic hyperplasia in
dogs; the lesions are limited to the medullary region of the prostate and are spheroidal neoplastic nodules involving, usually,
both epithelium and fibromuscular tissue;
other nodular types occur but are less frequent (Huggins, 1947b; Franks, 1954). The
prostatic epithelium is composed of tall
secretory cells (Huggins and Stevens, 1940).
Despite the fact that castration may be
followed by some shrinkage of hypertrophied human prostate tissue (White, 1893;
Cabot, 1896; Huggins and Stevens, 1940),
it is generally admitted that this treatment
is of little value. Estrogen treatment results
in changes in the acini of the inner or medullary (periurethral) part of the prostate,
and stratification with squamous metaplasia
 
 
 
430
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
of the duct epithelium, but there is little
effect on nodular stroma and acini (Huggins, 1947bj. Since benign prostatic hypertrophy has not been observed in men castrated early in life, testicular androgen is
presumably involved in its etiology (Huggins, 1947b). However, it is doubtful
whether androgens are causative agents for
this disease. Lesser, Vose and Dixey (1955)
found that in men over the age of 45 who
had received androgen treatment for noncancerous conditions, the incidence of benign enlargement of the prostate was no
greater than in untreated controls.
 
2. Prostatic Cancer
 
Prostatic cancer is a common disease in
elderly men. This carcinoma, which characteristically arises in the posterior (outer)
region of the prostate, consists of an abnormal growth of cells resembling adult prostatic epithelium rather than undifferentiated
tissue (Huggins, Stevens and Hodges, 1941 ).
It was found that these neoplasms are hormone-dependent and usually are influenced
by anti-androgenic therapy; those which
fail to respond are not adenocarcinomas
with acini present in the tumor, but are undifferentiated carcinomas with solid masses
of malignant cells (Huggins, 1942). However, the two types intergrade and both
contain large amounts of acid phosphatase
and are considered cancers of adult prostatic epithelium. The beneficial effects of
castration or estrogenic treatment or both
simultaneously, on metastatic carcinoma of
the prostate in man were first demonstrated
by Huggins and his collaborators (Huggins
and Hodges, 1941 ; Huggins, Stevens and
Hodges, 1941 ; Huggins, Scott and Hodges,
1941 ; Huggins, 1943, 1947a). This discovery
was facilitated by the availability of a
chemical index of the activity of the neoplasm, namely, the acid phosphatase activity of blood serum.
 
Although testosterone increases the level
of serum acid phosphatase in patients with
prostatic cancer (Huggins and Hodges,
1941 ; Sullivan, Gutman and Gutman, 1942 1 ,
androgen treatment does not always exacerbate the growth of the tumor (Trunnel and
Duffy, 1950; Brendler, Chase and Scott,
1950; Brendler, 1956; Franks, 1958) or may
even decrease it (Pearson, 1957). It is ciues
 
 
tionable if androgens induce prostatic cancer, inasmuch as their prolonged administration neither increases the incidence of
this disease in man (Lesser, Vose and Dixey,
1955) nor induces it in dogs (Hertz, 1951).
 
The response of human metastasizing
prostate cancer to anti-androgenic therapy
is often very dramatic, but neither castration nor treatment with estrogens cures this
disease. The tumor may regress for considerable periods of time, but eventually it recurs
and begins to grow again. A small proportion of cases do not benefit at all (Huggins,
1957; Franks, 1958). Nevertheless, castration and/or estrogen therapy remain the
best treatment for prostatic carcinoma in
man (Nesbit and Baum, 1950; Huggins,
1956; O'Conor, Desautels, Pryor, Munson
and Harrison, 1959).
 
Huggins and Scott (1945) suggested that
the failure of some patients with prostatic
cancer to obtain long lasting improvement
from castration or estrogen treatment, or
the two combined, lay in the secretion of
androgenic substances by the adrenal
glands. Early attempts to study the effect
of bilateral adrenalectomy on human prostatic cancer were thwarted by the lack of
suitable adrenal cortical steroids for adequate substitution therapy. But with the
advent of cortisone, bilateral adrenalectomy
could be accomplished with ease (Huggins
and Bergenstal, 1951, 1952). It seems, however, that adrenalectomy is of limited value
to patients with prostatic cancer in relapse
after orchiectomy and/or treatment with
estrogens (Whitmore, Randall, Pearson and
West, 1954; Huggins, 1956; Fergusson,
1958).
 
E. EFFECTS OF CERTAIN AROMATIC
HYDROCARBONS (CARCINOGENS)
 
Spontaneous tumors have not been found
in the prostate glands of rodents, but tumors
can be induced in rats and mice by treatment with carcinogenic chemicals such as
benzpyrene and metiiylcholanthrene. There
lias been considerable interest in inducing
such tvnnois and studying their inception
and growth, and the iH'lation of steroid hormones to their de^•elopment. Such investigations have contributed to an understanding of early neoi)lastic changes in the rodent
prostate, but have had limited applicability
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
431
 
 
 
to the })rol)lcm of hormonal control of prostatic cancer in man.
 
The first induction of prostatic cancer in
rodents was accomplished by Moore and
Melchionna (1937) who injected benzpyrene in lard directly into the rat anterior
prostate (it should be noted that Moore and
]\Ielchionna used "anterior" in the sense of
ventral as indicated by their histologic descriptions of a characteristic clear zone in
the peripheral cytoplasm of the epithelial
cells; this is typical only of the ventral
lobe). The treatment was followed within
210 days by the development of squamous
cell carcinomas in 72 per cent, and sarcomas
in 5 per cent, of intact rats. Essentially similar results were obtained in an equivalent
number of rats castrated at the time of carcinogen injection. Castration after tumors
had developed did not cause atrophy of tumor cells. No metastases were found but
there was anaplasia of cells and the tumors
were invasive. The squamous metaplasia
occurred in columnar secretory epithelium
which was close to, or in contact with, benzpyrene cysts. The sequence of changes was
reduction in cell height, loss of the clear
area in the peripheral cytoplasm, pseudostratification, true stratification, development of intercellular bridges, and formation
of keratohyaline. It was concluded that
testicular androgen is not an important factor in the development of these squamous
cell carcinomas, but on the basis of a small
series of experimental animals it was suggested that exogenous androgen treatment
in castrates may increase the incidence of
sarcomas.
 
In 1946, Dunning, Curtis and Segaloff implanted compressed methylcholanthrene
l)ellets into rat prostates (lobe not specified)
and induced metastasizing squamous cell
carcinomas. The tumors were transplantable and metastasized equally well in male
and female hosts. Bern and Levy (1952) injected methylcholanthrene in lard into ventral prostates of intact Long-Evans rats
and induced extensive neoplasms within 7
to 9 months. All but one were squamous cell
carcinomas; the exception was a sarcoma.
Quantitative determinations of enzyme activity showed a loss of alkaline phosphatase
in cancerous prostates but no significant
changes in acid phosphatase activity. Histo
 
 
chemically, the stroma and capillaries were
alkaline phosphatase reactive, but the carcinomas had virtually lost the strong alkaline phosphatase activity of the epithelium
of origin (Table 6.2). There was some pseudoreaction or reaction in sloughed keratin
and necrotic areas.
 
Allen (1953) injected a suspension of
methylcholanthrene in distilled water into
ventral prostates or coagulating glands of
intact and castrated rats. All were autopsied 180 days later. A high percentage of
squamous cell carcinomas and a few sarcomas developed; metastases occurred in a
few cases. There was no statistically significant difference between tumor incidence in
the ventral prostate and coagulating gland.
Tumors of the ventral prostate were found
in 70.6 per cent of the intact rats and in 100
per cent of the castrates; in castrates injected with testosterone propionate there
were tumors in 57.7 per cent of the animals,
and in castrates treated with estradiol benzoate, 77.8 per cent. It was concluded that
tumor incidence was highest in castrates
and lowest in intact males or castrates
treated with testosterone propionate, and
that estrogen did not affect tumor incidence.
]\Iirand and Staubitz (1956) placed methylcholanthrene crystals in ventral prostates of
99 intact Wistar rats and observed the effects for over 300 days. The resulting tumors were classified as 30 squamous cell
carcinomas, 3 leiomyosarcomas, and 2 adenocarcinomas; squamous cell carcinomas
and adenocarcinomas metastasized. Fragments of squamous cell carcinomas were
transplanted and survived and metastasized
more successfully in males than in females.
 
Horning (1946) imjiregnated strips of
tissue from mouse dorsal prostates and anterior prostates (coagulating glands) with
crystals of methylcholanthrene and inserted them as subcutaneous homografts
into intact males. By this method adenocarcinomas were induced in grafts of both
dorsal prostate and coagulating gland.
 
In mice of the RIII and Strong A strains
(Horning and Dmochowski, 1947) methylcholanthrene in lard was injected into dorsal and anterior prostates (coagulating
glands). Squamous cell carcinomas and sarcomas developed in Strong A mice, but only
sarcomas in RIII. Squamous metaplasia of
 
 
 
431
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
the epithelium occurred in the RIII strain
but no malignant proliferation of metaplastic cells followed. It was noted that the
epithelial changes which occurred with
raethylcholanthrene treatment were "almost
identical" with the secjuence of changes following prolonged estrogen administration in
Strong A mice (Horning, 1947).
 
Horning (1949, 1952) studied the effects
of castration, diethylstilbestrol, and testosterone propionate on growth rates of prostatic tumors transplanted as grafts. Tumors
were induced in ventral prostate, dorsal
prostate, and coagulating gland tissue of
Strong A mice by wrapping pieces of epithelium around crystals of methylcholanthrene and transplanting the grafts su!)cutaneously into 75 intact males. Of the 54
tumors which developed, 42 were adenocarcinomas or secreting glandular carcinomas,
10 were squamous cell carcinomas, and 2,
spindle cell sarcomas. Neoplastic development began, apparently, in epithelium in
a nonsecretory phase, and hyperplastic
changes followed the sequence of mitosis,
abnormal cell division, and pyknosis accompanied by an increase in fibromuscular
tissue. Three distinct types of epithelial proliferation then occurred; one, with tonguelike groups of early malignant cells, gave
rise to secretory glandular carcinomas; the
second, from acinar ejMthelium, and the
third, from duct epithelium, developed into
squamous cell carcinomas with keratinization and formation of keratin pearls. Some
grafts had foci of the first and third type
and the evidence suggested that the tumors
subsequently became squamous cell carcinomas. Both tumor types were transplantable and were cari'icd through many serial
transi)lantations without losing their histologic characteristics.
 
In an effort to study effects of testicular
androgen on growth, transplants of an adenocarcinoma were made into intact and castrated males. The tumors grew rapidly and
progressively in intact mice but regressed
in castrates. Testosterone propionate administration to castrated males bearing regressed tumors resulted in a resumption of
tumor growth in some cases. Gonadectomy
of the host had little effect on the growth of
transplanted s(|uamous cell carcinomas. An
 
 
drogen-dependence of secreting glandular
carcinomas was suggested.
 
When stilbestrol pellets were implanted
into one flank of intact males and a glandular carcinoma into the opposite flank, the
effects varied from slight to pronounced retardation of the tumor but complete regression did not occur. The squamous cell
carcinomas were insensitive to stilbestrol.
 
Additional experiments (Horning, 1952)
involved transplanting pieces of prostatic
epithelium impregnated with methylcholanthrene alone, or with the carcinogen combined with stilbestrol or testosterone propionate into intact males (groups of 35
for each treatment). The carcinogen alone
induced 8 adenocarcinomas and 5 squamous
cell carcinomas; carcinogen and stilbestrol,
23 squamous cell carcinomas and 3 sarcomas; carcinogen and testosterone propionate, 2 squamous cell carcinomas and 1
sarcoma. The increased tumor incidence
with estradiol was interpreted as an inhibitory action of the estrogen on secretory
epithelial cells, making them more susceptible to methylcholanthrenc.
 
Brandes and Bourne (1954) made homografts of pieces of ventral and anterior prostate (coagulating gland) impregnated with
methylcholanthrenc into intact males of the
Strong A strain, and studied histochemical
changes. The grafts underwent squamous
metaplasia and the processes of epithelial
proliferation, stratification, and keratinization were completed within 10 days in some
cases. Histochemical changes from the normal i)attern (Table 6.8) occurred concurrently. Alkaline phosphatase activity disappeared early; acid phosphatase activity
became weak in nuclei and cytoplasm but
keratohyalin granules were strongly reactive; PAS-positive reactions were gradually
lost in luminal secretion and intracytoplasmic granules but retained in the basement membrane. In some grafts there was
transformation into squamous cell carcinomas and when this happened phosjihatase
activity was lost but the basement membranes were still PAS-positive.
 
Lasnitzki (1951, 1954, 1955a. b, 1958)
grew ventral jirostate glands from C3H and
Strong A mice in culture by the watch-glass
t('chnif|ue and added methylcholanthrenc to
the medium. Hyperplasia and squamous
metaplasia resulted in glands ex]ilanted
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
433
 
 
 
from both young and older mice. When
estrone and carcinogen were added simultaneously to cultures of young glands, squamous metaplasia was increased; with older
glands, hyperplasia was inhibited and stromal increase occurred. The relation of vitamin A to the response of prostates to methylcholanthrene was studied (Lasnitzki.
1955b). Vitamin A added to the medium
caused an increase in secretion and deposition of PAS-positive material in the secretory cells but did not influence growth or
development; the vitamin added simultaneously with methylcholanthrene did not influence hyperplasia, but did prevent keratin
formation and degenerative changes in the
secretory epithelium; excess vitamin A following the carcinogen prevented formation
of keratin and decreased hyperplasia.
 
Summary. Treatment of rat and mouse accessory glands with benzpyrene or methylcholanthrene has induced precancerous and
cancerous changes which led to the development of adenocarcinomas, squamous cell
carcinomas, and sarcomas. The first type of
tumor has been induced in large numbers
only in mice and by the homograft method.
 
The evidence suggests that, in mice,
growth of adenocarcinomas is androgendependent, but squamous cell carcinomas
are little affected by androgen loss or estrogen treatment. The incidence of tumors has
been increased by simultaneous administration of estrogen and carcinogen but reduced
by the administration of androgen with carcinogen. In rats, it has been affirmed and
denied that incidence and growth of squamous cell carcinomas are reduced in intact
males ; estrogen has not affected tumor incidence. Species and strain differences in response are marked.
 
F. EFFECTS OF NONSTEROID HORMONES
 
There is e-\'idence that hormones from the
anterior pituitary may directly affect the
weight and histologic structure of accessory
glands, or act synergistically with androgen.
However, the findings have been somewhat
conflicting. Dosage level, age, and strain of
rats have varied, and questions have been
raised with respect to the purity of the hormone preparations.
 
Attention was focused on the pituitary in
relation to accessory glands when Huggins
and Russell (1946) observed that prostatic
 
 
 
atrophy is more marked in the hypophysectomized than in the castrated dog. Van der
Laan (1953) found the ventral prostates
of hypophysectomized-castrated immature
rats less responsive to testosterone propionate than the glands of castrates; a crude
extract of beef pituitaries restored responsiveness in hypophysectomized-castrates.
Prostates of young adult hypophysectomized-castrated Sprague-Dawley rats were
also less responsive (total weight of dorsal
and ventral prostates) to testosterone propionate than those of castrates (Grayhack,
Bunce, Kearns and Scott, 1955). Paesi, de
Jongh and Hoogstra (1956) administered
pituitary extracts simultaneously with a
low dose of testosterone propionate to hypophysectomized-castrated rats and reported a slightly greater ventral prostate
weight than with the androgen alone.
 
To identify the hormones of the anterior
pituitary that are capable of affecting the
accessory glands or influencing their responsiveness to androgen, the following hormone
preparations have been injected alone and
in various combinations into hypophysectomized-castrated rats: prolactin (luteotrophin; LTH), growth hormone (somatotrophin; STH), adrenocorticotrophin
( ACTH ) , interstitial cell-stimulating hormone (luteinizing hormone; ICSH; LH),
follicle stimulating hormone (FSHl. In addition, chorionic gonadotrophin and thyroxine have been administered. Of these
hormones, only prolactin and growth hormone have been shown to act directly on
accessory glands (for comprehensive data
on negative and positive results of these
hormones see Grayhack, Bunce, Kearns and
Scott, 1955; Lostroh and Li, 1956, 1957 ».
The degree to which contamination with
prolactin or growth hormone might influence the assay of ICSH preparations by the
ventral prostate test has been examined by
Lostroh, Squire and Li (1958).
 
1. Prolactin {LTH)
 
When Pasqualini (1953) treated castrated
adult rats with testosterone propionate followed by administration of a lower dose of
androgen plus LTH, the amount of secretion
in the seminal vesicles was greater than with
androgen alone. Prostate weights were increased slightly by LTH with androgen.
Van der Laan (1953) reported that in adult
 
 
 
434
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
hypophysectomized-castrated rats LTH had
no effect on ventral prostate weiglit. Grayhack, Bunce, Kearns and Scott (1955) made
the same observation for prostate weights
in young adult Sprague-Dawley rats, but
found that LTH augmented the effect of
testosterone propionate on prostate weight.
 
A difference in response between LongEvans and Sprague-Dawley strains of rats
was observed by Lostroh and Li (1956).
In immature hypophysectomized-castrated
Long-Evans rats, LTH alone had no effect
on ventral prostate or seminal vesicle
weights, and no synergistic effect when administered with a low dose of testosterone
propionate; in Sprague-Dawleys, however,
the weights of ventral prostates and coagulating glands were increased by LTH but,
again, no synergism occurred with exogenous androgen. Chase, Geschwind and Bern
(1957) reported that in immature hypophysectomized-castrated Sprague-Dawleys,
LTH did not affect weights of ventral prostates or coagulating glands but it did increase seminal vesicle weight. When LTH
was administered with testosterone propionate, glandular tissue in the ventral prostate
was increased and weights of coagulating
glands (in some cases) and seminal vesicles
were significantly higher than with androgen alone.
 
In the immature hypophysectomized
Sprague-Dawley rats that were not castrated, LTH alone did not affect ventral
prostate weight but when given simultaneously with ICSH it acted synergistically
(Segaloff, Steelman and Flores, 1956). These
results were confirmed by Lostroh, Squire
and Li (1958) for the Sprague-Dawley
strain, but in Long-Evans rats, LTH neither
increased prostatic weight, nor augmented
prostatic response to ICSH.
 
Antliff, Prasad and Meyer (1960) have
shown that in the guinea pig, LTH had no
effect on seminal vesicles of castrated or hypophysectomized males, but when it was
administered with subminimal doses of testosterone propionate, seminal vesicle weight
and epithelial height were increased.
 
2. Growth Hormone {STH)
 
Van der Laan (1953) found no effects of
STH on ventral prostate weights in young
hypophysectomized-castrated rats. Huggins,
 
 
 
Parsons and Jensen ( 1955) observed only
slight effects on weights of ventral prostates
and seminal vesicles with administration of
STH to young hypophysectomized-castrated Sprague-Dawley rats, but a synergistic effect on weight was evident with
simultaneous treatment with STH and testosterone propionate.
 
In hypophysectomized-castrated LongEvans rats (Lostroh and Li, 1956, 1957),
STH produced slight histologic changes and
significant weight increases in the ventral
jirostate; when administered with testosterone propionate, an additive effect on weight
was obtained. The changes in the seminal
vesicles were less evident. The effects on
Sprague-Dawley rats included weight increases in ventral prostates and seminal
vesicles and a greatly enhanced weight response when STH and testosterone propionate were administered simultaneously (hypophysectomized-castrates in this strain
gave a limited response to the androgen I .
Chase, Geschwind and Bern (19571 found
no consistent weight increases of ventral
prostates, coagulating glands or seminal
vesicles in young hypophysectomized-castrated Sprague-Dawleys treated with STH
or STH and testosterone propionate. Simultaneous administration of STH, LTH and
testosterone, however, induced significant
increases in all accessories above the weights
produced by the androgen alone.
 
Lostroh, Squire and Li (19581 determined that STH had no effect on the ventral
prostate response to ICSH in hypophysectomized Long-Evans rats, but })roduced an
enhanced response in Sprague-Dawleys. It
was concluded that the Long-Evans strain is
jjreferable for the testing of crude ICSH extracts, inasmuch as neither STH, LTH, nor
both simultaneously, affect the response of
the ventral prostate to ICSH.
 
With regard to the action of STH on histologic structure of the prostate in hypopiiysectomized-castrated rats, it should be noted
that the effects are slight; nuclei api)ear
vesicular, and the connective tissue stroma
is increased (Lostroh and Li, 1957). The
synergistic action of STH on prostate
growth in hypoi)hysectomized-castrated
rats when administered simultaneously with
testosterone is more striking. In a general
discussion of the many biologic effects of
 
 
 
ACCESSORY MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE GLANDS
 
 
 
435
 
 
 
growtli hormone, Li (1956) wrote, ''Does
this ability to act as a synergist mean that
growth hormone plays a permissive or supporting role in the biological action of a hormone or of a biological agent? It is not unreasonable to assume that growth hormone
creates the necessary and sufficient environment for other biological agents to exercise
the full scope of their functions."
 
Acknowledgments. We are greatly indebted to
Drs. Thaddeiis Mann, James Harkin, Helen Deane,
Keith Porter, and David Brandes for generously
supplying luipublished data and electronmicrographs. Mrs. Eva Brown provided invaluable assistance in the preparation of the manuscript. We
wish to thank our artist. Mr. Kenji Toda, for many
of the original figures. The researches of one of us
(D. P.) cited in the chapter were supported in part
by grants from the Dr. Wallace C. and Clara A.
Abbott Fund of the University of Chicago and by
Research Grants 2912 and 5335 from the National
Institutes of Health, Public Health Service.
 
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448
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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THE MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
William C. Young, Ph.D.
 
PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
 
 
 
I. Introduction 449
 
II. FOLLICULOGENESIS 451
 
A. Growth of Primary and Small Ve
sicular Follicles 451
 
B. Growth of Vesicular Follicles 455
 
C. Preovulatory Swelling 455
 
1). Ovulation . ." 456
 
E. Folliculogenesis in Pregnancy and
 
Lactation 457
 
III. Corpus Luteum 459
 
IV. Follicular Atresia 4(11
 
V. Hormones of the Ovary 4(i4
 
A. Sites of Origin 466
 
B. Amounts of Hormone Produced. . . . 471
VI. Age of the Animal and Ovarian
 
Functioning 476
 
VII. Other Endocrine Glands and the
 
Ovaries 478
 
A. Thyroid 478
 
B. Adrenal Cortex 480
 
VIII. Concluding Remarks 483
 
IX. References 484
 
I. Introduction
 
Despite the impetus given to the study of
ovarian structure and physiology by the
work of Edgar Allen and Edward A. Doisy
in the 1920's, knowledge of the mammalian
ovary has hardly progressed beyond a descriptive phase. This cannot be attributed to
lack of effort, although it must be realized
that the ovary as an object of investigation
has not held its own with the hypophysis,
the thyroid, the adrenal, and the testis. Nor
lias there been any failure to apply new
techniques to the many problems of ovarian
structure and physiology. Histochemical and
cytochemical techniques were seized ujion
for what they might contribute to the prol)lem of the site of hormone production,^ and,
 
' Demp.sey and Bassett, 1943; Dempsey. 1948;
Claesson, 1954; Claesson and Hillarp, 1947a-c ;
Claesson, Diczfalusy. Hillarp and Hogberg, 1948;
Claesson, Hillarp, Hogberg, and Hokfelt. 1949:
 
 
 
in at least one series of studies (Zachariae,
1957, 1958; Zachariae and Jensen, 1958;
Jensen and Zachariae, 1958), to the mechanism of ovulation. Methods for obtaining
blood from the ovarian vein have been devised (Paschkis and Rakoff, 1950; Rakoff
and Cantarow, 1950; Xeher and Zarrow,
1954; Edgar and Ronaldson, 1958) and refined techniques for the assay of secreted
estrogens and progesterone have been developed (Reynolds and Ginsburg, 1942;
Hooker and Forbes, 1947; Emmens, 1950a,
b; Haslewood, 1950; Wolstenholme, 1952;
Zander and Simmer, 1954; Brown, 1955;
Loraine, 1958; Sommerville and Deshpande,
1958j . The collection of follicles and corpora
lutea timed more accurately with respect
to the moment of ovulation has become possible, and distinction between the normal
and the pathologic has become clearer
(Deane, 1952). Recently, the electron microscope has been found to have a place,
in an investigation of the finer structure
of the cells of the corpus luteum (Lever,
1956), in the unraveling of the jirocesses
whereby the zona pellucida is formed
around the developing oocyte (Chiquoine,
1959; Odor, 1959), and in studies of ovarian
oocytes and unfertilized tubal ova (Odor,
1960; Odor and Renninger, 1960) (see Figs.
14.6 to 14.8). As Villee has indicated in his
chapter, great strides have been taken toward an understanding of the metabolic
pathways in estrogen and progesterone synthesis and degradation.
 
Two factors may have contributed to the
 
McKay and Robinson, 1947; Meyer and McShan,
1950; Barker, 1951; Rockenschaub, 1951; White,
Hertig, Rock and Adams, 1951 ; Deane, 1952; Nishizuka, 1954; Ford and Hirschman, 1955; Noach and
\an Rees, 1958.
 
 
 
449
 
 
 
450
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
disappointment that has been expressed.
First, the purification and synthesis of the
hormones in the 1930's (Allen, 1939; Doisy,
1939) and the later successful development
of synthetic estrogens and gestagens ( Solmssen, 1945; Dodds, 1955; Rock, Garcia and
Pincus, 1956; St. Whitelock, 1958) provided
a means whereby much of ovarian physiology could be studied out of context with
the processes by which this organ functions.
Specifically, there are many effector actions
of ovarian hormones, many interrelationships with other hormones and with each
other, many problems of tissue responsiveness, and many questions bearing on processes of ovarian hormone metabolism, all of
which can be studied in ovariectomized animals.
 
Secondly, there were many practical reasons why chemists should have striven to
synthesize estrogenic substances and gestagens which are suitable for replacement
therapy. Once prepared, these synthetic substitutes are of interest, but their development and therapeutic application may well
have diverted attention from studies of the
ovary.
 
If there is disappointment with the progress that has been recorded, we would direct
attention to substantial accomplishments
which should stand us in good stead in the
future. Among these are the numerous careful descriptions of the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles and the meticulous
accounts of corpus luteum formation, structure, and involution. In a general way it has
become clear that in many species estrogen
and progesterone are produced while the
follicles are maturing, and that, during the
functional life of the corpus luteum, progesterone and estrogen are secreted. Estimates of the amounts produced have been
numerous and of more than ordinary interest. In addition, they probably represent
steps toward the determination of additional
important information : the day-to-day rate
of production correlated with the growth of
the follicles and the development of the
corpora lutea, and, in species in which
variable numbers of follicles and corpora
lutea develop, steps in an effort to ascertain
whether, for example, 10 follicles in an individual produce more hormone than 5.
This knowledge, if we possessed it, might
 
 
 
contribute significantly to current theories
of gonadal-pituitary relationships because
thresholds are involved in the regulatory
processes <see chapters by Everett and
Greep ) .
 
It could be disappointing that, on the
basis of evidence which is largely circumstantial and inferential, almost every tissue
component of the ovary, membrana granulosa, theca interna, and interstitial cells,
has been claimed to be the source of estrogen and progesterone. But it is encouraging
that information has been obtained which
prompts us to recognize that it may be futile
and unrealistic to attempt to identify specific cell types as the sources of hormones
in the ovary. Current thought, stimulated
by the discovery that testicular cells, placental tissue, and occasionally the adrenal
cortex are sources of estrogen and progesterone, and that ovarian tissue produces
androgens, is leaning toward the view that
the several tissues involved in steroid hormone biosynthesis may be subject to metabolic aberrations which change their hormone production either in rate or in kind.
The a])i)roach to the problem now seems to
be through enzymatic biochemistry rather
than through gross or finer morphology. Examples of this approach which are suggestive for further work on the ovaries are
jirovided by the numerous studies by Samuels and his associates (Samuels, Helmreich,
Lasater and Reich, 1951 ; Huseby, Samuels
and Helmreich, 1954; Beyer and Samuels,
1956; Samuels and Helmreich, 1956; Slaunwhite and Samuels, 1956).
 
It is known in a general way that follicular maturation, ovulation, and corpus
luteum formation are controlled by gonadotroi)hic hormones from the pituitary. However, as Greep emphasizes in his chapter,
the specific gonadotrophic hormones have
not yet been isolated and identified, nor
have their specific roles in ovarian physiology b(»en demonstrated. To be sure, ovulation has been repoited following the
injection of allegedly purified pituitary
gonadotrophins into hypojihysectomized
rats (Velardo, 1900), but until stages normally seen ill the jn'ocess of folliculogenesis
and ()\-ulati()ii can he rejn'oduced consistently by the use of pituitary gonadotroI)hins, and until target organ responses simi
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
451
 
 
 
lar to those in intact cycling animals are
being evoked, no satisfactory conceptualization of ovarian functioning will be possible.
 
Chorionic gonadotrophins are not without practical value in the stimulation of
ovulation (Cole and Miller, 1933; Folley
and Malpress, 1944; Folley, Greenbaum
and Roy, 1949; Marden, 1951; Umbaugh,
1951; Robinson, 1954; and others); nevertheless, their contribution to ovarian physiology may be limited. Bradbury has pointed
out in a personal communication that the
human placental hormone (HCG) is exotic
for laboratory animals. It has practically
no effect on the ovaries of guinea pigs or
field mice. In rats its biologic effects arc
finite different from those of pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) or interstitial cellstimulating hormone (ICSH) (Selye, Collip
and Thomson, 1935; Evans, Simpson, Tolksdorf and Jensen, 19391. HCG is so ineffective in the hypophysectomized rat that it
has been assumed, in the case of the intact
animal, either that it acts through the pituitary or that it requires the presence of the
pituitary to be effective (Aschheim, Fortes
and Mayer, 1939; Noble, Rowlands, Warwick and Williams, 1939) . If HCG and other
chorionic gonadotrojihins are exotic, as such
results would indicate, the extrapolation of
effects which have followed their use to the
normal functioning of the ovary could be
seriously misleading.
 
What we have written is intended to set
the tone for what follows. Many of the solid
accomplishments of the past two decades
will be recounted, but the areas of uncertainty and the difficulties which slowed
down the progress of the twenties and thirties will be enumerated in the hope that
the curiosity of a new generation will be
aroused and guide us into a period of even
more productive eft'ort.
 
II. Folliculogenesis
 
A. GROWTH OF PRIMARY AND SM.\LL
VESICULAR FOLLICLES
 
In mammals, by the time of birth, oogonia
have completed their proliferative activity
and become primary oocytes. The serosal
surface of the ovary is covered by a layer
of cells known as the germinal epithelium.
There has been and still is considerable
 
 
 
speculation whether adult germinal epithelium contains, or gives rise to, any germ
cells (Sneider, 1940; Mandl and Zuckerman,
1950, 1951a-d, 1952b; Zuckerman, 1951;
Green and Zuckerman, 1951). The subject
is reviewed extensively by Brambell ( 1956 )
and in the chapter by Blandau. Careful
studies of human ovaries have been made
by Block (1951a, b, 1952, 1953). From all
this material, it is clear that a satisfactory
answer has not been given. The latter may
be awaiting the development of a fresh approach and until then another review of the
many conflicting reports and opinions would
be repetitious.
 
]\Iore relevant to the present review is
the relationship between ovarian estrogens,
on the one hand, and germ cell proliferation
and follicle development, on the other. It
has been claimed that exogenous estrogen
stimulates mitotic activity in the germinal
epithelium in mice, rats, and the minnow,
Phoximis laevis L. (Bullough, 1942a, 1943;
Stein and Allen, 1942; de Wit, 1953; von
Burkl, Kellner, Lindner and Springer, 1954) .
Bullough (1943) suggested that new cycles
of oogenesis are intiated by estrogen in the
follicular fluid of large and rupturing follicles. Mandl and Zuckerman (1950) and
Dornfeld and Berrian (1951) were less certain. The former expressed the belief that
the direct effect of estrogenic stimulation
cannot be measured by comparing the total
number of oocytes in the ovary. The latter,
after finding that isotonic saline, gelatine,
or agar injected into the perovarian capsules
of immature rats elicited mitoses in the
germinal epithelium, concluded that the reaction was in response to injury rather than
to the substance injected. Notwithstanding
the precautionary notes sounded by ]\Iandl
and Zuckerman and by Dornfeld and Berrian, the number of reports of increased
mitotic activity near the site of ovulation
or when estrogen is placed in contact with
the germinal epithelium remains impressive.
Particularly because of the analogy with
the androgenic control of spermatogenesis
pointed out by Bullough ( 1942b) and others,
the possibility should be tested further.
 
As the oocyte starts to grow, the flat investing cells proliferate and form the membrana granulosa. By the time the rat oocyte
has completed its growth it has acciuired
 
 
 
452
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
:^l!:
 
 
 
I--|(..7.1. Munlry l,yi„,pliy>r,-ini,iiz<Ml 1 y,-uv | hvm, ,u^ly . I'., Hide- :nv ,n ) ,i n^i .—in . ' ~::,-i>s
(jl (le\f'lu]iiiieiil. C<nic('iitr;itiun ul' uorylcs m ihc corlcx n'S('inl)lfs llial in iVlal or jusciiilc
o\aiie8. No evidence of estrogen production in this animal. (Courtesy of Dr. Ernest Knobil.)
 
 
 
foiii' layers of granulosa cells (Mandl and
Zuokerman, 1952a). The increase in size of
the growing follicle is relatively constant
until the stage of antrum formation (Paesi,
1949a ». Follicles grow and develop to this
stage in rats and guinea pigs even after
hypophysectomy (Dempsey, 1937; Paesi,
1949b). It is thus apparent that the gonadotrophic hormones of the pituitary are not
essential for the early growth of ovarian
follicles (Fig. 7.1). The rate of this early
follicular growth may, however, be accelerated in the presence of certain, but perhaps
not all, gonadotrophic hormones (Pencharz,
1940; Sim])son, Evans, Fraenkel-Conrat and
Li, 1941 ; Gaarenstroom and de Jongh, 1946;
Payne and Hellbaum, 1955).
 
As the granulosa of the growing follicle
])roliferates, the surrounding tissue differentiates into theca interna. Dubreuil (1942,
1948, 1950) postulated that the granulosa j)roduces an inductor substance which
causes the differentiation of the theca interna. Hisaw (1947), in a review of the
literature bearing on this point, also suggested that there must be organizers within
 
 
 
the developing gramdosa cells which stimulate tlifferentiation of the theca interna.
Furthermore, this autonomous process continues until the follicle reaches a stage of
development at which it becomes responsive
to gonadotrophic hormones. Hisaw called
this the stage of "comjietency."
 
Somewhere in this process estrogens seem
to have a role, or, if the ojjinions expressed
by Bullough (1943) and the other investigators whose work has just been cited can
be confirmed, perhaps there is a continued
stimulation by these substances. If large
doses of estrogen are administered to imnuitui'c or to liypopliyscctomi/ed immature
rats, many follicles (k'\x'lop to the early
antrum stage within 72 hours. The theca
interna differentiates ai'ound these estrogenstimulated follicles. When immature rats
ai'e giv(m large doses of estrogen there is
a <le(iiiil(' incicasc in ox'arian weight and
in the iiuiiihei' of medium-sized follicles
( ]''ig. 7.2 1 ; small amounts, on the othei'
hand, ai'e iiihihitoiy (Paesi, 1952). Increased giowth of large follicles, or at least
a retai'dation of their degeneration, has
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
453
 
 
 
 
y^
 
 
 
Fig 7.2. Intact immature lat given estrogen for 3 days. Active proliferation of granulosa
in many follicles. Decreased incidence of atresia and hypertrophy of theca. (Courtesy of Dr.
J. T. Bradburv.)
 
 
 
Ijeen reported in hypuphyscctoiuizcd I'uts
given stilbc-^trol (Pencharz, 1940; Williams,
1944; Desclin, 1949; Payne and Hellbaum,
1955; Ingram, 1959 1. Histologically, when
estrogen is given, there is a marked increase
in mitotic activity of the granulosa cells and
a decrease in atresia (Williams, 1945a; de
Wit, 1953; Payne and Hellbaum, 1955;
Payne, Hellbaum and Owens, 1956; Williams, 1956). The fact that estrogen stimulates the follicle and protects it against atresia suggests that the granulosa is not a
significant source of estrogen. On the other
hand, if estrogen is jiroduced by the theca
interna, it could exert a localized stimulatory action on the membrana granulosa
(Corner, 1938; Bullough, 1942b, c, 1943).
The differentiation and development of the
theca interna is nicely timed for a localized
jiroduction of estrogen around each Graafian
follicle.
 
Estrogen not only stimulates the granulosa to proliferate, but also renders the
follicles more responsive to exogenous gonadotrophins. Williams (1945b) found that
the ovary in the stilbestrol-treated hypol^hysectomized rat was more responsive to
small doses of pregnant mare serum
(PMS) than was the ovarv in the intact
 
 
 
immatui'e rat. Payne and Runser (1958)
found that stilbestrol augmented the response of hypophysectomized immature rat
ovaries to exogenous pituitary extracts. In
Bradbury's experience at Iowa 48 hours of
stilbestrol pretreatment rendered the ovaries
of both intact immature and hypophysectomized rats more responsive to Armour's
LH (Lot No. R377242H), but not to Armour's follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
{Ah 1027) . Furthermore, increasing the dosage of stilbestrol from 0.02 mg. to 0.2 mg.
markedly increased the response of the
ovaries to a given dose of LH. He suggested
that the possibility should be exi)lored that
the local (})erifollicular) concentration of
estrogen determines the resjionsiveness of
the maturing follicles. Thoughtful discussions of the subject are given by Paesi
(1952) and by Bradbury (1961). The former suggested that 2 or 3 types of estrogen
action may be involved in the stimulation
of the ovary which is seen wdien estrogen is
administered. Bradbury applied estradiol
or stilbestrol to one ovary of the immature
rat, leaving the other ovary untreated. The
various unilateral responses — increase in
weight, formation of corpora lutea, greater ■
reactivity to gonadotrophins — demonstrated
 
 
 
454
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
.Sj^cr^r
 
 
 
•■/>:
 
 
 
 
ikm
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 7.O. Imuiuturu li.ypophy.sectomized rat treated with Arniuui - i>il. (iiauulo.sa ha^
proliferated and follicles have developed antra. The theca is diffeientiated but the interstitium is deficient. (Couitesy of Dr. R. M. Melampy.)
 
 
 
clearly the local stimulating effect of estrogens with the ovary, as well as the systemic
effect by way of the pituitary.
 
If estrogen administration to immature or
to hypophysectomized immature rats is continued 7 to 10 days, the granulosa of the
stimulated follicles degenerates. This atretic
process differs from natural atresia in that
it seems to start peripherally rather than
centrally. The oocytes do not fragment or
give off polar bodies as frecjuently as do
oocytes in normally atretic follicles. It seems
that the stimulatory effect of estrogen on
the granulosa is very temporary. Its din-ation, however, is long enough to be coni])atible with the noi'inal pi'ocess of maturation and ovuhitiou.
 
Before concluding the subject, a certain
amount of back-tracking may be dcsii'able.
One of the first suggestions to be made by
Edgar Allen (1922; see also the biogi'aphic;il
sketch in this book) was tliat the ovum is
 
 
 
the dynamic center of the follicle. If the
suggestion is placed in the context that has
since been developed, the sequence of events
would l)e an inductive influence of the
oocyte on the membrana granulosa, a continued inductive influence (oocyte or membrana granulosa?) on the surrounding connective tissue cells until the theca interna
is formed,- and then the secretion of estro
'Resuhs obtained by Genther (1931), Schmidt
(1936), Humphreys and Zuckerman (1954). and
Wcstman (1958) suggest that a similar functional
iclationship exists between the granulosa and interstitial cells. According to Genther, x-ray-iujured
o\aries composed of interstitial cells produced estrogen only if a growing follicle was present. The
in\oluted condition of the uteri in rabbits in wliich
all oocytes and f()llicl(>s iiad been destroyed by
x-rays led Humphreys and Zuckerman to conclude
that the ovaries of these animals were not producing estrogen. The results reported by Westman
suggested tliat interstitial cell function continues
only lor .1 limited jieriod after x-ray-induced degeneration of the granulosa cells. The results from
an ingenious investigation by Ingram (1957) ar(
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
455
 
 
 
gen wliich feeds back to stimulate further
growth of the meinbrana granulosa and follicle.
 
Attractive as such a hypothesis is, it has
at least one weakness. If gonadotrophic
extract rich in FSH is administered to immature rats for three days, there is a generalized stimulation of granulosa tissue
(Fig. 7.3). Small follicles increase in size,
medium sized follicles develop an antrum,
and Graafian follicles become large and
vesicular (Parkes, 1943), but ovulation is
uncommon. At autopsy the ovaries are pale
and edematous. The ovaries are markedly
increased in size from numerous follicles becoming vesicular. Histologically there is
little stimulation of the theca interna. Gaarenstroom and de Jongh (1946) recognized this ovarian response when they
suggested that FSH be designated as Ge
(gonadotrophin e])ithelial). This tissue response offers evidence that FSH is primarily
f'oncerned with growth and proliferation of
the granulosa cells, but there is no explanation to account for the failure of these
granulosa cells to stimulate the differentiation of the theca interna and the eventual
secretion of estrogens.
 
During all of follicular growth, the presence of estrogen has come to l^e assumed and
its production by the growing follicle is
thought to begin with the appearance of the
theca interna (see below). On the other
hand, the amount produced and the rate of
production are unknown. The amount must
increase with the growth of the follicles.
Gillman and Gilbert (1946) found during
their investigation of perineal turgescence
in the baboon that, once the perineum
reaches maximal turgescence, additional
estrogen is required to maintain it. They
concluded that in normal animals, during
the second part of the phase of turgescence,
there must be an increased output of ovarian
estrogen. Direct studies have yielded little
 
similarly suggestive. Autografts of ovarian medulla
without cortical tissue or oocytes, and autografts of
cortical tissue were transplanted to various sites in
.sexually mature rabbits. The grafts of cortical tissu(> p(>rsisti'(l after the medullary grafts had disappeared. Ingram concluded that medullary tissue
containing interstitial tissue but no follicles cannot survive.
 
 
 
information. Foi'd and Hirschman (1955)
estimated alkaline phosphatase activity in
the ovary of the rat, but the concentrations
in the theca interna and ovarian tissue as
a whole were relatively constant during the
phases of the cycle.
 
B. GROWTH OF VESICULAR FOLLICLES
 
The growth of the follicle which is dependent on stimulation by hypophyseal gonadotrophins has been described for a number
of animals and, for a few (cow, sow, ewe,
guinea pig, rat) plotted with respect to the
time of the preceding ovulation (McKenzie,
1926; Hammond, 1927; Grant, 1934; Myers,
Young and Dempsey, 1936; Boling, Blandau, Soderwall and Young, 1941 ; von Burkl
and Kellner, 1956). Data of the latter sort
are especially valuable for the baselines
they provide for experimental studies of the
factors affecting the pituitary-gonadal relationships. Deviations in the shape of the
curve of follicular growth, and disparities
in the size of the growing follicles and in the
size and structure of the corpora lutea, are
clear indicators of abnormalities in function
which have been too little used.
 
C. PREOVULATORY SWELLING
 
Without exception in the animals listed
above, and probably in the horse, goat, and
bat, if we may judge from the data presented by Hammond and Wodzicki (1941),
Wimsatt (1944), and Harrison (1946,
1948b), a linear period of growth during
most of the diestrum is followed by a positive acceleration (preovulatory swelling) ;
shortly before estrus and ovulation. The
point at which this acceleration occurs is
the point in the development of the follicle
where physiologic evidence for the production of progesterone by the unruptured follicle was first found (Dempsey, Hertz and
Young, 1936; Astwood, 1939). As we will
see later, however, the ^'moment" the preovulatory swelling begins is not necessarily
the point in time when the first progesterone
is produced.
 
In most sjiecies in which the course of
the preovulatory swelling has been followed,
it is a 10- to 12-hour process (Hammond,
1927; Grant, 1934; Myers, Young and
 
 
 
456
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Dempsey, 1936; Doling, Blandau, Soderwall and Young, 1941 ; Rowlands and Williams, 1943; Rowlands, 1944), although in
the cat and ferret the process is triggered
by mating and extends over 25 to 30 hours.
The preovulatory swelling can be initiated
by injecting gonadotrophins of the LH or
ICSH type, but they are effective only on
well matured follicles (Hisaw, 1947; Talbert, Meyer and McShan, 1951). The
younger follicles are not stimulated and, on
the contrary, they may show an accelerated
atresia. It could be postulated that the follicules with well developed theca interna
were "competent" and that stimulated theca
interna produced estrogen which favored
the development of these follicles. The
smaller follicles were "incompetent" in the
absence of a thecal investment and became
atretic. If HCG is injected into immature
rats, the theca interna around the vesicular
follicles hypertro])hies within 24 hours and
these follicles enlarge rapidly. The vasodilation of the theca blood vessels is grossly
evident within a few hours (Kupperman,
McShan and Meyer, 1948; Sturgis and
Politou, 1951; Odcblad, Nati, Selin and
Westin, 1956).
 
Explanation has been sought for the nature of the changes within the follicle which
lead to the accelerated enlargement culminating in ovulation. Studies of the staining
qualities of such follicles reveal that the
metachromatic polysaccharides of the granulosa (hyaluronic acid and chondroitin
sulfuric acid) become progressively depolymerized and orthochromatic. This hydrolysis of the mucopolysaccharides gives rise to
an increased osmolarity which may be the
major factor in the preovulatory swelling of
the follicle (Harter, 1948; Catchpole, Gersh
and Pan, 1950; Odeblad, 1954; Zachariae,
1958; Zachariae and Jensen, 1958; Jensen
and Zachariae, 1958). Accompanying the
swelling is a dispersal of the cells of the
cumulus oophorus. This may be a cons(^quence of the breakdown of the intcrcclhihii'
substance in the stinudated niciubraiia gi'aiiulosa.
 
The time r('(|uirc(l for follicular growth
and maturation fi'oin the stage when its
further development is dependent on pituitary gonadotrophin stimulation to ovulation
is related to the length of the cycle and
 
 
 
therefore varies greatly from species to species. Somewhat less than 4 to 5 days are required in the rat (Boling, Blandau, Soderwall and Young, 1941 ) , somewhat less than
16 days in the guinea pig (Myers, Young
and Dempsey, 1936), somewhat less than
21 days in the cow (Hammond, 1927), and
])resumably comparable intervals in other
species. Vermande-Van Eck (1956) estimated that in the rhesus monkey the average time required for the growth of a mature
follicle from the large follicle without an
antrum is 4 to 6 weeks; 11 days are estimated to lie necessary for the complete development of a follicle in the rabbit (Desaive, 1948) . Ovulation occurred earlier than
normal when the corpora lutea from the
])receding cycle were removed, but the rate
of follicular development was not altered
(Dem])sey, 1937). Presumptive evidence exists, however, that the rate of growth may
be slower in pubescent chimpanzees (Young
and Yerkes, 1943), baboons (Gillman and
Gilbert, 1946), and guinea jngs (Ford and
Young, 1953).
 
D. OVULATION
 
Ovulation, under normal circumstances,
))robably is explosive (Hill, Allen and
Kramer, 1935, in the rabbit; Blandau, 1955,
in the rat). In 1 of 2 human i)atients Doyle
(1951) saw a gush of follicular fluid at the
time of ovulation. In 163 ovulations timed
l)y Blandau the interval between the rupture
of the stigma and the escape of the ovum
was 72 seconds when most of the folliculai'
fluid escai)ed in advance of the ovum, and
216 seconds when the cumulus oophorus preceded the follicular fluid. The slower, steady,
continuous flow of the liquor folliculi which
has been described by Walton and Hammond (1928) in the cow, Markee and Hinsey (1936) in the rabbit, and by Doyle
(1951) in one human sul)ject could be an
artifact of the procedures used in watching
the jM'Ocess.
 
The mechanisiu heading up to formation
of the stigma and rupture of the follicle is
unknown. Claesson (1947), using the submicroscoi)ical differences which can be ol)served in ])olarized light, distinguished
smooth muscle from connective tissue cells
and rep()rte(l that no bundles of smooth
muscle or isolated cells were found in the
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
457
 
 
 
theca externa in ovaries from the cow, pig,
rabbit, and guinea pig. The earlier contradictory results he reviewed were attributed to the nonspecificity of the older
staining methods. A possible clue to the
mechanism of ovulation wliich does not seem
to have been explored was given by the observations of Boling, Blandau, Soderwall
and Young ( 1941 ) when they were studying
follicular growth in the rat. Immediately
before ovulation, but at no other time, a
large pocket at the base of the cumulus,
and described as an invagination of the
granulosa, is a constant feature of follicular structure (Fig. 9 in their article). No
guess w^as made as to its significance.
 
In all the spontaneously ovulating infrahuman mammals that have been studied,
except the dog (Evans and Cole, 1931 ) ,
possibly other Canidae, and the mouse
(Snell, Fekete, Hummel and Law, 1940)
in which it takes place early in estrus, ovulation occurs toward the end of heat (see
reviews in Young, 1941; Dukes, 1943; and
more recent articles on the chimpanzee, rhesus monkey, baboon, cow, and mare by
Young and Ycrkes, 1943; van Wagenen,
1945, 1947; Gillman and Gilbert, 1946;
Cordiez, 1949; and Trum, 1950; respectively ) . Only in the human female in which
cyclic waxing ^nd waning of sexual desire
is not easily detected does uncertainty exist.
 
Since an early period, when emphasis was
given to the opinion that ovulation occurs
about midway in the intermenstrual interval (Knaus, 1935; Hartman, 1936; Farris,
1948), much evidence has been produced
indicating that it may occur at other times
as well, even during menstruation (Teacher,
1935; Rubenstein, 1939; Sevitt, 1946; Bergman, 1949; Stieve, 1952; and many others).
If we may judge from what has been found
in the chimpanzee (Young and Yerkes,
1943), baboon (Gillman and Gilbert, 1946),
ihcsus monkey (Rossman and Bartclmez,
1946), and man (Bergman, 1949; Buxton,
1950), irregularities in the length of the
preovulatory and postovulatory phases of
the cycle complicate the problem and could
account for some of the confusion. In the
chimjianzee, baboon, and human female, in
which the irregularities can be located wdth
respect to the time of ovulation, age influences the length of both phases, and fol
 
 
lowing pregnancies there are similar irregularities. In the baboon, environmental
stresses result in temporary or even prolonged inhibition of ovarian activity. There
is no reason for believing that the same factors have less effect on folliculogenesis in
the human female; irregularities in adolescence (Engle and Shelesnyak, 1934) and following pregnancy (Sharman, 1950, 1951)
are common and there are many reports of
psychic effects (see reviews by Kelley, 1942;
Kelley, Daniels, Poe, Easser and Monroe,
1954; Kroger and Freed, 1950; Randall and
McElin, 1951; Bos and Cleghorn, 1958).
In all cases follicular growth is interrupted
and amenorrhea follows. But if the estimates are correct that the average fertile
woman ovulates normally about 85 per cent
of the time (Farris, 1952), or that perfectly
healthy women may have 3 or 4 anovulatory
cycles a year (de Allende, 1956; also see
table in Bergman, 1949), there must also
be cases in which much of follicular growth
is normal, or at least adequate to stimulate
growth changes in the uterus, but ovulation
does not occur. As if the complications noted
above are not enough, the reviews of the
methods used in determining the time of
ovulation (D'Amour, 1934; Cohen and
Hankin, 1960) and the critical study of
Buxton and Engle (1950) in which an attempt was made to correlate basal body
temperature, the condition of the endometrium, and the stage of folliculogenesis in
the ovary, suggest either that a really sensitive indicator of the time of ovulation has
not been found, or if one exists, that it has
not been used in a study sufficiently systematic to reveal the true situation in the
human female. The problem is one of the
many that is with us very much as it was
20 years ago.
 
E. FOLLICULOCJENESIS IN PREGNANCY
AND LACTATION
 
Before leaving the subject of follicular
growth, its course in pregnancy and lactation should be reviewed. Information has
been obtained from many species, but in
most cases it is not complete and a considerable amount of conjecture is necessary.
What is certain is that pregnancy affects
the process of folliculogensis in many ways ;
each must be the reflection of a different in
 
 
458
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
terrelationsliip betwen pituitary, gonads,
and placenta. In the mare, and presumably
other species in which multiple ovulations
occur early in pregnancy, the involvement
of chorionic gonadotrophins, pituitary gonadotrophins, and estrogen of placental origin
has been suggested (Rowlands, 1949). When
folliculogenesis is inhibited just before the
stage of the preovulatory swelling, as it is
in many pregnant animals (see below), the
nervous system may be involved. An unusually significant investigation in which
the threshold of stimulation to ovulation in
the rabbit was correlated with threshold
changes in cerebral activity has recently
been completed (Kawakami and Sawyer,
1959). It was demonstrated that pregnancy
or prolonged treatment with progesterone
maintains the electroencephalogram (EEGj
after-reaction threshold to low frequency
stimulation of hypothalamic or rhinencephalic nuclei at an elevated level. At this
level, gonadotrophin release does not occur
in response to coitus or other ovulatory
stimuli. The discovery of this fact has provided a basis for understanding the various
ovarian conditions associated with pregnancy and lactation, or at least those in
which follicular development proceeds to
the point of preovulatory swelling and then
stops. It may be that some other mechanism
of inhibition accounts for the more severe
retardation of folliculogenesis in si)ecies in
which this occurs.
 
The European hares, Lepus tiniidus L.,
and L. ciiniculus L., are reported as mating
during pregnancy with the occurrence of
superfetation (Lienhart, 1940). Pregnancy,
therefore, has little or no effect on any
stage of folliculogenesis in these species.
The domestic rabbit appears to he somewhat
more affected and perhaps more variable.
Claesson, Hillarj), Hogberg and ll()kfeh
(1949) state that the ovaiics of pii'gnant
rab})its are composed almost entirely of
interstitial gland, except for the corpoi'a lutea, but, according to Hannnond and Marshall (1925) and Dawson (1946), mature
follicles ai'e present and pregnant animals
will occasionally mate. However, if we may
assume that the reaction of i)regnant animals is similar to that of ])seudopregnant
animals (Makepeace, Weinstein and Friedman, 1938), pituitary gonadoti'opliin is not
 
 
 
released and ovulation does not occur. From
examination of the ovaries and from the
fact that fertile matings can occur within a
very few hours after parturition (Dempsey,
1937; Boling, Blandau, Wilson and Young,
1939; Blandau and Soderwall, 1941), it is
clear that follicular development in the
pregnant guinea pig and rat proceeds to a
point just short of the preovulatory swelling. According to Nelson (1929) and Swezy
and Evans (1930), cycles of oogenesis occur
in laboratory rats, and, although the follicles may form small corpora lutea (Swezy
and Evans), ordinarily they do not rupture.
The musk-rat. Ondatra zibethica, and the
African bat, Xycteris luteola, must display
an advanced follicular development during
pregnancy because there is evidence of postl)artum estrus (Warwick, 1940; Matthews,
1941, respectively). Brown and Luther
(1951) state that postpartum estrus occurs
within 3 days after farrowing in the sow, if
the young pigs are removed. We assume,
from this latter statement and from the rel^ort that estrus and service may occur during pregnancy in this species (Perry and
Pomeroy, 1956), that large follicles are
present in the ovaries of the pregnant sow.
 
Heat ])eriods in the jjregnant ewe are associated with follicular growth, but ovulation
does not occur, and late in pregnancy follicle size decreases significantly (Williams,
Garrigus, Norton and Nalbandov, 1956 ) .
The first heat after {parturition was an average of 23.9 days later, range 1 to 61 days.
According to Harrison (1948b), widespread
atretic changes can be seen in all the follicles in the goat, beginning the 40th day of
|)regnancy. By the (iOth day. no healthy follicles can be found.
 
Hammond (1927) was of the opinion that
during jircgnancy in the cow, follicles develop to the size at which the jireovulatory
swelling begins, but Dukes (1943), citing a
study by Weber, wrote that cows come into
heat 3 to 7 weeks after parturition. Support
for this \-iew comes from the report l)y Hafez
( 1954) that the average interval to the postpartum esti'us in another bovine, the Egyptian buffalo, is 43.8 days, range 16 to 76
days. The iclatixcly long postpartum inter\al in these two species is presumptive evidence that follicles are relatively small at
the end of pregnancy in bovines.
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
459
 
 
 
Between the 40th and 150th day of pregnancy in the mare the ovaries contain numerous actively growing follicles and several
functional corpora lutea (Cole, Howell and
Hart, 1931; Rowlands, 1949). However,
from the 150th day until the late stages,
there is a regression of all the corpora lutea
and an absence of large follicles. In the late
stages only minute vestiges of corpora lutea
and small follicles remain. If the latter is
true, follicular growth must be rapid after
parturition, because the first heat following
foaling was between the 7th and 10th days
in 77 per cent of the many mares Trum
(1950) studied. In the African elephant,
Loxodonta africana, there is also a replacement of the corpora lutea (one plus several
accessory corpora lutea j about midway
through pregnancy (Perry, 1953). Some are
formed following ovulation and some not.
They persist until term when they involute
rapidly. During the late stages of pregnancy
no follicles with antra are founcl. Dawson
( 1946) wrote that the domestic cat does not
possess mature follicles at the time of parturition. In nonlactating animals the proestrous level is reached the 4th week after
parturition.
 
Presumptive evidence exists that the follicles in the parturitive chimpanzee are small
(Young and Yerkes, 1943 ) . In the human female the appearance of the first ovulatory
cycle after pregnancy is irregular (Sharman,
1950, 1951 ; AlcKeown, Gibson and Dougray,
1954). According to Sharman, it may occur
about 6 weeks after delivery in nonlactating
women. This suggests that follicles are small
at the end of ju-egnancy in the human female.
 
Inhibitory effects of lactation on follicular
development are indicated by the substance
of many of the reports cited above (Dawson;
Dukes; Perry; Schwartz; Sharman; Williams, Garrigus, Norton and Nalbandov)
and by much other information. As would
be expected, the intra- and interspecies variations are great. Studies in progress at Iowa
(Bradbury, personal communication) are revealing that some women experience an
atrophy of the vaginal epithelium during the
second and third month of lactation. The
atrophy is indicative of a lack of ovarian estrogen and suggests that follicular development is not normal. Observations that are
 
 
 
similarly suggestive have been made in other
species. The absence of estrogen in significant ciuantities during lactation in the mouse
(Atkinson and Leathem, 1946) and guinea
pig (Rowlands, 1956) is believed to be the
reflection of a delay in the resumption of
follicular growth and ovulation. Mother rats
and mice may copulate and conceive within
24 hours after delivering a litter of young.
AVhile the mother is nursing the newborn litter, the fertilized eggs of the new pregnancy
develop into blastocysts, but these blastocysts fail to implant in the uterus at the
usual time (Talmadge, Buchanan, Kraintz,
Lazo-Wasem and Zarrow, 1954; Whitten,
1955; Cochrane and Meyer, 1957). This delay in implantation is apparently due to a
lack of estrogen, because an injection of estrogen will result in implantation of the
blastocysts. The suppression of estrous cycles during lactation in the mouse and rat is
influenced in part by the size of the litter. A
litter of 8 to 10 young will inhibit cycles,
whereas cycles are displayed if the litter is
reduced to 2 or 3 young (Parkes, 1926a;
Hain, 1935). The cottontail rabbit [Sijlvilagus floridamis) seems to be a species in
which ovarian follicular development is little if any affected by lactation, for Schwartz
( 1942 ) stated that suckling does not prevent
ovulation after coitus, at least in the early
stages of lactation.
 
III. Corpus Liiteuni
 
The formation of the corpus luteum has
been described for many species ( see reviews
in Corner, 1945; Harrison, 1948a; Brambell,
1956). In general, after rupture of the follicle and discharge of the ovum, the granulosa is invaded by blood vessels from the
theca interna (Bassett, 1943). They form a
rich network among the enlarging granulosa
lutein cells. The extent and nature of the
contribution from the theca interna varies
from species to species, but, as Corner states,
the origin of the major part of the epithelioid cells of the corpus luteum from the
granulosa may now be considered a fact.
 
Whereas there may be a fairly uniform
pattern of development and control of ovarian follicles in mammalian forms, there are
diverse mechanisms for the formation and
maintenance of corpoi'a lutea; consequently
 
 
 
460
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
specific examples must be presented in order
to avoid the dangers of generalization.
 
In the rabbit copulation triggers a neurohumoral mechanism which releases gonadotrophin from the pituitary which subsequently induces ovulation in 10 to 12 hours.
The ruptured follicles form corpora lutea
which have a functional span of about 28
days if pregnancy ensues but only 14 days if
the mating is infertile. Crystals of estrogen
implanted into a corpus luteum of a rabbit
will cause its persistence while other corj^ora
lutea regress (Hammond and Robson, 1951 ).
This suggests that either estrogen makes the
corpus luteum more sensitive to pituitary
maintenance (Hammond, 1956) or estrogen
protects the corpus luteum from luteolytic
action. In the cat, copulation induces ovulation about 25 hours after mating; the corpora lutea function for 36 days after an infertile mating, but gestation lasts 62 to 64
days. The ferret ovulates about 30 hours
after copulation and the corpora lutea are
functional for 42 days, w^hether the mating
is fertile or infertile (Brambell, 1956 1.
 
In the unmated rat and mouse ovulation
is spontaneous, but the resulting corpora lutea are nonfunctional and begin to regress
within 2 days. After copulation the corpora
lutea persist for 18 days if impregnation has
occurred, but for only 12 days after an infertile mating. Copulation probably results
in the release of enough additional gonadotrophin (LH or LTH) to activate the corpora lutea. In rats and mice the pituitary
hormone, prolactin, is luteotrophic (LTH)
(Desclin, 1949; Everett, 1956). These species have functional corpora lutea throughout lactation— actually two sets, that of
pregnancy and that of the postpartum ovulation. Using the rat and taking weight and
levels of ovarian enzymes as measures of activity, these corpora lutea were studied by
Meyer and McShan and their associates and
the results summarized in a ic\'i('\v (]\Ieyer
and McShan, 1950). They found that "the
weight of the corpora lutea of pregnancy increased greatly during the latt(>r half and
that the amount of enzymes per corjius luteum was also greater. With some caution,
they concluded that these corpora lutea are
more highly functional during this phase of
pregnancy than during the first half.
 
Not only copulation, but also injection of
 
 
 
estrogen at estrus is followed by the formation of functional corpora lutea. The estrogen maintenance of corpora lutea in rabbits
and mice is offset by hypophysectomy
(Hohn and Robson, 1949); presumably,
therefore, maintenance is mediated through
the anterior })ituitary. Reece and Turner
(1937) showed that estrogen stimulates the
rat i^ituitary to produce prolactin so the latter may be the luteotrophic agent in this
s]:)ecies. Moore and Nalbandov (1955) found
that prolactin is luteotrophic in sheep. To
date this is the only species other than the
rat and mouse in which prolactin has been
shown to have luteotrophic activity.
 
In the guinea pig, monkey, man, and
many other species, ovulation and the formation of functional corpora lutea are spontaneous. Copulation is not known to have
any neurohumoral influence in these species.
The corjiora lutea of the human female function for 2 to 3 months in pregnancy and for
only 12 to 14 days in. an infertile cycle. Bergman ( 1949 ) states that the duration of the
luteal i^hase is limited to a maximum of 16
days. In the rhesus monkey the functional
life has been estimated to be about 13.5 days
in the normal cycle, and approximately 30
days when pregnancy intervenes (Hisaw,
1944) . In the bitch, ovulation is spontaneous
and the corpora lutea remain functional for
6 weeks irrespective of mating or pregnancy.
In the lactating African elephant the corpora lutea degenerate soon after parturition
(Perry, 1953) ; in the lactating domestic cat
they not only persist, l)ut they become ''rejuvenated" (Dawson, 1946).
 
As a general statement, it can be said that
the functional span of the corpora lutea is
cithei' adequate to permit implantation or
it is prolonged by copulation (as in rats and
mice) so that imjilantation can occur. But
inasmuch as imj:)lantation occurs in many
species, including man, about the sixth day
after ovulation and fertilization, the margin
of safety is not great and a delay in the secretion of chorionic gonadotrophin by the
tro])hoblast must reduce the chances of a
successful pregnancy.
 
Ill some species, e.f/., rats, mice, rabbits,
an ill felt ih' mating prolongs the life of the
corpora hitea. This prolonged interval of
functional luteal activity is known as pseudoj)regnancy. As Everett has noted in his
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
461
 
 
 
chapter, in pseudopregnancy the hormonal
aspects of pregnancy are duplicated, but no
fetal tissues are present. In the pseudopregnant bitch, for example, the hormonal aspects of pregnancy are so nearly duplicated
that lactation begins at the time a normal
gestation would have terminated.
 
The duration of pseudopregnancy in different species offers evidence of adaptive or
evolutionary mechanisms to control the duration of corpus luteum function, mechanisms that must be endogenous to the uterus.
Rats and mice have a pseudopregnancy of
12 days duration after a sterile mating, cervical stimulation, or injection of estrogen at
estrus. There is no comparable condition in
guinea pigs, monkeys, or man. However, if
rabbits, rats, or guinea pigs are hysterectomized, any subsequent corpora lutea will
function for a time equivalent to the duration of gestation in each species (Chu, Lee
and You, 1946; Bradbury, Brown and Gray,
1950), although Velardo, Olsen, Hisaw and
Dawson (1953) stated that, in the rat, hysterectomy has no effect on the length of
pseudopregnancy. Hysterectomy in the cow
and sow will prolong the life of the corpus
luteum (Melampy, personal communication). Experimental distention of the uterus
l)y beads has resulted in alteration of the
length of the estrous cycle in ewes (Nall)andov, Moore and Norton, 1955). The only
explanation which seems to account for
these results is that there is a luteolytic
agent in the uterus (probably in the endometrium) of some polyestrous species which
shortens the life of the corpora lutea in nonpregnant animals. In pregnancy, or when
massive deciduomas are present, if Velardo,
Olsen, Hisaw and Dawson are correct, the
conversion of endometrium to decidual tissue may cause it to lose its luteolytic ability.
In future studies on the duration of the
functional span of cor]5ora lutea, the possibility of luteotrophic and luteolytic mechanisms should be considered. On the other
hand, a fresh start may be advisable. Fewproblems in reproductive and clinical endocrinology (Marx, 1935) seem to have been
as resistant to clarification.
 
In unmated females of species not having
a spontaneous "pseudopregnancy," the corlius luteum involutes shortly after its formation. The rat, in which 4 to 8 corpora lutea
 
 
 
are formed in each ovary at intervals of 4
to 5 days, has recognizable involuting corpora lutea from the two preceding cycles,
but no remnants of older ones. The early
stages of involution of the corpus luteum
have been described (Brewer, 1942; Boling,
1942; Dawson, 1946; Duke, 1949; Moss,
Wrenn and Sykes, 1954; Corner, Jr., 1956;
Rowlands, 1956; Dickie, Atkinson and Fekete, 1957). The timetables of cellular
changes given by Brewer and by Corner, Jr.
are of interest for the comparison they permit with physiologic estimates of the duration of secretory activity by the human corpus luteum. On day 7 the corpus luteum
seems to have reached its peak of activity,
as judged by the vacuolation of its cells in
Bouin's or Zenker's fluid-fixed and hematoxylin and eosin-stained preparations. Corpora
lutea of days 9 to 12 show evidence of i)rogressive secretory exhaustion.
 
The later stages of cori:)ora lutea degeneration have not received the same careful attention. In women the corpus luteum undergoes a slow hyaline degeneration and the
corpora albicantia persist as old scars for
months or years. They may be present in
ovaries 15 to 20 years after the menopause.
Whether the final stage of degeneration is a
process of lysis, phagocytosis, or transformation into connective tissue has not been
studied.
 
IV. Follicular Atresia
 
It was long ago estimated that the infantile liuman ovary contains about 400,000
oocytes (Fig. 7.4). In the 30 years of reproductive life about 400 ova may mature and
ovulate. On this basis about 1 oocyte in 1000
achieves ovulation; the other 999 are lost
through a degenerative process known as
atresia. The problem is not different in any
other species. Whether it is monotocous or
polytocous, there is always an enormous
wastage of oocytes in each cycle of folliculogenesis. Atresia may have its onset at any
stage of follicular growth or maturation and
oocytes may degenerate before they have
acquired a distinct membrana granulosa
(Mandl and Zuckerman. 1950; de Wit, 1953;
Payne, Hellbaum and Owens, 1956; Williams, 1956). In advanced stages of follicular development the granulosa cells may
show pycnotic changes before any degenera
 
 
462
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 7.4. Ovary from 28-moiith-old child. Many primordial follicles just beneath the tunica
albuginea. (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Bradbury.)
 
 
 
 
Fill. 7.5. Iimuaturc rat h
grow to medium size. Many become atretic and leave
stitial tissue. (Courtesy of Dr. R. M. Melampy.)
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
463
 
 
 
 
Fig. 7.6. Intact immature rat given progesterone for 3 days. The various-sized follicles in
this area are in early stages of atresia. The pycnotic granulosa cells are dispersing into the
follicular fluid and the oocyte in the small follicle at the upper left is denuded. (Courtesv of
Dr. J. T.Bradburv.)
 
 
 
tive clianges are evident in the oocyte. When
vesicular follicles become atretic the granulosa disintegrates and the cells disperse into
the liquor folliculi (Knigge and Leathern,
19.56 ( . If the follicle has developed a distinct
theca interna, the theca regresses after the
granulosa has disintegrated. In rats the
atretic follicles leave no recognizable histologic remnants. In some species the theca regresses back to ovarian interstitial tissue
(Dawson and AlcCabe, 1951; Williams,
1956). In the ovary of the human female
and rhesus monkey the atretic follicle leaves
a scar (corpus atreticum) in which the meml)rana propria persists for months as a
folded hyaline membrane within the loose
fibrous remnant of the theca.
 
The cause of follicular atresia is not
known. Immediately after hypophysectomy
there is a wave of atresia in the ovary of the
immature rat (Fig. 7.5) and rabbit (Foster,
Foster and Hisaw, 1937). In adult rats the
postovulatory wave of follicular atresia has
 
 
 
l)een attrilnited to an action of the corjiora
lutea (Atkinson and Leathem, 1946). Injections of androgen or of progesterone increase
the incidence of atr(>sia in rat ovaries (Fig.
7.6) (Paesi, 1949b; Barraclough, 1955;
Payne, Hellbaum and Owens, 1956). Further study is necessary to determine whether
the atresia is due to a direct effect of androgen or progesterone on the follicles, or
whether the postovulatory decline in gonadotrophins, like hypophysectomy, withdraws a supi:)orting influence and permits
the follicles to degenerate. The supporting
influence may be estrogenic because injections of estrogen at the time of hypophysectomy will prevent, or at least delay,
the expected follicular atresia (Fig. 7.7).
Some months after hypophysectomy the
number of remaining oocytes is greater
than in the ovaries of normal litter-mate
sisters (Ingram, 1953). This suggests that
vegetating oocytes are less liable to undergo
 
 
 
464
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
'^l&^h
 
 
 
■ ■;%.%,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 7.7. iiniuaiKi. li.\ pupliy.sectomized rat treated with estrogen (dit'thylstilbe.Ntrol).
Many follicles have developed to a size appropriate for antrum formation. The interstitium
i.s atrophic but the theca is differentiated. One follicle is obviously atretic. (Courtesy of Dr.
J. T. Bnidburv.)
 
 
 
atresia than those which have entered the
growth phase.
 
Hisaw (1947) discussed the problem and
marshaled a number of facts in support of
the idea that atresia is due to a defective
differentiation of the theca interna, with a
^resulting deficiency of estrogen which is
considered necessary for growth and differentiation of the granulosa. Ultimately the
])ituitary is involved because the success
which has been achieved in the j^roduction
of sui)erovulation reveals that the number
of follicles maturing and ovulating is a
measure of the amount of gonadotrophic
hormone. But it is eciually true that there is
an optimal dosage and time beyond which
defects appear in the form of cystic follicles
and premature luteinization (see review by
Hisaw and more recently Zarrow, Caldw(>ll,
Hafez and Piiicus, 19581.
 
The disintegration of the discus proligerus
of the nuiture follicle and the dissolution of
the granulosa in an atretic follicle have
led several investigators to suggest that the
 
 
 
stimulus to ovulation and/or atresia is identical (Harman and Kirgis, 1938; Dawson
and McCabe, 1951 ; Moricard and Gothie,
1953; Williams, 1956). Moricard and Gothic
found that intrafollicular injection of HCG
or P]\1S caused first polar body formation
within 4 liours. Control injections of estrogen or scrum were ineffective. Dempsey
(1939) noted that maturation spindles were
present in ne:iily all the oocytes in medium
and large follicles which had undergone
atresia shortly after ovulation had been induced by luteinizing hormone. Inasmuch as
the tubal egg ntay give off the second polar
body about the time the corona radiata is
lost, it is interesting to speculate on the significance of the fact that the eggs in atretic
follicles may also give off polar bodies just
as they are denuded of granulosa (Fig. 7.8).
 
V. Hormones of the Ovary
 
The hoi'mones of the ovary are the estrogens, pi-ogesterone. androgen, and relaxin.
The first three are the o\'ai"ian steroid hor
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
46.
 
 
 
Vu,. 7.S. Aticiic lolliric in immature rat gi\en progesterone for 3 day:
and second metaphase si>indle. (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Biadbury.)
 
 
 
mones and are among the most important
hormones participating in the regulation of
reproductive physiology. In the present
hook, as in editions 1 and 2, the discussions
of their many actions consititute one of the
central themes.
 
Relaxin is a protein rather than a steroid
hormone and has always been considered
more or less apart from the latter. The steps
in proving its existence were reviewed by
Hisaw and Zarrow in 1950, and the present
status of the subject is discussed in the chapter by Zarrow. Unlike the other ovarian hormones, its clinical value is still uncertain
(Swann and Schumacher, 1958; Stone, 1959).
 
Ovarian androgens present a perplexing
problem. Evidence for their production is
abundant (Guyenot and Naville-Trolliet.
1936; Hill, 1937a, b; Deanesly, 1938a; Bradbury and Gaensbauer, 1939; Greene and
Burrill, 1939; Chamorro, 1943; Price, 1944;
Katsh, 1950; Desclin, 1955; Johnson, 1958).
l)ut the extent to which they are produced
l)y the ovaries of normal females, and the
nature of their action in normal females are
 
 
 
uncertain (Parkes, 1950). It has been postulated that they are produced during the
normal cycle in the rat. Payne, Hellbaum
and Owens (1956) suggested that the interstitial androgens produced at estrus are responsible for the postovulatory atresia of
the partially developed follicles. The production of ovarian androgens has been demonstrated most effectively under abnormal
conditions of stimulation. The newborn rat
ovary will produce androgens when stimulated by human chorionic gonadotrophin
(Bradbury and Gaensbauer, 1939). The
treated infant rat shows a marked enlargement of the clitoris and may even develop
the cartilage anlage of the os penis. Female
guinea pigs are masculinized by injections
of HOG (Guyenot and Naville-Trolliet,
1936). Ovaries transplanted to the ear of
the castrate male mouse will produce enough
androgen to maintain the prostate and seminal vesicle (Hill, 1937a, b). Ovarian transl^lants into the seminal vesicle may exhibit
a localized androgenic stimulation of that
tissue (Katsh, 1950). Ovaries of a rat in
 
 
 
4(36
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
parabiosi;? with a castrate partner become
hypertrophied and produce enougli androgen to stimulate prostatic tissue (Jolmson,
1958) ; associated with the condition is an
unusual thecal and interstitial tissue hypertrophy. The masculinizing features of the
Stein-Leventhal syndrome ( polycystic
ovary) have been attributed to the presence
of androgens, having their source perhaps
in the hilar cells of the ovaries (Lisser and
Traut, 1954) , but the action of other steroids
with masculinizing properties also has been
suggested (Fischer and Riley, 1952). The
latter possibility might well be checked in
any case when the production of androgens
by the ovary is suspected.
 
Estrogen and progesterone are the ovarian
hormones whose action in the female has
been studied the most extensively. The steps
which led to their extraction and chemical
identification were described by Doisy and
by Willard Allen in the 1932 and 1939 editions and will not be repeated here. Attention, however, will be directed to the isolation and identification of several naturally
occurring gestagens in addition to progesterone (Davis and Plotz, 1957; Zander, Forbes,
von Miinstermann and Neher, 1958). These
are metabolic degradation products which
still retain progestational activity.
 
Now as in the period 1932 to 1939, there
are many unsolved problems, but it is
equally true that much of interest and value
has been learned. Not the least of these contributions has been the clarification of the
l)athways of their biosynthesis (see chapter
by Villeej . In the sections which follow particular attention will be given to the problem of their origin, to the rate of production,
the manner of transport and storage, and to
their "half-life."
 
A. CELLULAR ORTOIX
 
As Villee points out in his chajiter, estrogen and progesterone are apparently derived from cholesterol by a series of chemical changes. Within the ovary and in the
corpora lutea of rats, there is a definite reduction in the concentration of ascorbic acid
and cholesterol after gonadotrophin administration. These changes have been considered (ividence for tiie activation of hormone
synthesis (Everett, 1947; Miller and Everett, 1948; Levin and Jailer, 1948; Aldman,
 
 
 
Claesson, Hillarp and Odeblad, 1949; Claesson, Hillarp, Hogberg and Hokfelt, 1949;
Noach and van Rees, 1958).
 
Efforts to identify the cell types in which
these processes take place have not been altogether successful. We have noted, for example, that several tissues such as testis,,
placenta, and occasionally the adrenal cortex can produce estrogen. These are tissues,,
then, which produce more than one hormone.
Gardner emphasized this during a discussion of Parkes' (1950) review of androgenic
activity of the ovary, when he called attention to Dr. Furth's observations that some
ovarian tumors possess potentialities for bisexual hormone production. About the same
time, Shippel (1950) postulated that thecal
cells may be a source of estrogen and androgen and that the type of hormone produced
may depend on particular stresses or stimuli. On the other hand, many investigators,,
and particularly those interested in the apjilication of histocheraical procedures,^ have
l^roceeded under the assumption that there
are tissues of the ovary in which one hormone is iH'oduced predominantly. They
found, for example, that the reactions of follicular granulosa and theca cells are strikingly different (Demi)sey and Bassett, 1943;
Dempsey, 1948; Shij^pel, 1950). To be sure,
the results w^iich have been obtained have
not led to agreement with respect to details,
but there is much evidence from the reactions which have been described, as well as
from the older morphologic studies, that
theca interna, interstitial, and luteal cells
and, perhaps to a lesser extent, granulosa
cells, are active in steroid hormone synthesis. What is less certain than the fact that
these cells, and consequently the ovaries,
produce estrogen, progesterone, and androgen is their relative role compared with that
of other tissues. Presumably it is major;
nevertheless, evidence for the extra-ovarian
origin of estrogenic substances is provided
by the occurrence of cyclic vaginal activity
in ovariectomized animals (Kostitch and
Telebakovitch, 1929; Mandl, 1951; Veziris,
 
"Dempsey and Bassett, 1943; Dempsey, 1948;
Claesson and Hillarp, 1947a-c ; Claesson, Diczfahisy, Hillarp and Hogl)erg, 1948; McKay and Robinson. 1947: Sliii)iH>l. 1950: Barker. 1951: Rockenscliauh. 1951: Wliite, Heitis, Rock and Adams.
1951: Deane. 1«)52: Fuiulue-lm, 1954: Xisliizuka.
1954.
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
467
 
 
 
1951) and by the high titer of estrogens in
the urine from ovariectomized rats on a high
fat diet (Ferret, 1950).
 
Corner, as long ago as 1938, in a consideration of the subject, emphasized that there
is only circumstantial evidence that the
ovary is the major site of estrogen production. Attempts to extract estradiol or any
other estrogen from ovarian tissue had
yielded very small amounts. MacCorquodale, Thayer and Doisy (1936) processed 4
tons of hog ovaries and recovered about 6
mg. estradiol from each ton. They estimated
that the concentration in liquor folliculi was
of the order of 1 part in 15,000,000 and that
about 0.1 of this concentration is in the rest
of the ovarian tissue. There are much better
sources from which "ovarian hormone" can
be extracted than from the ovary, i.e., placentas, pregnancy urine, the urine of the
stallion or boar. The adrenal is also a source
and there may be other tissues as well, for
Bulbrook and Greenwood (1957) reported
that urinary estrogen continued to be excreted after oophorectomy and adrenalectomy of a breast-cancer patient.
 
Whatever the relationships are quantitatively between the follicles and the other
estrogen-secreting tissues, the evidence that
the follicles are a major source of estrogenic
substances remains impressive. This is also
true of the corpus luteum. The human corpus luteum produces as much, or more, estrogen than was produced during the follicular phase. In the rat and mouse, estrogen
production during the luteal phase must be
low because more than 1 part of estrogen
nullifies the action of 1000 parts of progesterone in these species ( Velardo and Hisaw,
1951). By contrast, ratios as high as 100
parts of estrogen to 1000 parts of progesterone enhance the progestational reactions in
women (Long and Bradbury, 1951).
 
The different tissues of the ovary — membrana granulosa, theca interna, and interstitial cells — have been studied in efforts to
ascertain whether they are sites of the production of specific hormones. Inasmuch as
unruptured follicles and corpora lutea secrete both hormones, the two structures
must be considered. It has long been known
that corpora lutea secrete estrogen as well
as progesterone. Evidence supporting the
conclusion that jirogesterone is secreted by
 
 
 
the preovulatory follicle is more recent, but
it comes from many sources. The possibility
was first suggested following the discoveries
that the beginning of mating behavior
(Dempsey, Hertz and Young, 1936) and the
decrease in tissue uterine fluid (Astwood,
1939) , which depend on the presence of small
amounts of progesterone, coincide with the
beginning of the preovulatory swelling.
More recently, progesterone has been found
in the follicular fluid from sows, cows, and
the human female, and, in small quantities
in blood plasma of the rabbit, human female,
and rhesus monkey during the follicular
phase of the cycle (Duy vene de Wit, 1942 ;
Forbes, 1950, 1953; Bryans, 1951; Kaufmann, 1952; Edgar, 1953b; Buchholz, Dibbelt and Schild, 1954; Zander, 1954).
 
Earlier in this section it was noted that
there is much evidence from both histochemical and the older morphologic studies
that theca interna, interstitial tissue, and
luteal cells, and to a lesser extent, granulosa
cells secrete the ovarian steroid hormones.
Many who have used histochemical methods
still feel that, even though these methods
demonstrate steroids and their precursors,
the reactions are not sufficiently specific for
identification of the individual hormones.
Others, however, have been more confident,
and when the evidence they have presented
is combined with that reported in some of
the more conventional morphologic studies
the following summarization of opinion
seems justified. Granulosa cells of the follicles and granulosa lutein cells of the corpora lutea contain progesterone or a precursor and secrete this hormone (Nishizuka,
1954; Green, 1955). Cells of the theca interna, theca lutein cells, and interstitial cells
are believed to secrete estrogen and possibly
androgen (Corner, 1938; Deanesly, 1938a;
Pfeifter and Hooker, 1942; Hernandez, 1943;
Claesson and Hillarp, 1947a, b; Rockenschaub, 1951 ; Aron and Aron, 1952; Furuhjelm, 1954; Nishizuka, 1954; Fetzer, Hillebrecht, Muschke and Tonutti, 1955; Johnson, 1958). The interstitial cells have been
the object of much study and will be given
especial attention.
 
Interstitial tissue or cells in the ovary is
not as clear a concept as it is in the teste.-.
In the latter interstitial or Leydig cells are
derivatives of connective tissue elements
 
 
 
468
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
irf^'t'H-'^
 
 
 
. 7.'.). Aii< ^lioii.-. ral)l)U. J^aigc lulliclf^ lUulcifioinK ati< Ma Iiilcr^l il luui i,> \i>ilil<- only
as the narrow wedge of granular tissue extending from the cortex into the intrafollit-ular septum. (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Bradbiuy.)
 
 
 
and can (ledift'erentiate to form connective
tissue cells (Esaki, 1928; Williams, 1950).
The role of Leydig cells as secretors of
testicular androgen or a precursor is not
(juestioned. In the ovary it is also presumed
that undifferentiated connective tissue elements exist, indeed much of the stroma must
be composed of such cells. It is believed
rather generally, although unequivocal proof
has not been given, that the theca interna is
derived from connective tissue elements and
that, as a component of the Graafian follicle,
it secretes estrogen and possibly androgen
Hoc. cit.). After ovulation and corpus luteura formation, and after atresia in the case
of follicles not rui)turing, the cells of the
theca interna may pcrhajjs I'csuinc their
place as connective tissue cells or they may
become interstitial cells (Mossman, 1937;
Dawson and McCabe, 1955; Rennels, 1951 ;
Nishizuka, 1954; Williams, 1956). The
|)rominence of interstitial tissue varies from
species to species and also with stages of the
 
 
 
rei)roductive cycle. Whether it is functional
in i^roducing hormones has been controversial, but most contemporary investigators
seem to feel that internal secretory capacity
has been demonstrated. In all the work that
has been done, supporting evidence is varied; in some cases it is circumstantial, but in
others it is quite substantial.
 
Interstitial tissue is deficient in the anestrous rabbit, and even though there may be
considerable follicular development, there
seems to be little or no estrogen production
(Claesson and Hillarp, 1947a) (Fig. 7.9).^
The liypei'ti'opliied iiitei'stitium of the estroiis i;il)l)it (Fig. 7.10) undergoes further
de\-el()pnicnt (hii'ing prc'gnancy and seems
almost as luteinized as th(^ corpora lutea
 
' Rogr('ssi\-e changes in tlic rciirodiictixe tract
and accessory structures following ovariectomy of
the anestrous opossimi were taken to indicate that
these parts receive estrogenic stimidation of ovarian origin during th(^ anestnun (Morgan, 1946;
Risman. 1946).
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
469
 
 
 
 
 
Kid, 7,10. l'(isto\nl.-,l,,iy
stigma is evident. Note tli
of Dr. J. T. Bradburv.)
 
 
 
epithelioid natiii
 
 
 
of the hypertiopliied mterstitiuin. (Courtesy
 
 
 
(Fig. 7.11). Grossly the ovary in the anestrous rabbit is translucent whereas the estrous ovaries and the ovaries during pregnancy have a chalky white opacity due to
the development of the interestitium. After
hypophysectomy the interstitial cells of the
rat ovary exhibit a deficiency condition and
the nuclear appearance has suggested the
name "wheel cells." If pituitary ICSH is
administered, the deficiency cells are restored to normal (Fig. 7.12). Hyperplastic
ovarian interstitium in older women has
been considered a probable source of estrogen in some cases and of androgen in others.
The stimulation of interstitium by injected gonadotrophins may be associated
with the formation of estrogens and/or androgens (Bradbury and Gaensbauer, 1939;
Marx and Bradbury, 1940). Some rats displayed a permanent estrus; others, during
a period of androgenic function, were masculinized. During this period, the theca and
interstitium were not luteinized in many
cases and it was concluded from the responses of accessory organs that these small
 
 
 
immature cells had secreted male hormone
and perhaps female hormone, too. In rats
with fully luteinized theca and interstitium
and the pronounced estrous symptoms, it
was considered that the androgenic effect
was no longer apparent. Information obtained recently, however, suggests that the
permanent estrus, when it was shown, may
have been a consequence of an androgenic
effect. Cystic follicles which might have
stimulated a permanent estrus had a vagina
been present, were found in many adult
guinea pigs which had received androgen
prenatally (Tedford and Young, 1960).
 
Without necessarily excluding the possibility that the heterotypical hormone is also
jiroduced, many articles contain suggestions
that interstitial tissue has specific estrogenic
or androgenic activity. There is the report
that an ovarian interstitial-cell tumor was
producing estrogens (Plate, 1957). The observation that estrogen continues to be secreted by ovaries in which the follicles have
been destroyed by x-rays was reported by
Parkes (1926b, i927a,^b), Brambell and
 
 
 
470
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
V J ' *
 
 
 
k •'
 
 
 
6^i;>ir/
 
 
 
 
 
 
^ V
 
 
 
^,
 
 
 
Fi(. 7 11 ()\,ii\ liMiii jir. ^uaiii i.ililni l.amc luu uiiz. d < . IK m liiu. ih.niiiii ( uipu- liiii iim.
Hvi)f'itioi)lue(l intPi-titium. Pninoidial t'olhcles in cortex. (Couitc^y of Di. J. T. Bra(U)iuy.)
 
 
 
Parkes (1927), Genther (1931), Schmidt
(1936), Mandl and Zuckerman (1956a, b),
and others. This conclusion w^ould seem to be
.strengthened by the recent report that there
is no intensification of the secretion of gonadotrophins by x-rayed rats in which there
was an apparent destruction of the ova and
folhcles (AVestman, 1958). Evidence of an
entirely different sort for the secretion of estrogen by interstitial tissue has been i)resented by Ingram (1957). Autografts of
medullary tissue containing interstitial tissue but no follicles were made in rabbits.
Five animals from which this tissue was recovered had uteri which were not as atroi)hic
as the uteri of spayed animals. He noted,
however, that in the absence of the follicular apparatus the capacity to secrete estrogen is soon lost. As we have seen,- Ingram is
one of several investigators who have related the functioning of interstitial tissue to
granulosa elements.
 
 
 
Histochemical staining procedures for
cholesterol indicated to Dempsey (1948)
that the theca interna is a possible source of
estrogen. The results obtained during a more
extensive utilization of histochemical reactions in studies of the ovaries of nonpregnant, psoudopregnant, and pregnant rabbits,
and in the ovaries of rats and guinea pigs
were consistent with the conclusion that a
li])i(l i)recursor of estrogenic substances is
]:)resent in interstitial tissue (Claesson, 1954;
Claesson and Hillarji, 1947a, b; Claesson,
Diczfalusy, Hillarp and Hclgberg, 1948).
 
Rennels (19511, on the basis of histochemical reactions in the oxaries of innnature rats, advanced the liypothesis that interstitial tissue has a dual origin. There is
a primary type present between 10 and 18
(lays aftei- bii'th wliicli is dosc^ly associated
with gi'anulosa ()Ut<j;i()wtlis and ingrowing
cords of cells from the germinal epithelium.
A secondary type is formed later from the
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
471
 
 
 
-i:-* :^-"!r
 
 
 
 
 
 
t:^-^-!..
 
 
 
4"
 
 
 
 
jP^-'-^i'
 
 
 
 
Fig. 7.12. Immature hypoi)liyspftomized rat alter 3 days treatment with Armour's IC8H.
The interstitium is restored and is mildly hyperplastic. Nearly all of the vesicular follicles
are atretic. The theca blends into the interstitimn. Two of the oocytes contain maturation
spindles. (Courtesy of Dr. R. M. Melampy.)
 
 
 
theca interna of atretic follicles. He presented no evidence for the production of estrogen by the latter tissue, but expressed the
opinion that Claesson and Hillarp (1947b)
had done so. Under the assumption that estrogen rather than androgen is produced by
o^'aries of untreated rats during the early
juvenile period (10th to 18th day), he interpreted the presence of histochemically reactive materials in the iirimary interstitial
tissue as an indicator of estrogenic activity.
To Huseby, Samuels and Helmreich (1954),
the steroid-3/?-ol dehydrogenase activity in
interstitial cell tumors having androgenic
activity, suggested a relationship between
the presence of this enzyme and the production of the androgen.
 
B. AMOUNTS OF HORMONE PRODUCED
 
Dependable estimates of the rate of estrogen and progesterone production would
provide investigators of reproductive physiology with interesting and valuable information. It must be recognized, however, that
there are many pitfalls and outright difficid
 
 
ties; consetiuently the estimates which have
been made must be regarded as tentative.
Furthermore, they are of limited value. The
amounts produced probably deviate greatly
from the quantities which are effective in
meeting the threshold requirements of the
tissues the ovarian hormones stimulate. This
latter information would make the greater
contribution to an understanding of the
functioning of these substances in the regulation of rei^roductive processes. Most efforts
to estimate the rate of secretion of estrogen
have involved measurements of the amount
of hormone given subcutaneously that will
restore normal structure or function in ovariectomized animals. As Corner (1940) emphasized, estimates obtained in this manner
are based on the assumption that a hormone
injected once daily in an oil solution is utilized by the body as efficiently as a hormone
produced by an animal's own ovaries. Gillman (1942), Barahona, Bruzzone and Lip.schutz (1950), and Zondek (1954) are
among the many who have directed attention to the fact that the amount of an esiro
 
 
472
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
gen required to e^'okc one response often
is different from that required for a second
response. For example, the amount of estradiol necessary to produce perineal enlargement in the baboon is less than that
required to produce withdrawal bleeding. In
the human female, the order of sensitivity of
three tissues to estrogen is uterine cervix,
vaginal mucosa, endometrium (Zondek,
1954). Theoretically, therefore, if the response of tissues is to be used in estimating
the amount of hormone produced, the investigator should follow the response having
the highest threshold value. Gillman also
called attention to another complication.
The minimal amount of estrogen necessary
to produce a response does not necessarily
approximate the amount being produced,
because, in the instance he cites, larger
amounts do not produce a larger perineum.
 
Another comi^licating circumstance is the
occurrence of ''inherent" cycles (in some
cases the length of a reproductive cycle) of
responsiveness which have been demonstrated in ovariectomized females receiving
constant amounts of estrogen from exogenous sources. Many such animals have displayed cyclic vaginal changes (del Castillo
and Calatroni, 1930; Bourne and Zuckerman, 1941a), uterine l)leeding (Zuckerman,
1940-41 ), and running activity (Young and
Fish, 1945). This unknown factor must be
taken into consideration in any attempt to
estimate the rate of estrogen production.
Existence of this factor gives emphasis to
the importance of direct determinations,
wiien they can be made, either from follicular fluid or from freshly drawn blood. Corresponding considerations would hardly be
tliough of as applying to progesterone. Most,
if not all, of its actions are synergistic or
potentiating. Presumably, therefore, they
are directly dependent, not so much on any
changes in the inherent responsiveness of the
tissues as on the extent to which the tissues
have been conditioned or primed by the estrogen.
 
A part of the picture which must be
brought into context with the problem of estrogen secretion comes from a review of the
temporal factors in a normal cyclic animal.
In animals with short estrous cycles (4 or 5
days in the rat, mouse, and hamster) . and in
 
 
 
species in which the cycles are longer as in
the guinea pig it has generally been assumed
that estrogen is produced maximally at the
time of estrus. This is an assumption based
on the simultaneous occurrence of the cornified vaginal smear and the display of estrous behavior. When one considers that 48
to 72 hours are necessary for vaginal epithelium to proliferate and then degenerate into
cornified cells, it is obvious that the estrogen
which starts these changes must be elaborated 2 or 3 days before estrus and therefore before the size of the follicles is maximal. Zondek (1940) demonstrated that if an
immature rat was injected with HCG the
ovaries could be removed 27 hours later and
the rat would exhibit vaginal cornification in
84 to 96 hours. This emphasizes that the estrogen which caused the cornified smear had
been elaborated 2 or 3 days before vaginal
estrus (Zondek and Sklow, 1942; Green,
1956). The dilation of the uterus with fluid
late in the proestrum (Astwood, 1939) is
also evidence that the efi^ective estrogen had
been elaborated 24 to 30 hours earlier.
 
Problems of assay are involved in any
attempt to estimate secreted estrogen and
are discussed briefly by Emmens (1950a, b).
They are more serious in the case of the estrogens than in the case of progesterone. The
bioassay of estrogens is usually based on
vaginal cytology or change in uterine weight.
The vaginal cytology or smear method is essentially the original method of Allen and
Doisy(kahnt and Doisy, 1928; Allen, 1932).
Ovariectomized rats or mice are given subcutaneous injections of the substance being
tested for estrogenic i)otency. Smears are
made of the vaginal contents 24, 48, 60, and
72 hours later. If the smear reveals the presence of cornified cells 60 to 72 hours after
the first injection, the tested substance is
judged to be estrogenic. By using groups of
animals at each of several dose levels, the
minimal eft'ectiA-e dose can be judged. The
smallest amount of substance which will
jiroduce cornified smears in 50 to 70 ]ier cent
of the test grouj) is usually designated as the
rat or mouse unit. Intravaginal tests, introduced by Berger (1935) and by Lyons and
Templeton (1936), and refined, especially
by Biggei's ( 1953) and by Biggers and Claringbold (1954, 1955), are 200 times more
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
473
 
 
 
sensitive than tliose in which the estrogen is
administered subcutaneously. When the
mean number of arrested mitoses was used
as the measure of estrogenic activity, the
sensitivity was increased another ten times
( Martin and Claringbold, 1958).
 
Immature rats or mice can also be used
foi' the assay of estrogens. The establishment of vaginal patency and mucified or
cornificd vaginal smear denote estrogen effects. Vaginal patency per se, however, is
not specific for estrogen because androgen
will also induce precocious vaginal patency
(Rubinstein, Abarbanel and Nader, 1938;
Marx and Bradbury, 1940). Injection of estrogen into immature animals causes a rapid
increase in the weight of the uterus, due to
water imbibition. Astwood (1938) found
that the immature rat uterus increases in
weight as early as 6 hours after an injection
of estrogen; however, the optimal response
was at 30 hours. Just above threshold levels
graded doses produce graded increases in
uterine weight. This makes it possible to
plot a dose-response curve so that closer
approximations of potency can be achieved.
Some authors have used ovariectoraized animals for the uterine response method. This
requires a prior operation and subsequent
adhesions may make it difficult to strip out
the uterus cleanly at the end of the test.
 
Whatever the test, each estrogen derivative or synthetic estrogen has an optimal
assay interval for maximal effect depending
in part on its solubility, rate of absorption,
and utilization (Hisaw, 1959). For this reason a standard assay may not be an accurate
indicator of the estrogenic potency of several comijounds. This factor plus some
competitive antagonism make this method
impractical for the assay of mixtures of estrogens (Merrill, 1958). Whatever their
faults, the bioassay methods in general are
very sensitive and will detect estrogens in
0.1 to 1.0 ixg. quantities.
 
The chemical assay methods for estrogen
are rather involved and have usually been
relial)le only in milligram quantities. Fluorometric methods were tried and generally
discarded because frequently small amounts
of contaminants were strongly fluorescent;
consequently fluorescence was being obtained in the absence of biologic activity
 
 
 
(Bitman, Wrenn and Sykes, 1958) . Recently
paper chromatographic methods have permitted sufficient purification and isolation
to make identification and quantification of
estrogens in microgram quantities (Brown,
1955; Smith, 1960; Svendsen, 1960).
 
The most common bioassay methods for
progesterone are still the Corner-Allen and
the Clauberg tests which utilize the rabbit.
The animal is primed with estrogen and
then given progesterone after an appropriate
interval. A portion of the uterus is removed
and examined histologically for the degree
of glandular develojiment in the endometrium. The test is relatively insensitive since
it requires about 1 mg. progesterone per rabbit. McGinty, Anderson and McCullough
(1939) increased the sensitivity of the test
to 0.5 to 5.0 /xg. by injecting the progesterone
into the lumen of an isolated segment of the
rabbit uterus. The histologic response of the
endometrium in this isolated segment was
then judged.
 
Hooker and Forbes (1947) adapted the
McGinty intra-uterine technique to the
uterus of the ovariectomized mouse. The
end result is judged histologically by the
characteristics of the endometrial stromal
nuclei of the isolated uterine segment. The
sensitivity is of the order of 0.3 fxg. per ml.
and the method has been used widely. This
advantage of the Hooker-Forbes technique
is that it is sensitive enough to detect gestagens in l)lood plasma and liquor folliculi.
Disadvantages are that the test is not specific for progesterone, and that certain gestagens such as 17-a-hydroxyprogesterone
which is devoid of progestational activity
in some species (rabbit, guinea pig, man)
are very active in the mouse test (Zarrow,
Neher, Lazo-Wasem and Salhanick, 1957;
Short, 1960).
 
There are spectrophotometric techniques
for jn'ogesterone assay (Reynolds and Ginsburg, 1942; Zander and Simmer, 1954;
Short, 1958; Sommerville and Deshpande,
1958 ) . These methods have the advantage of
instrumental precision, but require rather
tedious initial chemical purification. However, they have proved of especial value
in comparative studies of the blood levels
of progesterone in sheep with active and
inactive ovaries, in studies of the progester
 
 
474
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
one content of unruptured follicles in the
ovaries of cows and sows, and in determinations of the cjuantities of progesterone secreted by 1 or 2 corpora lutea in sheep ( Edgar, 1953a, b; Edgar and Ronaldson, 19581.
 
After allowance was made for these considerations tentative estimates were given:
rhesus monkey, 200 I.U. or 20 y estrone
daily; human' female, 3000 I.U. or 300 y
estrone daily (Corner, 1940); baboon
{Papio porcarius) , somewhat more than 0.04
mg. estradiol benzoate daily (Gillman,
1942) ; guinea pig, less than the equivalent
of 1.8 fjig. estradiol daily (Barahona, Bruzzone and Lipschutz, 1950). The variation in
the responsiveness of individual animals
was recognized by all the investigators. Two
important variables were not considered,
the cyclic growth of follicles, and the number of developing follicles. Presumptive evidence that the amount of secreted estrogen
increases as the follicle enlarges was provided by the demonstration that more and
more estrogen is required to maintain perineal turgescence (Gillman and Gilbert,
1946). The number of developing follicles
may vary greatly within a species, in the
guinea pig, for example, from 1 to at least 6.
The fact that two corpora lutea in the ewe
do not produce more progesterone than one
(Edgar and Ronaldson, 1958) could prepare
us for a corresponding finding with respect
to estrogen.
 
The problem of estimating the rate of
progesterone secretion is l)eset by many
of the difficulties that confront an investigator attempting to estimate the rate of
estrogen production, but one circumstance
especially has facilitated progress by those
especially interested in progesterone. It is
that the amount of excreted free prcgnanediol or excreted sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate is about 1/7 the amount of injected progesterone (Trolle, 1955a, b) ; from
determinations of cither of tlic former,
therefore, the amount of the latter can be
estimated with what is believed to be a
reasonable degree of accuracy. The pioneer
attempt of Corner (1937) to calculate the
amount of progesterone secreted by the rabbit, sow, and human female resulted in
estimates (60 mg. during the luteal phase of
the cycle in the latter) wliicli are much
lower than those made more recentlv lObei
 
 
and Weber, 1951, 200 mg.; Kaufmann, 1952,
200 mg.; Trolle, 1955a, b, 260 to 440 mg.).
It now seems that the lower estimate made
by Corner can be attributed to the uncontrolled loss of sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate during storage, owing to bacterial hydrolysis (Trolle, 1955a). The rise
in the 24-hour values after ovulation, the attainment of a peak the 7th and 8th days,
and the decline between then and menstruation, are shown nicely in Trolle's
(1955a) study. His data provide an excellent confirmation of the estimates based on
structural changes within the cell (Brewer,
1942; Corner, .Jr., 1956). The amount of
free pregnanediol excreted during the cycle
and therefore the amount of secreted progesterone varied from woman to woman,
and in the same woman there was variation
from one cycle to another.
 
Data obtained by Duncan, Bowerman,
Hearn and Alelampy (1960) from their
chromatographic study have provided the
basis of an estimate that the following average amounts of jn-ogesterone are present in
the luteal tissue from swine: 23 /Ag. on day
4 of the cycle; 213 /^g. on day 8; 335 yug. on
day 12; 311 [xg. on day 16; /xg. on day 18.
From day 16 to day 102 of pregnancy, the
amount rose from 477 [xg. on day 16 to 578
fxg. on day 48 and then decreased to a low
of 120 ixg. on day 102.
 
Edgar and Ronaldson (1958) made direct
measurements of the progesterone in lilood
collected from the ovarian vein in ewes. The
assay method consisted of extraction of 20
ml. of blood by, and partition between, organic solvents, final separation by chromotographic i)artition on filter paper, and
subsequent estimation of the hormone by
ultraviolet absorjjtion spectroscopy. They
reported that there is great variability from
animal to animal. The concentration in
yearling sheep was not lower than that in
older animals. Because of the liypothesis
advanced by Young and Yerkes ( 1943) that
the amount of secreted progesterone is low
in adolescent chimpanzees, an extension of
the Edgar and Ronaldson jirocedures to
|)iimates would be of interest. In this connection, Edgar and Ronaldson postulated
what has been brought out as a generalization in so many studies of the steroid hormones. The absolute amount of progesterone
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
475
 
 
 
circulating in the fluids of the body may be
less important than the minimal amount.
The ewes secreting less than the minimum
may be unable to maintain pregnancy,
whereas those secreting more may simply
have surpluses which are of little significance. The same principle may be extended
to the human female (Davis, Plotz, Lupu
and Ejarque, 1960 ».
 
An observation new to the reviewer could
l)e important. When two corpora lutea were
present in one ovary the concentration of
I)rogesterone was in the same range as that
for the ewes with one corpus luteum (Edgar
and Ronaldson, 1958). In another ewe there
were 2 corpora lutea in one ovary and 1 in
the other, but the concentrations in the
blood from the 2 ovarian veins were almost
the same.
 
A facet of the problem of the rate of production of ovarian estrogen and progesterone which has become apparent is that
endogenously and exogenously administered
estrogen (Rakoff, Cantarow, Paschkis, Hansen and Walkling, 1944; Pearlman, 1957)
and progesterone (Haskins, 1950; Zander,
1954; Rappaport, Goldstein and Haskins,
1957; Davis and Plotz, 1957; Plotz and
Davis, 1957; Pearlman, 1957; Cohen, 1959)
disai)i:)ear from the blood very cjuickly, in
the human female and in such laboratory
mammals as the dog, rabbit, and mouse.
Zander, for example, injected 200 mg. of
progesterone intravenously into menopausal
and ovariectomized women. The concentration of this hormone in the blood was 1.44
/xg. per ml. after 3.5 minutes and 0.116 yu,g.
per ml. after 2 hours; 24 hours after the
injection progesterone could not be found by
the method he employed. The data obtained
by the other investigators were similar.^
Using some of these data obtained from reports in the literature and from his own
studies, Pearlman (1957) divided the total
amount of circulating hormone (M) by the
 
■'To a cpitain extent, and possibly to a considerable extent, the rapid disappearance of progesterone from the blood is explained by its storage in
the fat tissue of the body (Davis and Plotz, 1957;
Davis, Plotz, Lupu and Ejarque, 1960). Following
intramuscular injection of C"-4-progesterone, and
assuming an even distribution of radioactivity in
the fat of the body, about 17.7 per cent, 33.7 per
cent, and 19.6 per cent of the administered dose
was present 12, 24, and 48 hours, respectively, after
the administration of the labeled hormone.
 
 
 
endogenous production rate (r) as a means
of obtaining the turnover time iT), i.e., the
time refjuired for a complete replacement
of the circulating hormone by a fresh supply
from the endocrine gland. His method was
not free from criticism by discussants;
nevertheless, informative estimates were
made. The turnover time of the various
estrogens was calculated to be about 6 minutes or less, that of progesterone, about 3.3
minutes.
 
Not unrelated to the i)roblem of the
amounts of hormone produced is the sul)ject
of plasma (and erythrocyte) binding of the
ovarian hormones. Especial attention was
given the subject by Rakoff, Paschkis and
Cantarow ( 1943 ) who reported that as much
as 50 per cent of the total estrogen content
of the serum of women is present in a combined or conjugated (bound) form, and
that almost all of the estrogens of pregnancy are bound to the protein fractions of
the serum. Shortly thereafter, Szego and
Roberts (1946) reported that two-thirds of
the total estrogen in the blood in human
l)lasma is normally associated with jn-otein
constituents, and in a subsequent series
of publications (Roberts and Szego, 1946,
1947; Szego, 1953, 1957; and others) that
the liver is the site of the formation of the
protein-estrogen complex or estroprotein.
The nature of the complex soon become controversial and has not yet been resolved
(Eik-Nes, Schellman, Lumry and Samuels,
1954; Antoniades, McArthur, Pennell, Ingersoll, Ulfelder and Oncley, 1957; Sandberg, Slaunwhit(> and Antoniades, 1957;
Daughaday, 1959). In the jiresent context,
however, othei- considei'ations are more important.
 
Protein-liinding is not confined to the estrogens and their metabolites, but other
steroidal hormones, progesterone, testosterone, and corticosteroids, are also present
in the blood in a bound-state. In studies of
the binding relationships of serum albumin,
the link to the esti'ogens was found to be
strongest, that to the corticosteroids relatively weak, and that to ])rogesterone and
testosterone intermediate (Sandberg, Slaunwhite and Antoniades, 1957; Slaunwhite and
Sandberg, 1958; Daughaday, 1959). The i;lationships in the case of other components
of i^rotein mixtures have been sliown to be
 
 
 
47()
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
different, but they are ai)parently eriually
specific (Daughaclay, 1959; Slaunwhite and
Sandberg, 1959). A considerable specificity
of the binding sites may be involved ( Sandberg, Slaunwhite and Antoniades, 19571.
Daughaday (1959) states that separate
binding sites may exist for each of the
steroid hormones studied, and Szego (1957)
suggested that a competition for these sites
may be the basis for antagonisms which are
known to exist in many steroid interactions
(Courrier, 1950; Hisaw and Velardo, 1951;
Roberts and Szego, 1953; Velardo, 1959;
Velardo and Hisaw, 1951 ; Zarrow and
Neher, 1953).
 
The most important consideration has
to do with the significance of protein binding for the steroid hormones, and, in the
present chapter, the significance for estrogen and progesterone. Roberts and Szego
(1946, 1947) and Szego (1957) proposed
that formation of the estrogen-protein complex is necessary for the transport and
activity of endogenous and exogenous estrogens. Riegel and Mueller (1954), on the
other hand, found that the protein-estrogen
complex they used had only a slight, if any,
estrogenic activity, and Daughaday (1958,
1959) expressed the opinion that the unbound steroid hormones of the plasma are
probably the biologically significant moieties. He suggested that the degree of protein binding imposes a major restraint on
the passage of hydrocortisone (and presumably other steroids) through the cajiillary membranes, but pointed out that this
view has not yet been established. He then
asked, in the event that the steroid-protein
complex does not function in the transi)ort
of hormones from the vascular component
to the cell, is it likely that the presence of
a steroid-protein complex stabilizes the
pliysiologically significant concentration of
unbound steroid very much as buffer salts
stabilize the small concentration of hydrogen ion? In this way, he continued, the
organism would l)c protected against the
rapid changes in concentration which characterize an unbuffered system.
 
At tiic ]ir(>sent stage in this controversial
sul).iect, any hypothesis with res])ect to the
significance of the protein binding of steroid
hormones must be tentative. It would seem,
however, that whatever emerges will have
 
 
 
validity only if it is compatible with the
cyclic waxing and waning of reproductive
phenomena. If the unbound, rather than the
bound fractions, are the active fractions, the
functioning of the ovarian steroid hormones
must dei)end on the presence of unbound
fractions, in some way made available at
cyclic intervals to the tissues on which these
hormones act. It would seem, too, that the
significance of the increased capacity for
l)inding in i)rcgnancy (Rakoff, Paschkis and
Cantarow, 1943; Baylis, Browne, Round
and Steinbeck, 1955; Daughaday, 1959;
Slaunwhite and Sandberg, 1959) should be
a ])art of the picture. Tentatively, this
greater binding capacity on the part of
the ])regnant adult, coupled with an inability of the developing fetuses to bind
androgens, might account for the failure of
the adult to be affected by the presence of
androgen at a time when the genital tracts
and neural tissues of the female fetuses she
is carrying are undergoing profound modifications (Phoenix, Goy, Gerall and Young,
1959; Diamond, 1960).
 
VI. Age of the Animal and Ovarian
Functioninij
 
The position of the ovary is such — at one
and the same time being dependent on the
pituitary, possessing its own varying capacity to function, and having an effectiveness which is limited by the responsiveness
of the tissues on which its hormones act —
that no simple consideration of the relationshii) between the age of the animal and
ovarian functioning can be given. An investigation, therefore, should be planned
accordingly and we find experiments in
which the amount of gonadotrophic stimulation was varied when age was constant,
and experiments in which age was the variable and the amount of gonadotrophin the
constant. If hypo- or hyper-responsiveness
of the tissues is suspected, the point can be
checked by the use of spayed animals given
variable amounts of ()\-arian hormones.
When information of these sorts is brought
together, a fairly accurate account of the
relationship between age of the animal and
ovarian activity can l)e ])repared.
 
The results fi'oni many studies have revealed that the ovaries in both inunature
and senescent females are potentially able
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
477
 
 
 
to secrete hormones, both estrogen and
progesterone, in amounts which are in excess of those secreted by untreated animals.
The secretion of these hormones was elevated in rats, mice, and hamsters by the
implantation of whole pituitaries (Smith
and Engle, 1927 » or by the administration
of chorionic gonadotrophin (Price and Ortiz,
1944; Ortiz, 1947; Green, 1955). The reactivation of senile ovaries was first demonstrated by Zondek and Aschheim (1927)
following the insertion of hypophyseal imjilants, and later by numerous other investigators listed in the review of the subject
l)y Tlmng, Boot and Miihlbock (1956). In
more recent experiments an enhanced secretion of estrogen and progesterone followed
the injection of old hamsters with chorionic gonadotrojihin (Peczenik, 1942; Ortiz,
1955).
 
In women fertility may be lost before
the menopause (Engle, 1955). Studies in
progress at Iowa (Bradbury, personal communication) show that urinary gonadotroi')hins may be elevated before the menopause and the last ovarian cycles are
achieved in the presence of excessive
amounts of pituitary gonadotrophin. As a
rule the human ovary is devoid of oocytes
and produces relatively little estrogen at
the time of the menopause. Frequently, however, there is enough residual ovarian activity (estrogen production) to maintain the
vaginal epithelium for 10 to 15 years after
the menopause. These observations on
women suggest that as the supply of oocytes
l)ecomes depleted, less estrogen is produced
and more gonadotrophin is released to
stimulate the aging ovary. This secjuence
is in harmony with the concepts of Dubreuil
(1942) and Hisaw (1947), because with
fewer areas of granulosa there would be
fewer centers of organizer to bring al)out
the differentiation of thecal tissue competent
to produce estrogen.
 
Ovarian stromal hyperplasia has been
found in association with endometrial hyperplasia after the menopause (Morris and
Scully, 1958). Sherman and Woolf (1959)
suggested that the postmenopausal ovary
may produce abnormal sexogens which
bring about an endometrial proliferation
and ultimately adenocarcinoma of the endomi'trium. Their urinarv l)ioassay studies
 
 
 
indicate that the patients were excreting
ICSH-type gonadotrophin. The observation has been made at Iowa that a few
postmenopausal women with endometrial
carcinoma were maintaining an estrogenic
vaginal epithelium when they were ovariectomized at ages varying from 65 to 70
years. Subsequently the gonadotrophin excretion increased to the ciuantities usually
seen after the menopause. In these unusual
cases the aging ovaries produce estrogen, or
possibly estrogen and androgen, in quantities sufficient to suppress the usual excess
production of gonadotrophins.
 
The responsiveness or sensitivity of the
ovary to gonadotrophic stimulation is not
constant throughout the life of an individual. If we may judge from the studies
of Corey (1928) and Selye, Collip and
Thomson (1935) on newborn and 10- to
15-day-old rats, Moore and Morgan (19431
on young opossums, and Price and Ortiz
(1944) and Ortiz (1947) on rats and hamsters, the prepubertal period is characterized
by very rapid and great increases in responsiveness to gonadotrophic stimulation.
Species differences are great. The opossum
ovaries do not respond to gonadotrophic
stimulation until about 100 days of age
(Moore and Morgan), whereas responsiveness was first detected in the rat ovary at
4 to 10 days (Price and Ortiz) and in the
hamster ovary by the 10th day (Ortiz).
Such data, coupled with the appearance of
the ovaries at birth, would seem to exclude
the possibility of gonadotrophic stimulation during the prenatal period, and perhaps the capacity for being stimulated as
well.
 
Certain other species are different and
present problems. There is an extensive follicular development and luteinization in
the fetal ovaries of the giraffe which is the
basis for the suggestion that the ovaries of
this species are responsive to gonadotrophin
before birth (Amoroso, 1955). Such a conclusion is predicated on the assumption either that serum gonadotrophin crosses the
placental membrane or that the fetal pituitary secretes gonadotrophin. Neither hypothesis has been proved. Evidence exists
that the ovaries of the horse and seal are
strongly stimulated before birth (Cole,
Hart, Lyons and Catchpole, 1933; Amoroso,
 
 
 
47!
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Harrison, Harrison-Matthews and Rowlands, 1951; Amoroso and Rowlands, 1951),
but an unusual structural condition is found
in these ovaries. No vesicular follicles are
present and the ovaries, which are larger
than those of the adult, are composed mostly
of interstitial tissue which is enclosed by a
thin cortex containing short chains of germ
cells and a few oocytes surrounded by a single layer of epithelial cells. Comparable information does not exist for the seal, but in
the horse the development of this condition
is reached during the estrogenic phase and
after the gonad-stimulating hormone is no
longer detectable in the blood of the pregnant adult. As a result, and cjuite apart from
the belief that serum gonadotrophin does
not cross the placenta (Amoroso and Rowlands, 1955 j, the massive interstitial tissue
liyperplasia is thought to have been stimukited by estrogenic rather than by gonadotrophic action.
 
The immediate jiostpubertal jieriod and
middle age are periods of relative stability.
The period of old age has been too little
studied and is in need of attention. In old
mice the ovaries are reported to become
unresponsive to exogenous gonadotrophin
(Green, 1957). Ortiz (1955), on the other
hand, stated that although a certain degree
of ovarian sensitivity is lost in old hamsters, there is a surprising degree of responsiveness present until death, not only
after the animal is no longer fertile, but
even in animals with ovaries almost completely atrophic.
 
In young animals and in old animals there
are irregularities of ovarian function and
irregularities in the character of the cycles
which probably can be related to imbalances
in the pituitary-ovarian relationship. In
polytocous sjK'cies, fewer follicles ovulate
in young animals (Young, Dempsey, JMyei-s
and Hagquist, 1938; Ford and Young, 1953,
the guinea pig; Perry, 1954, the domestic
pig; Ingram, Mandl and Zuckerman, 1958.
the mouse and rat), and in old animals
(Perry; Ingram, Mandl and Zuckerman).
These statements of fact, iiowcx-cr. do not
reveal what is presumed to be more important. In young and old animals the nature of the irregularities, particularly those
of ovarian function, seem to differ. Evidence
collecte(l fi'om rhesus monkeys (Hartman,
 
 
 
1932) and chimpanzees (Young and Yerkes,
1943) suggests follicular growth without
ovulation and luteinization, or in the guinea
pig a sluggishness of follicular growth which
is followed by ovulation and the formation of functional corpora lutea (Ford and
Young, 1953) . In old animals there may also
be abnormalities of follicular growth, but
as the numerous reports are read, the impression is given that abnormalities of
luteinization are more prominent (Deanesly,
1938b; Wolfe, 1943; Wolfe and Wright,
1943; Loci), 1948; Thung, Boot and Miihlbock, 1956; Dickie, Atkinson and Fekete,
1957; Green, 1957). Additional investigation
will be necessary before we can be sure
that the pituitary-gonadal imbalance in
young animals differs from that in old animals. On the whole, the possibility seems to
have received little attention, but its importance justifies more careful study.
 
VII. Other Endocrine Glands and
the Ovaries
 
A. THYROID
 
The relationship of the thyroid to the
functioning of the ovaries was one of the
first subjects of modern endocrinologic investigation. Notwithstanding, disappointment must be expressed that after more
than 50 years of effort, little more than
cautious generalization is possible. This
admission is not a confession of defeat; to
be sure, there is an unfortunate number of
uncertainties, but we have come to know
what is necessary in the way of experimental design and techniques to enable us
to proceed with the confidence that a gratifying clarification can be achieved. The
greatest obstacle could be, not the lack of
means, but rather the failure to use the
means which are alnmdantly at liand for
more coordinated eft'orts than many which
lia\e cliaracterized this field in the past.
 
The general l)elief that the thyroid is invoh-ed in reproductive function is grounded
in two categories of observations. The first
includes those demonstrating that ovarian
lioi'inones exert an action on the thyroid.
'I'lieic lia\-e been many I't'ports that in the
human female the thyi'oid enlarges at puberty, at menstruation, and during pregnancy (Gamier, 1921; Marine, 1935; Neu
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
479
 
 
 
mann, 1937; and others). Modern
counterparts are the reports of the increase during pregnancy in the concentration of serum precipitable iodine
(Heinemann, Johnson and Man, 1948;
Dowling, Freinkel and Ingbar, 1956a;
Tanaka and Starr, 1959), in serum thyroxine (Danowski, Gow, Mateer, Everhart,
Johnson and Greenman, 1950), and in the
accumulation of radioiodine (Pochin, 1952).
Some conflicting reports should be noted.
There was said to be no consistent alteration in the concentration of serum precipitable iodine in oophorectomized women
(Stoddard, Engstrom, Hovis, Servis and
Watts, 1957), and Pochin (1952) found no
detectable variation in P^^ uptake during
the menstrual cycle in 5 women he studied.
Comparable observations have been made
on laboratory mammals (Greer, 1952; Soliman and Reineke, 1954; Soliman and Badawi, 1956; Feldman, 1956a) and the baboon,
Papio ursinus (Van Zyl, 1957), except that
Brown-Grant (1956) could not agree from
his findings in the rat and rabbit that the
level of gonadal function exerts any striking
influence on thyroid activity in the normal
experimental animal.
 
In man (Engstrom, Markardt and Liebman, 1952; Engstrom and Alarkardt, 1954;
Bowling, Freinkel and Ingbar, 1956b) and
in laboratory mammals (chiefly the rat)
(Money, Kraintz, Eager, Kirschner and
Rawson, 1951; Feldman, 1956a; Feldman
and Danowski, 1956) the enhancement of
thyroid activity is attributed to the level
of circulating estrogen, whether it be endogenous or exogenous in origin. On the other
hand, many who have worked with laboratory mammals have not found evidence
of augmented thyroid activity, and not infreciuently decreases were reported (see
Paschkis, Cantarow and Peacock, 1948;
and the numerous articles cited by Farbman, 1944; and Feldman, 1956a). The conflicting results may perhaps be accounted
for by the circumstance that the response of
the thyroid seems to be related to the duration of the estrogen treatment and to the
estrogen that was used. Decreases in thyroid activity have been reported when the
estrogen treatment was prolonged (Feldman, 1956a), and Money and his associates
showed clearly that estrone and some other
 
 
 
components increased the collection of P-^^
by the thyroid of rats whereas estradiol,
estriol, and diethylstilbestrol decreased the
collection. ]\Iany attempts have been made
to ascertain the nature of the mechanism
whereby the effective estrogenic substances
exert their action on the thyroid (Noach,
1955a, b; Feldman, 1956b; Dowling, Freinkel and Ingbar, 1956a, b; Bogdanove and
Horn, 1958). but they are so varied and
speculative that they will not be reviewed
here.
 
The second category of observations related to the thyroid and ovarian functioning
includes those in which there is evidence of
action of thyroid hormone on the ovary.
Reviews of this work are contained in the
articles by Peterson, Webster, Rayner and
Young (1952), Hoar, Goy and Young
(1957), and Parrott, Johnston and Durbin
(1960) and most of their citations of work
done on the relationship of the thyroid
to the ovary will not be repeated here.
As they point out, many investigators
have reported that thyroidectomy is followed by ovarian degeneration, arrested
folliculogenesis, and failure of ovulation.
Irregularity of the reproductive cycles
was common and much of this in the
guinea pig could be attributed to retarded
and sporadic follicular development (Hoar,
Goy and Young, loc cit.) . The latter investigators gave especial attention to the
condition of the ovaries in their hypothyroid
guinea pigs. In 10 pairs from thyroidectomized animals (oxygen consumption and
heart rate were depressed) follicular development was good in the sense that the
follicles appeared healthy, but a generation
of corpora lutea was missing in four. This
absence of corpora lutea, which is not seen
in normal adult guinea pigs, was believed
to be a consequence of the involution of the
older generation during the longer than normal interval between ovulations. It is considered significant in terms of the functional
capacity of such ovaries, that although the
percentage of sterile matings was higher
than in the controls, that, in the course of
the two studies at Kansas, 29 of 38 matings
were fertile. This experience may perhaps
account for the many reports (cited in tlu
papers from the Kansas laboratory) that
thvroidectomv or treatment with antithv
 
 
480
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
roid drugs have no, or at the most rehitively little, effect on the ovary. To these,
several additional reports should be mentioned. In thyroid-deficient female mice,
fertility and litter frequency were affected
only to the extent that the estrous cycles
were prolonged (Bruce and Sloviter, 1957).
In the rabbit, thyroidectomy did not interI'upt or alter the periodicity of follicular
development, but it did eliminate the final
stages (Desaive, 1948). Parrott, Johnston
and Durl)in (1960) express the opinion that
the long i)hysiologic life of thyroid hormone
may account for many of the contradictions
in the reports of the relationship between
thyroid deficiency and reproduction.
 
Except as it is speculative, an unexplained action of thyroidectomy or the administration of goitrogenic drugs is the
augmentation of the ovarian response to
gonadotrophins and to anterior pituitary
im])lants (citations in Peterson, Webster,
Rayner and Young, 1952; and see in addition Janes, 1954; Janes and Bradbury,
1952; Kar and Sur, 1953). Thyroid substances, on the other hand, were inhibitory.
Of alternative hyjiotheses, Janes favored
the suggestion that during the period of
propylthiouracil treatment, provided it was
short rather than long, there was an accumulation of gonadotrophin in the blood
and the ovarian response varied for some
unknown reason according to the concentration of this latter substance in the body
fluids. To Kar and Sur (1953) direct involvement of the hypophysis could be eliminated; instead a direct role of the thyroid
seemed more plausible. They postulated
that the absence of thyroid hormone reduced the utilization of gonadotrophic hormones by the ovary.
 
The reported effects of the hyi)erthyroid
state or of administered thyroid hormone
on the ovary are equally conflicting. The
ovaries are described as being atrophic or
exhibiting incomplete folliculogenesis, or as
being essentially normal or even hypertrophied (citations in Peterson, Webster,
Rayner and Young, loc. cit., Hoar, Gov
and Young, loc. n't.). Irregular cycles are
said to have occuitcmI in the rat and mouse.
but no irregularity was detected in guinea
pigs given thyroxine.
 
A tentative explanation can be given for
 
 
 
the many divergent reports of the relationship between the thyroid and the ovary,
divergencies which are found in the clinical
literature as well as in laboratory studies.
In doing so, we will recall that there is
abundant evidence that the ovary is a locus
of action of thyroid hormone. The action
may not be directly trophic, as is that of
the pituitary, but it is assumed to be su])l)ortive, jiossil)ly directly so. or jiossiljly
indirectly through regulation of the general
metabolic level. Whatever its nature, there
must be great interspecies and even intraspecies variation in the need of the ovary
for such action. In addition, within a species
there appears to be a wide range of tolerance, for Peterson, Webster, Rayner and
Young (1952) found in their study, in
which the thyroid state was estimated from
measurements of oxygen consumption and
heart rate, that reproduction occurred in females in which oxygen consumption ranged
from an average of 50.0 to 93.5 cc. per 100
gr. i)er hr. (52.9 in the controls), and heait
rate from 238 to 316 beats per minute (272
in the controls). In females that failed to
rejiroduce, the lowest values were lower
than in the animals which did reproduce;
nevertheless, there was much overlai)i)ing,
for in this group oxygen consumption ranged
from an average of 46.7 to 94.1 cc. per 100 gr.
l)er hr., and heart rate from 202 to 330 beats
j)er minute. Within sucli a framework, there
are bound to be more divergent results
than when normal functioning depends on
nioi'e narrowly circumscribed conditions,
and the failure to replicate a result does
not have the same significance. As a part
of the investigation of sucli a problem, more
and better correlated infoi'niation is re(|uiicd, and this could be the most pressing
ne('(l in the field of oxarian (and icproducti\-cl functioning and the thAM'oid.
 
 
 
B. ADRENAL CORTEX
 
Tlu^ adrenal cortex elaborates its steroid
)nn()iu's in a biosyiU lictic scciuencc \H'ry
 
 
 
siiiiilai' to that in the o\aiy. In fact, i)rogcstci'onc is an intermediate substance in
the synthesis of glucocorticoids. Estrogen
has been found in extracts of adrenal cortical tissue, but whether it represents a degradation pi'oduct within the adrenal or an
artifact resulting from the chemical i)i'o
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
481
 
 
 
cedurcs is not clear. Occasionally adrenal
tumors produce physiologically significant
amounts of estrogen, but normally the adrenal production of estrogen, if any, is not
of physiologic significance. The atrophy of
the female genital tract after bilateral ovariectomy suggests strongly that this is so.
 
The major hormone of the adrenal cortex,
hydrocortisone or corticosterone, depending
on the species, has a profound effect on protein and carbohydrate metabolism. An overproduction, as manifested by Cushing's disease, results in a wasting of body protein
and other metabolic disturbances which by
nonspecific influences tend to reduce gonadal
function. Similarly a loss of adrenal function (Addison's disease) leads to anemia,
electrolyte imbalance, and hypoglycemia.
There is usually a decrease in ovarian function but some Addisonian patients have
conceived and carried their pregnancies
with only sodium and fluid supplements.
 
There is a hereditarv metabolic defect
 
 
 
of the human adrenal which renders it defective in i)roducing hydrocortisone. This
is the adrenogenital syndrome. In these
jiatients the adrenals produce excessive
amounts of intermediate products which are
excreted in the urine. Some of these compounds are androgenic 17-ketosteroids and
may cause virilization (Bradbury, 1958).
These androgens tend to inhibit the gonadotrophic activity of the pituitary and leave
the ovaries unstimulated and infantile (Fig.
7.13). Replacement therapy with corticoids
reduces the adrenocorticotrophic hormone
( ACTH) activity of the pituitary and then
the adrenal production of androgen ceases.
This then permits the pituitary to stimulate
normal cyclic activity in the ovaries (Fig.
7.14). The adrenogenital syndrome thus
has a profound effect on ovarian function
which is specific through its production of
androgen. More complete descriptions of the
condition and of the rationale of treatment have been prepared by Wilkins ( 1949) ,
 
 
 
 
CHOLESTEROL
 
 
 
PREGNENOLONE
 
 
 
PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
HYDROXYPROGESTERONE
 
 
 
Fig. 7.13. Scliematic representation of the interaction of the adrenal and the ovary in the
adrenogenital syndrome. The process of hormone biosynthesis is defective in the adrenal
(BLOCK) and the degraded by-products (17-ketosteroids) being androgenic suppress the
formation of gonadotrophins (GTH). (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Bradbury.)
 
 
 
482
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
CHOLESTEROL
 
 
 
CORTISOL
 
 
 
CHOLESTEROL
 
GONAD
 
 
 
\
 
 
 
ANDROGEN
ESTROGEN
 
 
 
PREGNENOLONE
 
 
 
;
 
 
 
PREGNENOLONE
 
 
 
ADHeNAL
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
\
 
 
 
17-HYDROXYPROGESTERONE
 
 
 
PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
17-HYDROXYPR06ESTER0NE
 
 
 
Fit. 7 14. Tieatnieiit witli (oiti>one (or other glucocorticoid) reduces ACTH production
and adrenal hormone .synthesis subside-^. This permits the normal pituitaiy-gonadal interactions to be established. (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Bradbury.)
 
 
 
A\'ilkins, Crigler, Silverman, Gardner and
Migeon (1952), and Bradbury (1958).
Milder categories of what is believed to be
adrenal cortical hyperplasia have also been
described and are responsive to treatment
with cortisone. They are characterized by
amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea, hirsutism,
slightly elevated 17-ketosteroid excretion
values, and difficulty in becoming pregnant
(Jones, Howard and Langford, 1953; Jefferies, AYeir, Weir and Prouty, 1958; Jefferies, I960). Indications arc that these
abnormalities, like those typical of the
adrenogenital syndrome, affect the ovary,
not directly, but rather by the creation of
a pituitary gonadotrophic-ovarian imbalance.
 
Some evidence exists for more direct relationships between the adrenal cortex and
the ovary. These may involve actions of
ovai-iaii liormones on the adrenal, and ac
 
 
tions of adrenal cortical hormones on the
ovary. In general, however, the relationships are tenuous or at least not sharply
defined. It is evident from the review by
Parkes (1945) that sexual dimorphism in
adrenal cortical structure has been demonstrated in a number of species, notably the
mouse and rat and possibly the guinea pig,
but it has not been detected in a number
of other species. The effects of gonadcctomy
and the injection of hormones, particularly
estrogens, into gonadectomized animals are
less clear, but they are suggestive of an action on the adrenal, however ill defined and
variable it seems to be. A seasonal hypertrophy of the adrenal has been reported
as occurring in the mole, Talpa europaea,
(Kolmer, 1918) and the ground squirrel,
Citellus tridecemlineatus (Mitchill), (Foster, 1934), as has enlargement at the time
of estrus in the rat (Andersen and Kennedy,
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
483
 
 
 
1932; Bourne and Ziickennan, 1941bj. More
recently, a significantly higher excretion of
17-hydroxy corticosteroids has been found
during the second and third weeks, and
therefore during the luteal phase, of the
menstrual cycle (Maengwyn-Davies and
Weiner, 1955).
 
Whether a causal relationship exists between these indications of a fluctuating activity within the adrenal cortex, and seasonal and cyclic changes within the ovaries
remains to be determined. Little information exists. Bourne and Zuckerman {loc.
cit.) described the changes in the adrenals
of ovariectomized rats injected with estrone
and concluded that the changes are inde|)endent of the gonads. Foster's observation
that the active appearance of the adrenal
can be seen during pregnancy as well as
during estrus suggests, but does not prove,
that there is a hormonal regulation in the
ground squirrel which is dependent on reproductive processes.
 
Data with respect to possible direct effects
of adrenal cortical secretions on the ovary
ai'e ambiguous. Cortisone acetate administered to rabbits 5 to 33 days in daily doses
of 5 to 20 mg. did not inhibit the ovulation
which occurs after mating or after the injection of copper acetate (De Costa and
Abelman, 1953). The ability of the ovary
of the rat to respond after adrenalectomy
was tested by the administration of gonadotrophic extracts (Brolin and Lindl)ack,
1951). They found that the ovaries could be
stimulated to increase the weight of the
uterus without the cooperation of the adrenals and considered that this result does not
support the view that there is a direct relationship between adrenal corticoids and
the biosynthesis of ovarian (also testicular)
hormones. In other experiments (Payne,
1951; Smith. 1955), adrenalectomy abolished (Payne) or interfered significantly
(Smith) with the ovarian hyperemia response to injections of HCG and pituitary
extract (Antuitrin T) , the response utilized
by Farris (1946) as a test for early pregnancy. Cortisone and hydrocortisone were
partially effective in restoring the response
in adrenalectomized animals. According to
Payne, isocortisone acetate and compound
A acetate were also effective, but in larger
doses. No report of the use of corticosterone
 
 
 
(comi)ound B) is gi\'en; replacement therapy with this hormone would have been
more physiologic because it is the natural
corticoid of rats. It was concluded that the
hyperemia response is more nearly normal
in animals with normal adrenal function;
Payne believes that the response is mediated
through this gland. Despite what seem to
be clear-cut results which have been confirmed, it is felt that additional closely controlled exi^eriments must be done in order
to show whether these adrenal hormones
affect the ovary directly or whether most
of the effects are nonspecific metabolic alterations.
 
VIII. Concluding Remarks
 
The avenue followed by investigators interested in the functioning of the mammalian ovary has long carried a two-way
traffic. In addition, there has been movement into the out of many side streets. No
understanding of the pattern of the traffic
in such a situation is possible and no satisfactory regulation can be achieved unless
something is known about the nature, origin,
and destination of the vehicles composing
the traffic. Equally important, this information cannot l)e obtained by standing on one
spot. This analogy contains much that is
relevant for what has been attempted in
this book. The problem of the ovary has
been approached from the vantage point
of forces and substances originating in the
pituitary and the environment which act
centripetally on it (Creep, Everett), and
from the vantage j^oint of many of the
tissues and organs on which the hormones
we associate with it exert their action (the
Hisaws, Cowie and Folley, Zarrow, Young
in his chapter on mating behavior). In this
chapter and that prepared l)y Dr. Villce
positions have been taken near the ovary
and attemj^ts made to bring together much
of the information gathered by investigators
who were in a sense looking right at it.
 
Whether our perspective is developed
from a familiarity with all the material
which has been brought together or whether
it is restricted by the narrower treatment
given here, it is obvious that the unsolved
problems outnumber by far any that have
been solved, if indeed there are such. Wc
have learned much about the functioning
 
 
 
484
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
of the o\'ary, but there is little we can explain. As we indicated earlier, a part of
this failure can be ascribed to the lack of
gonadotrophic preparations which either
singly or in combination will evoke changes
identical with those in untreated normal
animals, but this chapter alone contains an
enumeration of many other problems solution of which does not depend on this particular advance. The disappointment we express may be a reflection of what seems to
be the modus operandi in science. The extent of our application to unsolved problems is very unequal, but more often than
not it can be traced to an investigator's success in achieving a "breakthrough"*' as
Edgar Allen, Doisy, Smith and Englc, Willard Allen and Corner, Hisaw and other
colleagues did in the twenties. At such a
time, enthusiasm is intense and there follows
a period of gratifying accomplishment, but
obstacles are encountered and often interest
lags, until another breakthrougli occurs. In
the meantime, effort may have been diverted
by discoveries elsewhere and the area of
investigation which attracted so many is
neglected and suffers. Ovarian physiology
should not remain in this state for long.
There is no tissue of the body in which
the changes are as conspicuous and as dramatic as those in the ovary and there is no
tissue which presents more variable aspects.
Many of the stages in the cycle of ovarian
structure and functioning are related to
changes elsewhere in the body — changes in
growth, in motility, in secretion, and in beliavior. All these changes, including those
within the ovaries, offer excellent end points
for continued quantitative and qualitative
studies.
 
IX. References
 
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them
 
 
 
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MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
485
 
 
 
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Bruce, H. M., and Sloviter, H. A. 1957. Effect
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Buchholz, R., Dibbelt, L., and Schild, W. 1954.
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Bulbrook, R. D., and Greenwood, F. C. 1957.
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48()
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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BuLLOtiGH, W. S. 1942c. The method of growth
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MAMMALIAN OVARY
 
 
 
487
 
 
 
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Desclun, L. 1947. Concerning the mechanism of
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Dickie, M. M., Atkinson, W. B., and Fekete, E.
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DoiSY, E. A. 1939. Biochemistry of the estrogenic
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DoRNFELD, E. J., AND Berri.an, J. H. 1951. Stimulation of mito.ses in the germinal epithelium of
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DowLiNG, J. T., Freinkel, N., and Ingb.^r, S. H.
1956a. Thyroxine-binding by sera of pregnant
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DowLiNG, J. T., Freinkel, N., and Ingb.\r, S. H.
1956b. Effect of diethylstilbestrol on the
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Doyle, J. B. 1951. Exploratory culdotomy for
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influencing the reproductive cycle in the chimpanzee; the period of adolescent sterility and
related problems. Endocrinology, 33, 121-154.
 
ZacharL'\e, F. 1957. Studies on the mechani.sm
of ovulation. Autoradiographic investigations
on the uptake of radioactive sulphate C°S)
into the ovarian follicular mucopolysaccharides. Acta endocrinol., 26, 215-223.
 
Zacharl\e, F. 1958. Studies on the mechanism
of ovulation. Permeability of the blood-li(|uor
barrier. Acta endocrinol., 27, 339-342.
 
Zachariae, F.. and Jensen, C. E. 1958. Studies
on the mechanism of ovulation. Histochemical
and physicochemical investigations on genuine
follicular fluids. Acta endocrinol., 27, 343-355.
 
 
 
Zander, J. 1954. Progesterone in human Ijlood
and tissues. Nature, London, 174, 406-407.
 
Zander, J., Forbes, T. R., vox Munstermann, A.
M., AND Neher, R. 1958. Two naturally occurring metabolites of progesterone — isolation,
identification, biologic activity, and concentration in human tissues. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 18,
337-353.
 
Zander, J., and Simmer, H. 1954. Die chemische
Bestimmimg von Progesteron in organislien
Substraten. Klin. Wchnschr., 32, 529-540.
 
Zarrow, M. X., AND Neher, G. M. 1953. Studies
on the validity of the Hooker-Forbes test for
the determination of progesterone in untreated
blood. J. Clin. Endocrinol., 8, 203-209.
 
Zarrow, M. X., Neher, G. M.. Lazo-Wasem, E. A.,
AND Salhanick, H. A. 1957. Biological activity of certain progesterone-like compounds
as determined by the Hooker-Forbes bioassav.
J. Chn. Endocrinol., 17, 658-666.
 
Zarrow, M. X., Caldwell, A. L., H.\fez, E. S. E.,
AND PiNCus, G. 1958. Superovulation in the
immature rat as a possible assav for LH and
HCG. Endocrinology, 63, 748-758.
 
Zondek, B. 1940. On the mechanism of action of
gonadotrophin from pregnancy urine. J. Endocrinol., 2, 12-20.
 
Zondek, B. 1954. Some problems related to ovarian function and to pregnancy. Recent Progr.
Hormone Res., 10, 395-423.
 
Zondek, B., and Ascheim, S. 1927. Hypophysen^•OI•del•lappen und Ovarium. Beziehungen der
cndokrinen Driisen zur Ovarialfunktion. Arch.
Gynak., 130, 1-45.
 
Zondek, B., and Sklow, J. 1942. Further investigations on the mechanisms of oestrone production in the ovary. J. Endocrinol., 3, 1-4.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1940-41. Periodic uterine bleeding in spayed rhesus monkeys injected thiily
with a constant threshold dose of oestron(>. J.
Endocrinol., 2, 263-267.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1951. The number of oocytes in
the mature ovary. Recent Progr. Hormone
Res.. 6, 63-109.
 
 
 
8
 
 
 
THE MAMMALIAN FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE
 
CYCLE AND ITS CONTROLLING
 
MECHANISMS
 
John W. Everett, Ph.D.
 
PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY, DUKE UNIVERSITY
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
 
 
 
I. Introduction 497
 
II. Cycles Spontaneously Interrcpted. 498
 
III. PiTUITARY-OVARIAN DORMANCY 499
 
A. The Ovary in Anestrum 500
 
B. The Hypophysis 500
 
C. Relationship of the Anestrum to the
 
Seasons 501
 
IV. Attainment of Maturity. Emergence OF Full Ovarian Function. . 502
V. Follicular Cycles. Growth and
 
Atresia 504
 
A. Correlation of Ovarian Secretion
 
with the Follicular Cycle 507
 
B. Cyclic Manifestations after Ovari
ectomy or Hypophysectomy 509
 
C. Cyclic Manifestations in the Ab
sence of Ovarian Follicles 509
 
D. Hypothalamus and Gonadotrophin
 
Secretion. General Considerations 510
 
VI. Follicle Maturation and Ovulation 513
 
A. Time of Ovulation 513
 
B. Ovarian Steroids and Ovulation. . . 514
 
1. Estrogens 514
 
2. Gestagens 517
 
C. Role of the Nervous System in Ovu
lation " 520
 
1. The hypophyseal portal veins and
 
the chemotransmitter hypothesis ' 523
 
2. Central depressants and ovula
tion 526
 
3. The central nervous system as a
 
timing mechanism for ovulation 520
 
D. Persistent Follicle 529
 
VII. The Luteal Phase 530
 
1. Luteotrophic substances 530
 
2. "Nonfunctional" corpora lutea. . 531
A. Pseudopregnancy 532
 
1. Duration of pseudopregnancy. .. . 533
 
2. Neural factors in pseudopreg
nancy 534
 
 
 
B. Luteolytic Mechanisms 537
 
C. Effect of the Uterus on Luteal Func
tion 538
 
VIII. Concluding Comments 540
 
IX. References 541
 
I. Introduction
 
The chain of events that constitutes the
female reproductive process is characteristically repeated from time to time with
considerable regularity during the adult life
of an individual, and is therefore a cycle.
In the broad sense, this sequence begins
with ovogenesis and terminates when the
progeny require no further shelter and
nurture. In mammals this has become a
highly complex process, involving profound
maternal adjustments synchronized with
successive stages in development of the
ovum, fetus, and offspring. The complete
mammalian cycle comprises a sequence of
stages which may be identified as follows:
(II follicle growth, including growth of the
ovocyte; (2) ovulation, a progressive process including preovulatory maturation of
follicles and ova, and the structural change
of ruptured follicles to corpora lutea; (3)
progravidity; (4) gravidity; (5) parturition; and (6) postpartum nurture, including
lactation, protection, and training. Although
it is obvious that this full sequence is often
realized, it may nevertheless be retarded or
frankly interrupted at almost any point.
 
In advanced human societies economic
and social factors have diminished the number of complete cycles to such degree that
they are rarities in the lifetime of an in
 
 
497
 
 
 
498
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
dividual and infertile ("menstmal") cycles
are the rule. Inasmuch as corresponding
factors operate among domesticated animals, the expression "female reproductive
cycle" commonly refers to those truly
abortive cycles that succeed one another in
the absence of insemination. The term is
used in that restricted sense in this chapter.
 
With even that restriction, the female cycle is actually a multiplicity of interlocking
cycles, in which the rhythmic interplay between hypophysis and ovary is fundamental. Attention must therefore be focused
on the physiology of the ovary and on the
hormonal and neural mechanisms that integrate hypophysis and ovary as a functional system. Cyclic alterations in sex accessories and other nongonadal tissues are
considered mainly as indicators. The
"menstrual cycle," being strictly a uterine
cycle, comes in this category, together with
changes in behavior.
 
No attempt is made to present an exhaustive description of the varied adaptive
modifications of the ovarian cycle among
the several mammalian orders. The reader
may consult works of the late F. H. A.
Marshall whose full bibliography is given
by Parkes (1949 1. Asdell's Patterns of
Mammalian Reproduction (1946» is anotlu'i' A-alual)lo source.
 
II. Cycles Spontaneously Interrupted
 
Cycles in the natural state are only imperfectly known, from random and often erratic sampling. One may safely assume that,
as a rule, under optimal conditions they
are complete, fertile cycles. There are, then,
relatively few subhuman species in wdiich
the characteristics of incomplete cycles have
been studied. These species are necessarily
the very ones that have been amenable to
some form of human restraint.
 
Segregation of the sexes or any other
interference with insemination should be regarded as a first experimental approach
to understanding the complete cycle. Such
factors unriuestionably operate in nature on
occasion. Controlled changes of environmental conditions afford another approach
in which natural factors are simulated.
 
The statement was made earlier that the
complete cycle may conceivably be interrupted at almost any point. It has been
 
 
 
learned that in different species segregated
females interrupt their cycles at different
stages and that usually the point of interruption is species-characteristic. These facts
have been of great service to the study of
reproduction, first, by arousing the curiosity of the investigator and, second, by
supplying a variety of ready made conditions individually appropriate for particular
experimental studies.
 
Examples of mammalian cycles are
schematically diagrammed in Figure 8.1.
It is customary to state that the usual, or
standard, infertile cycle is like that in primates or the guinea pig. The follicular
phase culminates in spontaneous ovulation,
after which corpora lutea are organized and
become spontaneously functional for a
period of time that is usually considerably
shorter than in pregnancy.
 
In a few animals (rat, mouse, hamster)
the cycle terminates shortly after ovulation
before the corpora lutea become fully functional. Such corpora lutea are said to be
inactive, in the sense that they cannot produce a decidual response to uterine trauma
(Long and Evans, 1922). Sterile mating or
analogous stimulation induces a luteal phase
which corresponds to that of the "standard"
mammal. This phenomenon is not entirely
limited to the small rodents, having been
described in the European hedgehog
(Deanesly, 1934).
 
To this writer's knowledge there have not
been described any mammalian species in
which it is the rule that in isolated females
the process of ovulation begins (follicle maturation, prelutein changes in granulosa,
secretion of secondary liquor folliculi, and
so on) without proceeding to eventual rupture of the follicles. Many cases could l3e
cited, however, in which this has occurred
"abnormally." Characteristically, some degree of luteinization occurs in the wall of
such a follicle and a lutein cyst is formed.
 
On the other hand, there are numerous
species (reflex ovulators) in which the preovulatory maturation of follicles and ovulation nearly always fail in the absence of
the male. The known species in which this
is true are widely distributed among the
mammalian orders and are often closely
iclated to other species in which spontaneous ovulation is usual. The domestic rabbit
 
 
 
MAMIMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
499
 
 
 
GUINEA
PIG
 
 
 
PRIMATE
 
 
 
 
Fig. 8.1. Diagrams of cycles of representative, familiar mammals. , the follicular phase,
 
highly schematized and inaccurate in detail ; , atresia ; i , ovulation ; • , fully active
 
corpora lutea; O, corpora lutea regressing or otherwise not fully active. When sterile mating
or equivalent stimulation (SM) is introduced, the cycles of the rat, rabbit and cat become
directly comparable with those of the other species.
 
 
 
furnishes the classic exaini)le of reflex ovulation. Other reflex ovulators are the domestic cat (Greulich, 1934), the ferret (Hammond and Walton, 1934), mink (Hansson,
1947), marten (Pearson and Enders, 1944),
the 13-lined ground squirrel (Foster, 1934),
and the mole shrew (Pearson, 1944). To this
list have been added the muskrat (Miegel,
1952) and a field mouse, Microtus californicus (Greenwald, 1956). Even among
the marsupials, the female Didelphijs azarae
is said not to form corpora lutea in the absence of the male (Martinez-Esteve, 1937).
A few of these species display nearly constant estrus (rabbit, ferret), competent
follicles being present most of the time in
the isolated female during the breeding season.
 
Among even the spontaneous ovulators
the cycle may sometimes not progress beyond the follicular phase. Thus, at the
approach of puberty, waves of advanced
follicle development and secretion of estrogen may take place without, however, leading to ovulation or corpus luteum forma
 
 
tion. The first cycles of primates are often
anovulatory ones. In the adult macacjue, at
least in some colonies, such cycles are characteristic during the summer months (Hartman, 1932) . A somewhat comparable seasonal effect has been reported in girls soon
after the menarche (Engle and Shelesnyak,
1934). Menstrual cycles without ovulation
have frecjuently been recognized in adult
women in recent years, bearing no evident
relationship to seasonal factors (Lopez Colombo de Allende, 1956). Anovulatory cycles
were described in the mouse by Allen (1923)
and have been noted occasionally in other
species, but without clear measure of their
incidence.
 
III. Pituitary-Ovarian Doriiianey
 
Varying levels of pituitary-ovarian dormancy are expressed in different ways from
species to species or even from habitat to
habitat within a given species. A general
similarity exists between the anestrum of
seasonal breeders and the prepubertal state.
In fact, in animals that have a distinct sea
 
 
500
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
son, puberty occurs at the very time when
older females are emerging from anestrum.
Whereas anestrum is often correlated with
season of the year, there are exceptions,
notably among dogs, in which the correlation is ill defined (Engle, 1946).
 
In its shortest form ovarian quiescence
lasts for only a few days, probably often
without being recognized, between the end
of one cycle and the active follicular phase
of the next. In the chimpanzee it is thought
to be the chief factor in the irregularity of
length of the cycle (Young and Yerkes,
1943). Rossman and Bartelmez (1946) described a comparable occurrence in monkeys. At the other extreme, anestrum may
occupy the major part of the year in monestrous animals that have a very limited
breeding season.
 
A. THE OVARY IN ANESTRUM
 
Generally speaking, depression of ovarian
function is most extreme in greatly prolonged periods of quiescence. In the ferret,
Hammond and Marshall (1930) reported
that in the anestrous ovary follicles can
hardly be recognized with the naked eye,
because they remain small and deeply
placed. The largest follicles at the "end of
the season" averaged 460 /x in diameter
whereas a "long time after" the average
was only 240 jx, increasing again to 720 yu,
at the api^roach of a new season. By contrast, the largest follicles of animals in full
heat ranged between 1220 and 1440 /x. Follicle atresia abounds in the anestrous ovary
of the 13-lined ground squirrel (Johnson,
Foster and Coco, 1933). In sheep, however,
follicles of large size may be present at
any time during anestrum (Kammlade,
Welch, Nalbandov and Norton, 1952).
 
Some moderate degree of secretory activity of the ovary is indicated even at the
depth of i^rolonged seasonal anestrum (13lincd ground squirrel, Moore, Simmons,
Wells, Zalesky and Nelson, 1934; ferret,
Hill and Parkes, 1933; opossum, Risman,
1946). Although at this time uterus, vagina,
and vulva are small, ovariectomy or hypol^hysectomy causes a further reduction. On
the other hand, these structures are readily
stimulated by injection of estrogens.
 
It may be said that low-grade follicular
cycles proceed throughout the anestrous
 
 
 
interval, but whether there is any synchronization of one follicle with another is
unknown. Some insight into this problem
is furnished by study of (1) the transition
from anestrum to the breeding season, and
(2) the closely analogous phenomena of
adolescence. In the report by Hammond and
Marshall, it was shown that in ferrets during anestrum and proestrum there is a progressive increase in size of the vulva which
directly parallels the diameter of the largest
follicles. The absence of overt cyclic change
is not surprising in view of the fact that
estrus is continuous in this species. In
polyestrous animals, on the other hand, it
might be expected that during anestrum follicle growth and accompanying estrogen secretion are cyclic, at least at the approach
of puberty or of "the season." Important information on this question has been obtained from some of the primates, notably
the macaque (Allen, 1927; Hartman, 1932)
and the chimpanzee (Zuckerman and Fulton, 1934; Schultz and Snyder, 1935).
 
Slight transitory reddening of the skin of
the perineum ("sex skin") of the monkey
may occur at intervals for several months
preceding the onset of menses, accompanied
by moderate desquamation of vaginal epithelium. During the long intervals of amenorrhea that some individuals exhibit during
the summer, there is a tendency toward
cyclic vaginal desciuamation (Fig. 8.2). The
sex skin of the chimpanzee may begin to
swell more than a year before the first
menstruation. During the ensuing months
the swelling may be irregularly cyclic or
continuous. Thus, one may judge that lowgrade follicular cycles, accompanied by periodic increases in estrogen secretion, may
succeed one another during seasonal or
])repubertal anestrum, but that in certain
cases these cycles may overlap to such degree that rather continuous estrogen secretion takes place.
 
B. THE HYPOPHYSIS
 
The secretory activity of the anestrous
ovary is apparently adequate to prevent
"castration" changes in the adenohypophysis, for as shown by Moore, Simmons,
\^'ells, Zalesky and Nelson (1934) removal
of the ovary of anestrous ground squirrels
I'esults in hypertrophy of the hypophysis,
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
501
 
 
 
z
 
28 days
 
 
1
 
 
28 days
A
 
 
28 days
 
 
< "
 
3
s
UJ .
Q
 
 
III Menses
 
 
"^ v-^^/^
 
 
A>
 
 
^ Mensesllll
 
 
 
 
21 ' 15
JUNE JULY
 
 
' 15
AUGUST
 
 
15
SEPTEMBER
 
 
15
OCTOBER
 
 
 
Fig. 8.2. Vaginal cycles during seasonal amenorrhea in a monkey. (A portion of the record
of monkey ^38 from C. G. Hartman, Contr. EmbryoL, Carnegie Inst. Washington, 13,
Fig. 26, p. 121, 1932.)
 
 
 
increased gonadotrophin content thereof,
and increased numbers of basophile cells.
Warwick (1946) reported a highly significant increase of pituitary potency in
spayed anestrous ewes. This is closely analogous to the results of ovariectomy in immature animals (Hohlweg, 1934). As measured by ovarian activity, gonadotrophin
secretion (release) may be greatly diminished during profound anestrum. The actual
hypophyseal content of gonadotrophin
seems to be markedly reduced during anestrum in some species (Moore, Simmons,
Wells, Zalesky and Nelson, 1934), but
possibly not in others. Cole and Miller
(1935) and Warwick (1946) reported that
there is no seasonal variation in sheep. A
study by Kammlade, Welch, Nalbandov
and Norton (1952) indicates that the average content is somewhat higher during anestrum than it is in cycling ewes. The major
factor in this difference, however, seems
to be that during the cycle the potency of
the pituitary drops during estrus and the
early luteal phase.
 
Somewhat similarly the potency of the
immature rat hypophysis has been stated
to be as high as that of the sexually active
adult (Clark, 1935). The fact that the
ovaries of the immature female or of the
anestrous adult can be stimulated by injection of gonadotrophin indicates that gonadotrophin content of, the hypophysis in
these cases is not a fair measure of liberation of the hormone into the blood stream.
Therefore, it seems justifiable to assume, as
Robinson (1951) did in the interpretation
of anestrum in the ewe, that, in spite of the
possible absence of seasonal assay variation.
 
 
 
there is, nevertheless, a depression of hypophyseal gonadotrophin release during anestrum. We may further assume that it is not
completely depressed, for the ovary remains
slightly active. Ovary and hypophysis are
evidently in a state of equilibrium at a
relatively low level of function. It seems
likely that this state of affairs is brought
about by the central nervous system, inasmuch as the seasonal depression in some
species is closely dependent on the daily
ratio of light to darkness.
 
C. RELATIONSHIP OF THE ANESTRUM TO
THE SEASONS
 
This relationship is so varied among different species that many interesting questions are raised. In many cases the midpoint
of anestrum coincides approximately with
the shortest days of the year (Fig. 8.3).
There are other examples, however, largely
among the Artiodactyla, in which it coincides with the longest days. Sheep are notable examples (Robinson, 1951). Others,
like the European common hare, experience
a short anestrum during the time of rapidly
decreasing daylight (Asdell, 1946). The
Russian yak, on the other hand, is said
to experience anestrum from December to
May (i.e., while day length is increasing).
A general explanation of these varied adaptive manifestations is elusive. There is reason to believe that although illumination,
or the light/darkness ratio, (Kirkpatrick
and Leopold, 1952; Hammond, Jr., 1953)
has a rather direct and primary effect in
some cases, its role is more or less indirect
in others where such things as temperature,
humidity, availability of food and water
assume major importance (Marshall, 1942).
 
 
 
502
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOriY OF GONADS
 
 
 
NDJFMAMJJASON
 
 
 
INSECTIVORA
 
MOLE SHREW
 
COMMON SHREW
CARNIVORA
 
BROWN BEAR (EUR.)
 
FERRET
 
COYOTE
 
WILD CAT (EUR.)
 
BAD3ER (AMER.)
LAGOMORPHA
 
HARE (ENG.)
 
COTTONTAIL (N . ENG.)
RODENTIA
 
13-L. GROUND SQUIRREL
 
WOODCHUCK
 
GRAY SQUIRREL
 
DORMOUSE
 
FIELD MOUSE (EUR. )
 
MUSKRAT (MARYLAND)
(IOWA)
 
PORCUPINE
ARTIODACTYLA
 
LLAMA
 
ROE DEER
 
MULE DEER
 
GIRAFFE
 
SHEEP (HAMP )
 
BIGHORN
 
GOAT
 
YAK (RUSS. )
 
INDIAN ANTELOPE
PERISSODACT YLA
 
HORSE
 
 
 
 
Fig. 8.3. Some representative seasonal breeders. Solid bars indicate breeding seasons
(according to Asdell, 1946); blank intervals, periods of anestrum. Months of the year represented by letters at top of chart ; winter and summer solstaces marked by wavy lines. Southern hemisphere seasons converted to corresponding ones of the northern hemisphere. End
of season for the Bighorn is vmcertain.
 
 
 
The complexity of the i)rol)lem is well
illustrated by the 13-lined ground squirrel
whose breeding season, like that of a multitude of small rodents, comes in the spring.
Moore, Simmons, Wells, Zalesky and Nelson (1934) reported that increasing illumination, elevated temperature, and feeding
all failed to bring the females into estrus
out of season. If, however, hibernation was
first induced by low temperature and darkness, premature estrus would follow. The
conclusion was reached that hibernation itself is a necessary prerequisite. Ovarian development actually begins, under natural
conditions, in early January in the midst
of hibernation. Females exix'i-imentally
maintained "continually for several months
in cold and darkness, with more or less
normal hibernation, [exhibit] sexual development at any time of the year, and
periods of estrum have thus been . . . maintained for many months. ..." The impres
 
 
sion is given tliat the conditions favoring
hibernation also favor sexual development
to such extent that breeding potentiality
continues for a few months after emergence,
in spite of elevated temperatures and long
periods of illumination. In another rodent,
Peromyscus leucopus, however, the length
of daily illumination is of paramount importance. Temperature changes (4 to 25°C. )
have no effect on rejiroduction when lighting
is adequate (Whitaker, 1940). Whereas a
similar primaiy dependence on lighting
can be shown in a number of other species
from several orders, it is unwise to generalize that this is usually true.
 
IV. Attainment of Maturity. Emergence
of Full Ovarian Function
 
Ahhough ('merg(>nce of the ovary from
the state of quiescence is gradual, there is
usually some outward sign that allows the
observer to say that puberty has ari'ived
or the breeding season has begun. In ])ri
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
503
 
 
 
mates the accepted sign is the first menstruation ; in rats it is the opening of the vagina ;
in many animals it is the swelling and reddening of the genitalia heralding the initial
l^roestrum. In other eases, e.g., sheep, the
only clear indication may be the behavior
of the female toward the male. From these
facts it is readily apparent that any one
sign is employed simply because it happens
to be accessible to easy observation. Yet
the increasing output of estrogen, whether
steady or cyclic, affects many parts of the
organism at the same time. Furthermore, in
any one individual the threshold for exl)ression of a given sign may be relatively
liigh with respect to that of some other
manifestation. Thus, in Hartman's monkeys (1932), some were noted in which desquamation of vaginal epithelium occurred
in wave-like manner for a long time before
menstruation. In others "menstrual" bleeding occurred with regularity while the uterus
remained very small and A'aginal desquamation was negligible.
 
Hartman summarized the step-wise manner of maturation of ovary and accessory
organs of the monkey during adolescence
or following amenorrheic episodes somewhat as follows. The color of the sex skin
may be the first to appear. A slight menstrual flow usually takes place before desquamation of vaginal epithelium becomes
measurable. "More rarely there may be
one or more low desquamation cycles before
a bleeding is recorded. Whole cycles marked
liy jieriodic bleeding and some vaginal desquamation may occur before there is any
noticeable increase in size of the ovaries
and uterus. These organs increase also in a
saltatory manner, hence the term 'staircase'
phenomenon for the process. Finally, the
endocrines effect the acme of the reproductive process — ovulation."
 
Individual variation in the degree of abruptness with which the first ovulation is
achieved is well illustrated in a study of
puljertal guinea pigs by Ford and Young
(1953). In most cases the first period of
vaginal opening was much longer than in
subsequent cycles. Whatever the duration,
ovulation was more closely related to the
end than to the beginning of the period, as
indicated by histologic study of ovaries.
 
Even ovulation and corpus luteum for
 
 
mation do not signify that full power of
reproduction has arrived. For example, the
first cycle of the adolescent rat may culminate in ovulation without sexual receptivity
(Blandau and Money, 1943). In the ewe,
an ovulation without overt signs of heat
may at times take place during the anestrum, especially just before and just after
the breeding season (McKenzie and Terrill,
1936). The phenomenon is occasional in
ewes during the season and has also been
described in cattle (Hammond, 1946). In
fact, the full manifestation of estrus in
sheep seems to require the presence of a
"waning" corpus luteum (Robinson, 1951).
In sheep the transition from seasonal or
prepubertal anestrum to the breeding season may involve relatively minor changes
in hypophyseal activity. Even in the immature rat both the hypophysis and the
ovary are capable of far greater secretory
function than they normally display. In the
equilibrium that prevails, the ovary appears to hold the upper hand by reason of
a low hypophyseal threshold at which estrogen suppresses gonadotrophin secretion in
the immature individual (Hohlweg and
Dohrn, 1932; Byrnes and Meyer, 1951b)
and a low ovarian threshold at which gonadotrophin stimulates estrogen secretion.
Byrnes and Meyer (1951a) reported that
suppression of hypophyseal gonadotrophin
content in immature rats can be accomplished with doses of estrogen much smaller
than those that affect uterine growth. It is
also known that the immature ovary can be
induced experimentally to secrete estrogen
by injection of amounts of gonadotrophin
that are too small to produce significant
increase of ovarian weight or follicle development (Levin and Tyndale, 1937; Moon
and Li, 1952). When a gonadectomized immature rat is united in parabiosis (Kallas,
1929, 1930 » with a normal or hypophysectomized female littermate, precocious puberty is induced in the latter animal because
insufficient estrogen passes to the first partner to inhibit gonadotrophin secretion (see
Finerty, 1952). The somewhat analogous
experiment of transplanting ovaries to the
spleen produces ovarian hypertrophy in
much the same way. Here again, it is
thought that the hypophysis becomes hyperactive because the amount of estrogen
 
 
 
504
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
reaching the ghmd is greatly diminished,
through inactivation bj^ the liver (Biskind,
1941).
 
Although it is true that estrogens have
a suppressing action on gonadotrophin secretion, it has become increasingly evident
that they can also stimulate hypophyseal
function in certain ways, as Engle pro{)osed in 1931. Thus short-term injection of
estrogen into intact immature rats and mice
will invoke precocious puberty not only by
stimulating the sex accessories, but also by
increasing gonadotrophin secretion and thus
causing ovarian growth and even ovulation.
Frank, Kingery and Gustavson (1925j reported that after such treatment regular
cycles continued after treatment was withdrawn. Lane (1935) found that when 22day-old female rats were injected daily
with estrogen there was an early increase in
number of ovarian follicles, including vesicular stages. After the first 10 days the nonvesicular follicles became depressed although vesicular follicles were retained.
This was interpreted to mean that for a
short time estrogen actually stimulates the
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) l)ut
eventually suppresses it, although luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion remains
elevated. Hohlweg (1934) had already demonstrated that when somewhat older prepubertal rats are given single, rather large
injections of estrogen, ovulation and corpus
luteum formation are induced within a few
days (p. 514). Obviously LH secretion is
greatly increased.
 
Various bits of evidence implicate the
nervous system in the processes leading to
puberty and to the onset of estrus in seasonal breeders. This will be discussed in the
following section with respect to the general
(juestion of the relationship of the hypothalamus to gonadotrophin secretion.
 
V. Follicular Cycles. Growth
and Atresia
 
Attention will be focused here on the
dynamic pattern of follicle development
throughout the cycle, the extent to which
this i)attern depends on hyi)o[)hyseal conti'ol, and the functional changes in the
o\aiy associated with estrus in preparation
foi' the more specialized events that lead to
ovuhition and corpus luteum formation.
 
 
 
Production of primordial follicles and
the early growth stages have been said to
be independent of the hypophysis (Smith,
1939; Hisaw, 1947). This view derives from
the fact that following hypophysectomy the
ovaries retain large numbers of healthy
proliferating follicles below the stage of
antrum formation. There are, however, several indications that these developmental
stages may be accelerated by gonadotrophic
stimulation. It was briefly reported by
Simpson and van Wagenen (1953) that administration of purified FSH to immature
monkeys caused not only a 10- to 20-fold
'increase of ovarian weight, but also stimulation of granulosa in follicles of all sizes.
Indirect evidence comes from the fact that
follicle atresia generally becomes maximal
late in estrus or metestrum, when depressed
FSH might be expected on theoretical
grounds. Harrison (1948) reported tliat in
ovaries of goats killed on the third or fourth
days of estrus healthy primary ovocytes are
rare. Some few, however, presumably remain. Myers, Young and Dempsey (1936)
stated that in the estrous guinea pig there
are few nonatretic follicles aside from those
destined for ovulation. However, small
numbers of normal ai)pearing nonvesicular
follicles were found.
 
There seems to be general agreement that,
very quickly after this catastrophic elimination of follicles, renewed growth promptly
ensues. Whether or not the wave of atresia
represents a depression of FSH secretion, no
one would deny that the new growth reflects
this type of gonadotrophic stimulation.
Characteristically the population of small
and medium follicles is restored early in the
luteal phase of the polyestrous cycle. This
is clearly indicated for the guinea pig ovary
(Myers, Young and Dempsey, 1936) when
the data are converted from average volumes to average diameters (Fig. 8.4). Beginning on the fourth day after estrus, when
the largest follicles are approximately 300 fx
in diameter and when theca interna and
antra have formed, rapid growth of granulosa, theca, and antra continues for several
days. This is confirmed by counts of mitotic
figures obtained by the colchicine technique
(Schmidt, 1942), indicating greatest mitotic
activity in theca and granulosa of follicles
between 300 fi and 600 fx in diameter. By the
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
505
 
 
 
 
4 8 12
 
DAYS AFTER BEGINNING OF ESTRUS
 
Fig. 8.4. A schematic repiesentation of the folhcuhir cycle in the guinea pig. The heavj^
sohd curve represents the diameters of the largest follicles, recalculated from the data of
Myers, Young and Dempsey (1936). The arrow point indicates ovulation. The other solid
curves and broken lines represent impressionistically the growth and atresia, respectivelj^
of other groups of follicles that are not ordinarily destined for ovulation.
 
 
 
11th or 12th day the largest follicles (ca.
800 /x) are "competent," i.e., capable of
being ovulated (Dempsey, Hertz and
Young, 1936; Dempsey, 1937). While the
largest follicles are developing to this stage,
multitudes of others begin to grow, being
carried on to various stages of development
before regression sets in.
 
This pattern of the follicular cycle seems
to be generally true among mammals that
have been carefully studied, when allowance
is made for the fact that from one species to
another the characteristic maxima of follicle
diameter are extremely variable (shrew, 350
fjL-, rat, 900 /*; cow, 19,000 /x; mare 70,000 /x;
Asdell, 1946). In ovulatory cycles of polyestrous animals the greater part of follicle
growth is accomplished while the luteal
phase of the preceding cycle is in progress.
In successive anovulatory cycles like those
of the cat the patterns of the follicular cycles are probably much the same (Evans
and Swezy, 1931 » . In the rabbit and ferret,
where more or less constant estrus char
 
 
acterizes the isolated females in season,
there is probably considerable telescoping
of successive waves of follicle growth such
that as one set of follicles begins to undergo
atresia another set is ready to take its place
(Hill and White, 1933). The difference between cat cycles and rabbit cycles seems to
be chiefly one of degree. The writer has seen
both types represented in persistent-estrous
rats, among litter mates of inbred strains
(Everett, 1939, and unpublished).
 
At the end of the luteal phase of the
cycle in polyestrous animals there are already present several competent follicles
among an extensive population of smaller
ones. For example, the guinea pig corpus
luteum usually shows signs of regression on
day 13 of the cycle. It has been proved that
ovulation can be induced as early as day
12 by injection of LH (Dempsey, 1937),
several days earlier than it would normalh^
occur (Fig. 8.5). In the human and monkey
it is possible that the "preferred" follicles
are recognizable by their larger size during
 
 
 
506
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
1000
 
 
 
750
 
 
 
500
 
 
 
Volume
(lO^cu.//)
 
250
 
 
 
Normal Cycle
 
 
 
Cycle After Removal
of Corpora Luteo
 
 
 
 
Progesterone
Treated or Pregnant
 
 
 
'Corpora Luteo
Removed and
Oestrin Injected
 
 
 
Fig. 8.5. The guinea pig follieular cycle and some of its experimental modifications. (After
E. W. Dempsey, Am. J. Physiol., 120, 126-132, 1937.)
 
 
 
or soon after menstruation (Allen, Pratt,
Newell and Bland, 1930; Hartman, 1932).
In many mammals competent follicles may
be present much earlier. Ablation of corpora
lutea soon after ovulation in sheep (McKenzie and Terrill, 1936) and cattle (Hammond, Jr., and Bhattacharya, 1944) is followed in 2 to 4 days by another ovulation,
much sooner than in the guinea pig (Fig.
8.5). Removal of the primate corpus luteum,
at the other extreme, produces no such immediate response, judging from the details
of three cases among Hartman's (1932) protocols (#40, #41, and #99). Whereas the
next ovulations took place earlier than expectation, the intervals between unilateral
ovariectomy and ovulation were 16, 14, and
22 days, respectively.
 
From detailed investigations in the rat,
only the earlier stages of follicle growth
may properly be regarded as pure FSH effects (Lane, 1935). Lane and Greep (1935)
found that addition of Lli to FSH causes a
marked increase in the proportion of vesicular follicles to follicles without antra. The
use of more highly purified materials
((irecp, van Dyke and Chow, 1942; Fraenkel-Conrat, Li and Simpson, 1943) has
amply confirmed the necessity for combination of the two gonadotrophins to yield maximal follicle growth and estrogen secretion
ill rats. Morphologic evidence indicates that
 
 
 
LH acts selectively on thecal tissue and,
therefore, on the interstitial tissue derived
therefrom. Inasmuch as thecal tissue is the
presumptive major source of ovarian estrogen (see below), it follows, perhaps, as Hisaw (1947) suggested that "the theca interna through the action of LH acquires
competence to respond to FSH" (by secreting estrogen) .
 
Convincing evidence that thecal tissue
and its derivatives are the principal sources
of ovarian estrogen was assembled by Corner (1938). The status of this question remains essentially the same today. Few endocrinologists, however, would assume that no
other ovarian cells have this capacity (see
discussion in the chapter on the ovary).
Nevertheless, there is a direct correlation in
time between the marked rise in estrogen
secretion as the follicular jihase of the cycle
advances, on the one hand, and the organization of tlicca interna of the largest follicles into organs of obvious endocrine character, on the other. "When especially
])rominent the theca interna is referred to
as the "thecal gland" (Mossman, 1937;
Stafford, Collins and ]\Iossman (1942).
 
Thecal tissue from the multitudes of
atretic follicles should not be neglected as
a possible additional source of estrogen.
From the standpoint of chronologic relations to the cycle tiiis (iiiestioii has hardly
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
507
 
 
 
been touched. Pointing up our ignorance,
Sturgis (1949) in a careful study of atresia
of large follicles in the monkey ovary, speculated that their hypertrophied thecal tissue
may serve the useful purpose of estrogen
secretion during the interim between follicle
rupture and organization of the corpus
luteum.
 
We are in need of ciuantitative appraisals
not only of the total numbers of healthy and
atretic follicles of all categories present in
representative species at progressive stages
of the cycle, as in the work on the rat by
Mandl and Zuckerman (1952), but also of
the respective volumes of theca, granulosa,
interstitial tissue, and corpora lutea. Lane
and Davis (1939) determined in rat ovaries
at four stages of the cycle the respective
total volumes of theca, granulosa, and antra
in all healthy follicles, as well as the separate mitotic indices of theca and granulosa.
Such differential information on multiplication of cells and increase of antral volume
is important. Although the latter accounts
for a major part of the increase in volume
of the larger follicles, it represents a function quite apart from protoplasmic growth
per se.
 
There is now considerable evidence that
estrogen itself exerts a growth -promoting
influence on the follicle and, furthermore,
sensitizes it to gonadotrophic stimulation.
Details may be found in papers by Pencharz
(1940), Williams (1940, 1944, 1945a, b),
Simpson, Evans, Fraenkel-Conrat and Li
(1941) , Gaarenstroom and de Jongh (1946) ,
and Desclin (1949a,) . Although it seems that
these effects have not been elicited by physiologic doses, the possibility remains that
estrogen operates within the confines of the
ovary as a mediator of some of the effects
of the gonadotrophins. In the neighborhood
of cells that produce it the estrogen concentration is probably far above that which
would be considered physiologic for the remainder of the body.
 
A. CORRELATION OF OVARIAN SECRETION
W^ITH THE FOLLICULAR CYCLE
 
Knowledge of the secretory output of
the ovary during the cycle is almost entirely
indirect and derives chiefly from (1) substitution experiments carried out in a vari
 
 
ety of si)ecies, and (2) assays of urine,
mainly human but occasionally from other
forms. Satisfactory assays of blood estrogen
have been very limited and chemical analysis of the steroid content of ovarian venous
blood is in only its preliminary stages.
 
The early substitution experiments are
chiefly of historic interest (Allen, Danforth
and Doisy, 1939). In great measure these
investigations constitute crucial steps in
proof that the ovary secretes steroid hormones which are fundamentally responsible
for the manifestations of estrus. Conversely, then, these manifestations might be
considered to reflect an increase of estrogen
secretion and their absence a relative decrease. It has been learned, however, that
the action of estrogen in certain instances
may be greatly modified by progesterone,
androgens, and certain adrenocortical steroids (notably desoxycorticosterone). Androgens are known to be secreted in the female
by the adrenal cortex (Dorfman and van
Wagenen, 1941 ; Gassner, 1952) and by the
ovaries (Hill, 1937a, b; Parkes, 1950;
Deanesly, 1938; Burrill and Greene, 1941;
Pfeiffer and Hooker, 1942; Alloiteau, 1952).
Progesterone secretion is probably not confined to the luteal phase of the cycle (see p.
519j. Evidence for its secretion during follicle maturation is considerable and its possible production even earlier cannot be
excluded. These considerations make it unwise, therefore, to regard phenomena such
as vaginal cornification, turgescence of
vulva and sex skin, uterine growth, as direct
ciuantitative measures of estrogen output.
This point may be illustrated by certain observations made in chim])anzees by Fish,
Young and Dorfman (1941) and illustrated
in Figure 8.6. Assays of urinary estrogens
during the cycle exhibited two peaks, only
the first of which coincided with the swelling
of sex skin. The second peak of estrogen excretion was unaccompanied by swelling, presumably because of the coordinate increase
of progesterone secretion. Had swelling been
the only guide only the first peak would
have been apparent.
 
Assays of urinary estrogen in primates
have often shown double peaks such as illustrated for the chimpanzee. PedersenBjergaard and Pederson-Bjergaard (1948i.
 
 
 
508
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
I.U. '00
 
 
 
 
I.U.
 
 
 
( »ott
 
 
 
Androgens
Curve of genital swelling
 
 
 
 
25 27 29
 
 
 
Day of cycle
 
 
 
Fig. 8.6. E.strogen and androgen excretion by a female chimpanzee, Mamo. , total
 
estrogens; , estradiol; -•-•, estrone; , estriol. Menstruation indicated by solid
 
areas on base line. (From W. R. Fish, W. C. Young and R. I. Dorfman, Endocrinology, 28,
588,1941.)
 
 
 
studying one woman for 2 years, found
single peaks at midinterval in 8 cycles and
double peaks in 12 cycles. On the average
the first peak was reached on day 12 and the
second on day 21. Similar double peaks were
noted in blood estrogen assays in a large
group of normal young women (Markee
and Berg, 1944). An additional lesser rise
was observed during menstruation.
 
None of the available assays of urinary or
blood estrogen can be accepted as an absolute measure of the rate of hormone production. Urinary assays have certain advantages, in spite of the fact that probably only
a variable fraction of the ovarian product
is measured. Intrinsically they are measures
of rate, whereas assays of blood estrogen
measure concentration alone at the moment
of bleeding. Attempts have been made to
measure estrogens in ovarian venous blood,
but with little success because of the extreme dilution (Rakoff and Cantarow,
1950). We may hope that development of
sufficiently sensitive methods of detection
will soon allow systematic evaluation of
ovarian output by such direct means. Tracer
techniciucs have shown (Werthessen,
Schwenk and Baker, 1953) in perfused ovaries of the sow that C^^-acetate enters into
the synthesis of estrone and /^-estradiol.
 
Several years ago Corner (1940) esti
 
 
mated, from the known amounts of injected
estrone required to maintain the normal
status of sex skin and endometrium in castrates that the ovaries of an adult rhesus
monkey secrete the equivalent of about 20
fig. estrone daily. On a weight basis the estrone equivalent secreted by the ovaries of
a woman would then be on the order of 300
/Ag. per day. Actual substitution data from
castrated women gave an estimate of the
same order of magnitude (420 ;u,g. per day).
Whatever the rate of secretion may be at
different times, it would seem a 'priori that
effects on extra-ovarian tissues should be
more directly related to amount of estrogen
in circulation. The assays of human bloodestrogen in normal women by Markee and
Berg (1944) and in gynecologic patients by
Fluhmann (1934), although differing in absolute values, agree in indicating that the
variation of blood estrogen concentration
from one stage of the cycle to another may
be relatively small. If this is true, then it
nuist be supposed that cyclic changes in the
accessory organs are brought about by relatively moderate changes in circulating estrogen. In support of this view Markee (1948)
demonstrated in the macaque that a mere 50
per cent reduction in the daily dose of estrogen can invoke menstruation if the
change is abrupt.
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
509
 
 
 
B. CYCLIC MANIFESTATIONS AFTER
OVARIECTOMY OR HYPOPHYSECTOMY
 
Residual cyclic changes in the vagina
liave been reported in ovariectomized mice
(Kostitch and Telebakovitch, 1929) and
rats (Mandl, 1951). The periodicity is very
nearly that of the normal cycles, at least in
the latter species. Vaginal cycles of similar
duration with more extreme estrous changes
are found in ovariectomized rats receiving
daily injection of threshold doses of estrogens (del Castillo and Calatroni, 1930;
Bourne and Zuckerman, 1941). The same
was remarked in mice by Emmens (1939)
and a report by Veziris (1951) indicates
that vaginal periodicity may obtain in castrated or menopausal women receiving estrogen. Although sucli events have been
called ''threshold cycles," the term may
simply express the fact that they are most
easily recognized when estrogen is given at
threshold level. Hartman (1944), employing
a modified Shorr stain for vaginal smears,
found that castrated rats given large
amounts of estrogen daily (5 to 100 fig. estradiol dipropionate) displayed complete
cornification at 4- to 5-day intervals. During the time intervening there was admixture of Shorr cells, smaller epithelial cells,
and leukocytes.
 
Analogous phenomena have been recognized in the endometrium of castrated monkeys (Zuckerman, 1937, 1941) injected daily
for as long as 1 year with threshold doses of
estrone (10 fig.). Larger doses prevent cyclic
bleeding (see Hisaw, 1942). From the report
of Veziris (1951) it may be judged that
threshold endometrial cycles also occur in
women and that the vaginal and endometrial cycles are synchronized in considerable extent.
 
Full explanation of these phenomena is
not at hand. From the standpoint of the
present discussion certain considerations are
especially noteworthy. (1) Vaginal "threshold cycles" have been obtained in castrated
rats in the absence of either hypophysis or
adrenals (Bourne and Zuckerman, 1941 ; del
Castillo and di Paola, 1942) . The former authors encountered the phenomenon in two
rats from which both the hypophysis and
adrenals had been removed. It is important
 
 
 
to remember, however, that the pars tuberalis remains in situ after the usual hypophysectomy procedure, that accessory
adrenocortical tissue is frequent in rats, and
that gonadal rests might remain unrecognized. (2) The reported lengths of vaginal
and endometrial cycles agree favorably with
the cycle lengths in intact individuals of the
respective species. The degree of conformity
between vaginal and uterine cycles indicated by Veziris {loc. cit.) suggests some
sort of integrating mechanism. Much more
information is required, however, before one
may reject the alternative view that rhythmic activity is an innate characteristic of
these organs.
 
C. CYCLIC MANIFESTATIONS IN THE ABSENCE
OF OVARIAN FOLLICLES
 
Many years ago Parkes (1926a, b) and
Brambell, Parkes and Fielding (1927a, b)
reported vaginal and uterine cycles in mice
in which the entire follicular apparatus had
been destroyed by x-radiation. Schmidt
(1936) described the phenomenon in the
guinea pig, noting that, although most of
her estrous animals had one or more large
atretic or cystic follicles, as she had earlier
reported (Genther, 1931), a few animals
exiiil)ited periodic vaginal opening of short
duration and correlated proestrous vaginal
smears, in the absence of follicles. Her assays of urinary estrogen were negative in
these animals, unlike the positive assays in
those in which one or more follicles were
demonstrable. Attempts by several workers
(Drips and Ford, 1932; Levine and Witschi,
1933; Mandel, 1935) to reproduce in rats
the results that Parkes and Brambell had
found in mice, were unsuccessful, a fact indicating no estrogenic activity in ovaries
completely lacking follicles and ova. Parkes
(1952) more recently returned to this problem, reporting vaginal cycles and "fully
functional" uteri in castrated rats bearing
grafts of ovaries in which all organized follicles and ovocytes had been destroyed by
deep freezing. These were true estrous cycles, in the sense that the animals would
mate.
 
Many questions are posed by these observations. The fundamental one seems to
be whether these cycles express periodicity
of hypophyseal gonadotrophin secretion.
 
 
 
510
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
The answer may be long in coming. Meanwhile, one would like to know whether castration changes are visible in the hypophysis
and whether constant estrus may be invoked
by exposure to continuous light or by postnatal treatment of the host with androgen
or other steroids (see p. 529 1 .
 
D. HYPOTHALAMUS AND GONADOTROPHIN
SECRETION. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
 
Experimental studies, ostensibly addressed to the general problem of neural
control of gonadotropin secretion, have in
fact often been concerned with the special
problems of reflex ovulation <p. 520) or
of provoked pseudopregnancy (p. 532).
Whereas substantial information is now
available w^ith respect to these special phenomena, particularly ovulation, information
is limited about control of the day-to-day
secretion of gonadotrophin that in the female is responsible for follicle stimulation
and estrogen secretion (Benoit and Assenmacher, 1955; Harris, 1955). However, evidence in regard to induction of precocious
puberty and early onset of estrus in seasonal
breeders leaves no doubt that the nervous
system is in some manner a regulator of
follicle-stimulating activitv of the i)ars distalis.
 
Numerous reports associate precocious
l)uberty with lesions in the hypothalamus
(Weinberger and Grant, 1941; Bauer, 1954;
Harris, 1955). Donovan and van der Werff
ten Bosch (1956) reported off-season estrus
in ferrets and precocious puberty in rats
following retrochiasmatic lesions in the hyjiotlialamus. Exposure of immature rats to
continuous light causes the vagina to open
prematurely (Fiske, 1941). When 22-dayold female rats were given electrical stimulation of the cervix uteri daily for 10 days
(Swingle, Seay, Perlmutt, Collins, Fedor
and Barlow, 1951), a large proportion exhibited significant increase in uterine weight
beyond that found in control animals, without change in ovarian weight. In fact, 7 of
50 rats ovulated or at least formed "several
well-developed corpora lutca." Somewhat
similarly, according to Aron and AronBrunetierc (1953), mechanical stimulation
of the vagina or the adjacent segment of the
uterus in innnatur(> guinea pigs regularly
 
 
 
provoked follicle growth and estrogen secretion. In gregarious birds the development of
ovulable follicles requires that other individuals of the species be present. In the pigeon, even the mirror image of the female
constitutes a sufficient stimulus (Matthews,
1939).
 
Studies by Flerko and his associates
(1954-1957) present consistent evidence
that restricted bilateral lesions in the region
of the paraventricular nuclei serve to liberate the hypophysis from inhibitory effects
of estrogen and androgen. This work is in
agreement with that of Donovan and van
der Werff ten Bosch in that somewhat similarly located lesions brought on precocious
puberty. As noted elsewhere, gonadectomy
in immature rats quickly results in hypersecretion of gonadotrophin.
 
Transplantation of the hypophysis to
sites remote from the hypothalamus has
produced divergent results. At the present
writing, the chief divergence seems to rest
between the sexes. In male guinea pigs and
rats several workers have reported maintenance of male reproductive tracts by intra-ocular transplants of hypophyses (May,
1937; Schweizer, Charipper and Kleinberg,
1940; Cutuly, 1941a; Courrier, 1956; Goldberg and Knobil, 1957). Quite to the contrary, however, there has at best been only
equivocal evidence of maintenance of female tracts, a matter of sex difference which
needs full investigation. JNIay's (1937) report of 2 fertile female rats is unacceptable
because of inadequate controls. Schweizer,
Charipper and Haterius (1937) found in
several hypophysectomized guinea pigs that
intra-ocular pituitary grafts produced constant estrus and significant follicle stimulation, accompanied by uterine and mammary
gland develoi)inent. Although the search for
pituitary remnants in the sella turcica was
reported negative, the histologic check was
limited to scrapings from the sella floor.
Other authors, notably Phelps, Ellison and
Burch (1939), Westman and Jacobsohn
(1940), Harris and Jacobsohn (1952), and
Elverett ( 1956a) obtained in female rats little or no evidence of gonadotrophin secretion from apparently healthy, well vascularized grafts. The respective sites were
intraniusculai', intra-ocular, in the sub
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
511
 
 
 
arachnoid space under the temporal lobe of
the brain, and beneath the renal capsule —
all distant from the hypothalamus.
 
Transplantation of the pars distalis into
sites close to the hypothalamus, on the other
hand, is characteristically followed by
maintenance of the female reproductive
tract and essentially normal sex functions.
Greep (1936) found that re-implantation
of hypophyses into the (presumably) emptied capsule was frequently followed in both
male and female rats by return of virtually
normal reproductive powers. Females exhibited cycles and even went through successful pregnancy and lactation. The result
observed in male rats was confirmed by
Cutuly (1941a). The obvious difficulty of
establishing completeness of hypophysectomy has been the only criticism of these
instructive experiments. This fault has been
eliminated by an improved procedure devised by Harris and Jacobsohn (1952). Hypophysectomy was performed by the parapharyngeal route, after which the tissue to
l)e grafted was introduced by a transtemporal approach to a site immediately beneath the median eminence. This permitted
later histologic search for remnants of the
original gland in its capsule. In many cases,
including all in which the graft comprised
several hypophyses from the animal's own
newborn young, entirely normal gonadotrophic function was recorded. This included
resumption of regular estrous cycles, typically during the 2nd or 3rd postoperative
week. Several of the rats became pregnant
and delivered viable litters. In marked contrast, none of the grafts that were placed
under the temporal lobe gave any indication
of gonadotrophin secretion, although they
were as well preserved and richly vascularized as the others. Explanation of the difference seems to be that grafts under the
median eminence acquire blood supply from
regenerated hypophyseal portal veins and
iience a neurovascular linkage with the hypothalamus. The importance of this relationship has been amply confirmed by Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett (1957, 1958d)
in studies described below.
 
In lieu of significant numbers of nerve fibers entering the pars distalis (see Rasmussen, 1938; Harris. 1948a I, the hypophyseal
 
 
 
portal veins afford the most likely means
by which the gland is brought under hypothalamic control. Recently it was demonstrated in rats and monkeys that these vessels have the power of rapid regeneration
after simple stalk-section (Harris, 1949,
1950a, b). This fact at once gives a ready
explanation of many of the discordant results of stalk-section experiments reported
in the past. Harris (1950b) explored in rats
the efficacy of various materials as barriers
to regeneration, with the result that numerous examples of partial regeneration were
produced. Degree of recovery of gonadotropliic activity by the hypophysis was
strikingly correlated with degree of anatomic vascular recovery. Restoration of normal ovarian function after simple interruption of the stalk, as reported in the guinea
pig by Dempsey (1939), in rats by Dempsey and Uotila (1940) , and in the human by
Dandy (1940), is thus explained by the assumption that portal vein regeneration had
taken place. On the other hand, Westman
and Jacobsohn (1937-1938), who always
inserted a barrier of metal foil between the
median eminence and hypophyseal capsule,
consistently found ovarian atrophy, as did
Harris when portal vein regeneration was
completely obstructed. Attempting to prove
that the portal vessels are not essential in
regulating the hypophysis, Thompson and
Zuckerman (1954) stated that increased
illumination induced estrus in two ferrets
after stalk-section and in the absence of
demonstrable regeneration of portal vessels.
Donovan and Harris (1954), however, examining the histologic sections prepared
from 1 of the 2 animals, found many such
vessels that were uninfected. In their own
experimental series, an estrous response to
light was always associated with regeneration of the portal veins.
 
Greep and Barrnett (1951) rightly emphasized the prime importance of a good
vascular supply for recovery of function by
the pars distalis after either transplantation
or stalk-section. They pointed to the extensive central infarction and scarring that
characteristically followed stalk-section by
their technique, an obvious factor contributing to hypopituitarism. Harris (1950a I,
however, reported good function from sev
 
 
512
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
eral hypophyses in which there was pronounced central necrosis in company with
well regenerated portal vessels. A study by
Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett (1957,
1958b) established beyond doubt that qualitative functional losses after stalk-sectron
or transplantation of the pars distalis result,
not from impaired blood supply per se, but
from the loss of the intimate neurovascular
relationship with the hypothalamus. Hypo])hyseal autografts, after first being
placed under the kidney capsule for several weeks with the usual atrophy of the
ovarian follicular apparatus and interstitial
tissue, were later retransplanted to a site
immediately under the median eminence. In
the definitive series of 14 such experiments,
13 rats resumed estrous cycles spontaneously 8 to 68 days after retransplantation ;
7 were fertile and carried litters to term. A
correlated study (Nikitovitch-Winer and
Everett, 1959) demonstrated clearly that on
the occasion of each of these successive
transplantations there was massive necrosis
of the interior of the glandular mass, leaving but a thin shell from which the functional tissue of the graft was reconstituted.
In spite of this double insult some special
influence of the hypothalamus brought
about renewed function in a surprising number of cases. Together with the restoration
of gonadotrophic activity there was significant improvement in thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH) and adrenocorticotrophic
hormone (ACTH) secretion. The considerable net loss of hypophyseal parenchyma
resulting from the two operations was reflected only quantitatively in the effects on
the various target organs. Ovarian weights,
numbers of follicles and corpora lutea, adrenal weights and extent of adrenal hypertroi)liy after unilateral adrenalectomy, and
thyroid uptake of P^^ were all intermediate
between those of the normal female rat and
control animals in which the graft remained
on the kidney or was retransplanted under
the temporal lobe of the brain.
 
Regulation of pars distalis secretion by
means of the stalk vessels may conceivably
be carried out either by regulation of blood
How or by transmission of chemical mediatoi-s from the proximal capillary plexus in
the median eminence to the pars distalis. An
 
 
 
experiment describetl by Swingle, Seay,
Perlmutt, Collins, Fedor and Barlow (1951)
suggested that a mediator subject to Dibenamine blockade might be involved in precocious puberty. Although significant uterine enlargement was produced in immature
rats by daily stimulation of the cervix uteri
for 10 days, no such effects were observed
in similar rats given Dibenamine daily by
stomach tube. Unfortunately, there were no
controls for the possible effect of Dibenamine in nonstimulated or gonadotrophininjected animals.
 
Fluhmann (1952) invoked precocious
vaginal opening and ovarian stimulation in
immature rats by injection of neostigmine.
The locus of such cholinergic action is unknown. Parenthetically, Barbarossa and di
Ferrante (1950) reported follicle stimulation in immature rats after injection of
intermedin, an effect not found in hypophysectomized subjects. Benoit and Assenmacher (1955) proposed that, in the drake,
gonad-stimulating activity is governed by
an agent contained in neurosecretory substance, which is demonstrable in abundance
in the retrochiasmatic region of the median
eminence. Capillaries there drain selectively
into an anterior set of portal venules. Oxytocin has been suggested as a possible mediator for gonadotrophin secretion (Shibusawa, Saito, Fukuda, Kawai, Yamada
and Tomizawa, 1955; Armstrong and
Hansel, 1958). There is much interest
as this is being written (1958) in the
jiossibility that vasopressin, oxytocin, or
other agents associated with neurosecretory substances of the neui-ohyjioiihysis
are responsible for control of production and release of the various trophic
hormones of the pars distalis. As an
alternative or even a supplement to neurochemical regulation, a vasomotor mechanism cannot be denied (Green, 1951), for
conceivably only a slight shift in blood flow
through the jiars distalis might tip the balance of hormone production one way oi- anothei-. Thus the matter stands: whereas it
is apjiarent that the hypothalamus intervenes in follicle growth and estrogen secretion, how it does so is little more than speculati\'e.
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
51)5
 
 
 
VI. Follicle Maturation and Ovulation
 
A variety of evidence indicates discontinuity between growth of large follicles, on
the one hand, and their preovulatory maturation, on the other. Such is clearly the case
among "reflex ovulators." Evidence that the
same is true for spontaneous ovulators will
be outlined below. Follicle maturation, ovulation, and structural transformation of the
follicles to corpora lutea seem to represent
successive stages in a distinct physiologic
process, superimposed on the follicle growth
cycle and brought about by a relatively
abrupt increase in circulating gonadotrophin
(theoretically LH). Since there is evidence
(p. 519) that progesterone secretion may
become detectable as this process begins,
there might be justification for regarding it
as merely the first portion of the luteal
phase. However, the fact that luteinization
( i.e., the organization per se of luteal tissue)
does not necessarily lead to functional cor|)ora lutea warrants treatment of the ovulation-luteinization phase as a distinct phenomenon.
 
Although it is customary to state that the
hypopliysis invokes ovulation by release of
LH, there is considerable question about
the auxiliary roles played by other gonadotrophic hormones (Hisaw, 1947). Inasmuch
as the time of release has been known in
only the reflex ovulators, one might look to
them for information. However, the available data (Hill, 1934) pertain only to the
ovulating i)otency of the total gonadotrophin content of the hypophysis at various
times after coitus. Substitution experiments
are unsatisfactory because the presence of
competent follicles implies the presence of
l)oth FSH and a small amount of LH. The
substitution of even the purest hormone
preparations immediately after hypophysectomy leads to equivocal results inasmuch
as it must be assumed that some FSH and
LH of intrinsic origin remain in circulation.
Talbert, Meyer and McShan (1951) determined that in rats, when hypophysectomy
is performed at the onset of proestrum, the
follicles remain capable of responding to injected LH for about 6 hours. Morphologic
signs of follicle deterioration do not appear
until nuich later. Adding to the uncertainty
 
 
 
is the fact that relatively pure preparations
of either FSH or LH will ovulate an estrous
rabbit (Greep, van Dyke and Chow, 1942).
On the other hand, until the recent use of
species-specific gonadotrophins (van Wagenen and Simpson, 1957), the primate ovary
was notoriously difficult to ovulate therapeutically. Until effluent blood from the hypophysis can be assayed, there is little
likelihood that the gonadotrophin complex
that is normally responsible for ovulation
can be known. Thus, whereas the expression,
LH-release, will be employed occasionally
to refer to the release of gonadotrophin that
in^•okes ovulation, the term is used purely
for convenience and brevity, and should be
ai^propriately qualified by the reader.
 
A. TIME OF OVUL.\TION
 
The time of ovulation with respect to
other events of the cycle is relatively easy
to determine in reflex ovulators, but in spontaneous ovulators has proven to be more
elusive. In the former, laparotomy at various intervals after the stimulus enables exact measure to be made of the time required
to accomplish ovulation. For most of the
spontaneous ovulators, save the few in
which the ripening follicles can be palpated
as in monkeys and cattle, it has been necessary to attempt to correlate ovulation with
some easily detectable external sign. Inasmuch as the ovulation stimulus to the hyj)oiihysis in these animals is probably invoked by ovarian hormones and these are
equally responsible for phenomena such as
vaginal cornification and behavioral estrus,
a considerable degree of correlation might
be expected between ovulation and a given
change in the vaginal smear or onset of estrous behavior. The predictability of the
relationship, however, must depend in great
measure on the degree of correlation among
thresholds of response in the various tissues
concerned. In the primates that have no
sharply limited period of sex desire the
i:)roblem is even more troublesome. When
reference is made to the date of the last
menstruation, prediction is erratic because
of the variable occurrence of postmenstrual
quiescence (Rossman and Bartelmez, 1943;
Young and Yerkes, 1943). Consequently,
attempts must be made to find indicato:
 
 
514
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
such as basal body temperature fluctuations
which may bear some intrinsically closer
relationship to the event in question. (See
Hartman, 1936, and Buxton and Engle,
1950, for discussion of this very practical
]iroblera. )
 
Among mammals generally, si)ontaneous
ovulation takes place sometime during estrus (Asdell, 1946) . It is found during early
estrus in the opossum, red fox, dog, mouse
and hamster. In the rat some authors have
placed it early (Young, Boling and Blandau,
1941) and others late (Long and Evans,
19221 with respect to vaginal estrus. In the
writer's colony both relations hold, in 4-day
and 5-day cycles, respectively. Ovulation in
late estrus is reported for the cotton rat,
bank vole, guinea pig, pig, horse, and ass.
Sheep usually ovulate shortly before the
end of heat, sometimes a few hours afterward. As stated earlier, ovulation may even
occur in guinea pigs, rats, sheep, and cattle
without overt estrus. The cow usually ovulates several hours after the end of heat. The
marsupial cat is said to ovulate 5 days
afterward (Hill and O'Donoghue, 1913).
The extreme is represented by certain bats
(Asdell, 1946) which copulate in autumn
and ovulate in the spring after a prolonged
state of subestrus. These variations probably express several factors.
 
Among reflex ovulators there is considerable interspecies variation in the interval
between the stimulus that invokes release
of gonadotroj^hin from the hypophysis and
the eventual rupture of the Graafian follicles
(rabbit, ca. 10 hours; ferret, ca. 30 hours;
cat, 24 to 54 hours; 13-lined ground sciuirrcl,
8 to 12 hours; mink, 36 to 50 hours) . Among
spontaneous ovulators the comparable interval is clearly defined for only the rat, 10
to 12 hours (Everett, Sawyer and Markce,
1949) . In the cow the data obtained by Hansel and Trimberger (1951) and Hough,
Bearden and Hansel (1955) i)lace the outside limit at about 30 hours. Here again,
threshold differentials among tlic various tissues of the individual are piobably of gicat importance. 'I'hus in one
species the threshold foi' gonadoti'ophin
release may be lower than that foi' estrous behavior with the result tliat by
the time the latter makes its ai)pearance
the former has already transpired and
 
 
 
ovulation will shortly take place. The rat,
for example, releases LH during the afternoon, begins to show estrous behavior
around 8 p.m., and ovulates around 2 a.m.
(Everett, 1948, 1956b). In other species
these time relationships may be reversed.
In the cow, activation of the hypophysis apparently occurs several hours after the onset
of estrus (Hansel and Trimberger, 1951).
The cow remains in heat 10 to 18 hours and
ovulates 13!/2 to 151/2 hours after going out
of heat (Asdell, 1946). The early termination of estrus apparently reflects a refractory state which sets in after estrogen
activity has continued for a time, for castrates receiving continued estrogen therapy
remain in estrus for similarly brief periods.
In the mare, ovulation is delayed until a few
hours before the end of estrous periods that
may extend for 5 to 10 days or longer. This
suggests a relative refractoriness of the LHrelease mechanism in this animal. Such a
state of affairs approaches that in persistent
estrus or in the anovulatory cycle.
 
B. OVARIAN STEROmS AND OVULATION
 
1. Estrogens
 
Chronic administration of estrogen to the
intact animal eventually produces ovarian
atrophy by suppression of gonadotrophin
secretion. However, some moderate basic
level of continuous estrogen secretion must
be compatible with normal function of the
hypophyseal-ovarian system; witness the
fact that blood estrogen assays in normal
women (]Markee and Berg, 1944) indicate
only a 2-fold increase at midinterval above
a base value of considerable magnitude.
 
Induction of corpus luteum formation by
injected estrogen was first demonstrated by
Hohlweg (1934) in prepubertal rats^ and
the phenomenon has been repeatedly observed by other woi'kers (Desclin, 1935;
Mazer, Israel and Aljjcrs, 1936; Westman
and Jacobsolm, 1938b; Herold and Effkemann, 1938; Price and Ortiz, 1944; Cole,
1946). The fact that the effect was not obtained in rats younger than 30 to 36 days
l>y Piice and Ortiz, whereas Cole observed
it in the age-range of 21 to 28 days, demon
' Tlic eH'cct was later ol)1aiii(^(l witli androgens
(Holilwpg, 1937; Salmon, 1938; Xathanson, Fianspen and Sweenev, 1938).
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCl.E
 
 
 
515
 
 
 
B
 
 
 
 
^,
 
 
^ >
 
 
1 2
 
 
3 4 5
 
 
e
 
 
A
 
 
 
12 3 4 5
 
 
 
12 3 4 5
 
 
 
Fig. 8.7. Experimental modifications of the 5-day cycle in rats. Two units of the ordinate
represent full vaginal estrus. Time in days on abscissa, each unit 24 hours (midnight to midnight). X, ovulation time; -p, progesterone, usually 1 to 2 mg.; e, estradiol benzoate, standard
do.se 50 /xg. (From J. W. Everett, Endocrinology, 43, 393, 1948.)
 
 
 
strates the existence of strain differences in
the age factor. This probably explains the
absence of luteinization in the experience of
Lane (1935) and Merckel and Nelson
(1940). Hohlweg and Chamorro (1937)
demonstrated the importance of the hypophysis in the response. When hypophysectomy was performed 2 days after injection
of estrogen no corpora liitea developed, but
hypophysectomy on the 4th day did not interfere with corpus luteum formation. The
effect could be produced in 50-gm. rats with
as little as 4 |U,g. estradiol benzoate. Westman and Jacobsohn (1938b) reported that
transsection of the hypophyseal stalk less
than 2Vt days after injection prevented the
reaction, but after that time the operation
did not interfere. Bradbury (1947) assayed
the gonadotrophin content of hypophyses of
normal and castrated immature rats (30 to
32 days old at autopsy) 2 to 5 days after
injection of estrogen or other steroids. These
rats were apparently too young to form
corpora lutea in response to the treatment,
l)ut marked interstitial-cell stimulation, indicative of LH (ICSH) activity, was observed as early as 96 hours. In the intact
animals significant loss of potency occurred
72 to 96 hours after injection, in agreement
with the hypophysectomy data of Hohlweg
and Chamorro (1937). In castrated rats,
however, there was no loss of potency, thus
suggesting that some ovarian factor in addition to estrogen is essential for stimulation
of the hypophysis. It is unfortunate that the
study was confined to animals too young to
give the full response of luteinization.
 
 
 
Induction of ovulation in adult animals
by estrogen was first reported by Hammond,
Jr., Hammond and Parkes (1942) and by
Hammond, Jr. (1945) in the anestrous ewe.
Whereas the s])ontaneous occurrence of occult ovulation was approximately 5 per
cent, injection of stilbestrol was followed by
corpus luteum formation in 4 of 11 ewes,
with recovery of ova in 3. Injection of stilbestrol di-n-butyrate was followed by corpus luteum formation in 5 of 6 ewes and ova
were recovered in 3. The finding was confirmed by Casida (1946) who stated that in
cycling ewes ovulation can be invoked by
injection of diethylstilbestrol on the 4th day
of the cycle, but not at other times. In 1947
Everett reported the induction of ovulation
in pregnant rats within 40 hours after injection of estradiol benzoate (as little as 2 or
3 /xg.) or implantation of estradiol crystals
or pellets. The response was not obtained in
animals autopsied 24 hours after treatment
nor in other animals hypophysectomized at
24 hours and autopsied the following day. In
other studies with adult rats it was demonstrated (Everett, 1948) that in 5-day cyclic
rats the injection of estrogen at mid-diestrum will regularly induce ovulation 24
hours earlier than exi:)ected (Figs. 8.7D,
8.8F|. Persistent-estrous rats were refractory to estrogen in this respect.- Nevertheless, when such animals were made pseudopregnant by daily injection of progesterone,
 
"The tendency toward refractoriness of similar
animals with respect to induction of estrous 1) ha\'ior had earlier been reported by Boling,
Blandau, Rundlett and Young (1941).
 
 
 
516
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
B
 
 
 
 
12 3 4
 
 
 
 
12 3 4
 
 
 
 
 
 
T%
 
 
^'
 
 
2 3 4 5
 
 
1
P
 
 
2 3 4 5
e v^^
/ y
 
r-U^'f*^ 1 tA 1
 
 
 
12 3 4 5
 
Fig. 8.8. Experimental modification of the 4-day cycle in rats. Same key as in Figure 8.7.
Progesterone dosage 1.5 mg. per day. Artificial 5-day cycles in D, E, and F indicated by
dotted lines and numbering. (From J. W. Everett, Endocrinology, 43, 395, 1948.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
B
 
 
 
 
 
e NO OVULATION
 
 
 
 
j~~r~r~r
 
 
 
Fig. 8.9. Experiment with persistent-estrous rats. Units of ordinate and abscissa have same
meaning as in Figure 8.7. A. Secjuence of "progesterone cycles." Each dose of progesterone
(p) is 1.0 mg. Ovulation (x) in about 70 per cent of the cycles. B. Progesterone cycle followed
by unsuccessful attempt to induce ovulation by estrogen during the second c-ycle. C . Pseudopregnancy maintained by daily iiijoctinn of 1.5 mg. ]irogosteronr. Ovulation induced by
estrogen in several such cases. (From .1. \V. Everett, EiKhxTinolojiy. 43, ;5i»9, 194S.)
 
 
 
ovulation and corpus luteuni loiniatioii were
induced by estrogen (Fig. 8.9 1.
 
Early attempts to induce luteinization in
the guinea pig with estrogen were unsuccessful ( Dempsey, 1937; see Fig. 8.5), but iiioiv
recently Lipschutz, Iglesias, Bruzzone, 11 uniercz and Penaranda (1948) have shown by
the use of intrasplenic ovarian autografts
 
 
 
that luteinization is a reguhir feature in experiments in which estrogen is administered
systcniically. Interestingly enough the implantation of estrogen jiellets in or near the
ox'ariaii grafts had tlic coiitrai'y effect of
pi'cvcnliiig luteinization.
 
it was early I'cportcd that rabbits fail to
ovulate in response to estrogen injection
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
517
 
 
 
(Bachman, 1936; Mazer, Israel and Alpers,
1936 ». Hisaw (1947j inferred that this is
generally true for reflex ovulators. Nevertheless, it was found by Klein and Mayer
( 1946) and Klein (1947) that when pseudol^regnant or pregnant rabbits were treated
with estrogen and then mated, new ovulation resulted and new corpora lutea were
formed, events that do not otherwise occur.
The phenomenon was further explored by
Sawyer (1949). Whereas untreated rabbits,
unlike cats, do not ovulate in response to
mechanical stimulation of the vagina, treatment with estrogen on the preceding 2 days
results in a positive response to this stimulus. In fact, his later observations (1959)
indicate that estrogen priming for a longer
period (4 days) occasionally results in
"spontaneous" ovulation, especially during
the winter and spring.
 
In the anestrous cat, in the response to
mechanical stimulation of the vagina, estrogen facilitates the ovulation of follicles
primed with equine gonadotrophin (Sawyer
and Everett, 1953).
 
Induction of ovulation by estrogen in
primates remains to be demonstrated. It is
of interest in this connection that Funnell,
Keaty and Hellbaum (1951) observed in
menopausal women an increased excretion
of LH during estrogen therapy, in contrast
to FSH excretion at other times. The general
experience has been that injection of estrogen during the early part of the cycle significantly postpones the next expected ovulation and menstruation (monkey, Ball and
Hartman, 1939; baboon, Gillman, 1942; human, Sturgis and ^leigs, 1942; Brown, Bradbury and Jennings, 1948). Gillman reported
that a single injection of estrogen precipitates widespread atresia of vesicular follicles. Brown and Bradbury (1947) reported
IH-eliminary data that in 4 of 6 women
there was increased gonadotrophin excretion
during the 24 hours following estrogen administration. They proposed that delay of
ovulation by estrogen given early in the
primate cycle may be the result of premature discharge of gonadotrophin before the
Graafian follicle is competent. Sturgis and
Meigs had suggested, on the contrary, that
the estrogen suppresses hypophyseal function. D'Amour (1940), finding in urinary
assays that the initial peak of estrogen ex
 
 
cretion preceded the peak excretion of urinary gonadotrophin, postulated that the
increase of estrogen stimulates the gonadotrophin release that is responsible for ovulation. O. W. Smith (1944) proposed that
not estrogen itself, but some metabolite resulting from inactivation by the liver, is
responsible for LH release. This interesting
hypothesis has not been substantiated.
 
3. Gestagens
 
Suppression of estrus and ovulation by
functional corpora lutea, suggested by
Beard (1898), was experimentally demonstrated in the guinea pig by Loeb (1911). It
is now well established in several species
that removal of the corpora lutea results in
early resumption of estrus and ovulation
(see p. 506), and that administration of
progesterone suppresses these events. There
is considerable evidence favoring the view
that the primary effect is to selectively suppress the secretion of LH. Dempsey (1937)
noted that in guinea pigs receiving daily injection of progesterone (50 /^g.) all stages of
follicle development proceeded except the
maturation enlargement that heralds LH
release (Fig. 8.5). Astwood and Fevold
(1939) and Cutuly (1941b) found similar
results in rats. Essentially the same phenomenon has been noted in sheep by Dutt
and Casida (1948). Bradbury (1947) reported that in immature rats the injection of
progesterone at the time of estrogen injection prevented the release of gonadotrophin
(LH?) which otherwise followed estrogen
injection by 72 to 96 hours. In ovariectomized guinea pigs containing intrasplenic
autografts, preparations in which luteinization can be induced by estrogen (see above) ,
the simultaneous administration of gestagens prevented this action (Lipschutz, Iglesias, Bruzzone, Humerez and Pefiaranda,
1948; Iglesias, Lipschutz and Guillermo,
1950; Mardones, Bruzzone, Iglesias and
Lipschutz, 1951). Mardones and co-w^orkers
also made the interesting observation that
among several steroids having progestational activity, "antiluteinizing activity is
not concomitant with, or subordinated to"
the former function. Proportionately very
large amounts of ethinyl testosterone and
ethinyl-A-'^-androstenediol exhibited very
little antiluteinizing activity. There is evi
 
 
518
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
denceinmice (Solve,, 1939) that siippreijsion
of FSH secretion may occur when as much
as 1 mg. of progesterone is injected daily.
Alloiteau ( 1954 ) believes that this also occurs in the rat, although Cutuly (1941b)
found only slight evidence of FSH suppression when as much as 6 mg. progesterone
were given daily for several weeks.
 
So much emphasis has been placed on the
suppressing effect of progesterone that its
facilitating actions were recognized only in
recent years. The first indication that progesterone can promote ovulation and corpus
luteum formation in mammals was encountered in a study of persistent-estrous rats
(Everett, 1940a, b). Daily injection of 0.25
to 1.0 mg. caused the prompt interrujition
of the state of persistent follicle and the resumption of outwardly normal cycles. Corjiora lutea were formed in approximately
70 per cent of these cycles.^ The effect was
obtained not only in older rats in which
persistent estrus had developed spontaneously, but also in young rats in which the
condition had been induced by continuous
illumination. The dose level employed is below that required to suppress cycles in normal rats (1.5 mg. daily; Phillips, 1937).
Subsequently, it was found (Everett, 1943)
that the daily injection could be avoided if
a single "interrupting" dose was given, followed by a single injection during proestrum
or early estrus of each recurrent cycle (Fig.
8.9.4). The histologic appearance of the
ovaries reverted toward the normal after a
succession of "i)rogesterone cycles" and, significantly, the interstitial-cell nuclei were
"repaired." Attempts in normal rats to invoke o\'u]ati()n earliei' than the expected
time were sticcessful in the 5-day cycle
(Figs. S.7B, 8.8^). Injection of from 0.5 mg.
to 2 mg. on the "third day of diestrum" regularly (4 mg. occasionally) invoked ovulation (luring the coming night (Everett,
1944a, 1948) unless the treatment was given
too late in the dai/ (EA'erett and Sawyer,
1949; see discussion on ]). 526 I'egarding the
diurnal rhythm and ovulation). Attempts
to advance ovulation in the 4-day cycle
were unsuccessful, possibly because the follicles were not competent or the animals'
 
''Marvin (1947) described a similar rosull willi
desoxycorticosterone acetate.
 
 
 
intrinsic estrogen levels were not elevated
sufficiently early.
 
Ovulation induced by progesterone has
been reported in several species. A direct
action on the excised ovary of the toad
Xeno-pns was early demonstrated by Zwarenstein (1937) but such action is apparently
not found in higher vertebrates. In the domestic hen injection of progesterone can
invoke ovulation several hours ahead of
schedule (Fraps and Dury, 1943; Rothchild
and Fraps, 1949). Pfeiffer (1950) observed
new corpora lutea in 10 rhesus monkeys
treated with progesterone during presumptive anovulatory cycles of the summer
months. Similar attempts have been made in
women (Rothchild and Koh, 1951); although there were said to be definite indications of induced ovulation, the evidence
is equivocal. On the other hand, a rei~)ort
(Hansel and Trimberger, 1952) states that
in heifers the injection of small doses of progesterone (5 to 10 mg. ) at the beginning of
estrus significantly advances ovulation time.
This is in contrast with the inhibitory effect
of larger doses (50 mg.) beginning before
the onset of estrus (Ulberg, Christian and
Casida, 1951). Even in the rabbit (Sawyer,
Everett and Markee, 1950), spontaneous
ovulation was noted in 4 of 10 animals after
combined estrogen and progesterone injection.
 
From certain of the foregoing statements
it may be inferred that whether suppression
or stimulation follows administration of
ju-ogestcrone depends critically on the time
of injection, on the amount given, on the
status of the ovary, and probal)ly on a
l)riming action of estrogen. A significant illustration of the critical nature of the time
factor in rats is given by the experiments
represented in Figure 8.8r and E. If after
the first injection of 1.5 mg. progesterone
on the first day of diesti'uni, a second injection follows in. about 24 lioui's. the imjiending estrus and o\-ulation are retarded an
additional 24 hours. However, if the second
injection is given 48 hours after the first,
the impending estrus and ovulation are advanced. Evidence^ of the synergistic action
of estrogen and progesterone in evoking
oA'ulation is given by the ex]ieriments represented in Figuiv 8.9/> and (\ Sawver (1952)
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
519
 
 
 
investigated the synergism in rabl^ts. Employing estrogen-primed animals, he found
that ovulation was facilitated when progesterone was injected less than 4 hours
before either mating, mechanical stimulation of the vagina, or intravenous injection of copper acetate. Inhibition was obtained when progesterone was injected 24
hours before such stimulation, thus confirming the often-cited observations of ]Makepeace, Weinstein and Friedman (1937 » and
Friedman (1941) that progesterone inhiijits
ovulation in rabbits.
 
Preovulatory secretion of gestagens now
seems likely. Morphologic luteal changes in
preovulatory follicles are considered in the
chapter on the ovary. A variety of evidence
in primates indicates that progestational
clianges in the endometrium begin before
ovulation (Bartelmez, Corner and Hartman, 1951). Several workers have reported
tiie excretion of small amounts of pregnanediol during the follicular phase of the
human cycle (Wilson, Randall and Osterberg, 1939; Smith, Smith and Schiller, 1943;
Davis and Fugo, 1948). Determination of
plasma progesterone in women by the
Hooker-Forbes test indicates the presence
of significant amounts a day or two before
a major rise in basal body temperature
(Forbes, 1950). In monkeys a small quantity (ca. 0.5 to 1.0 ixg. per ml.) was detected
l)etween the 4th and 9th days, rising in the
10- to 15-day period to concentrations of 2
to 6 jxg. per ml. (Forbes, Hooker and Pfeiffer, 1950; Bryans, 1951). In both species a
transient decline seems to intervene before
the marked rise to still higher concentrations during the luteal phase. In the rat,
Constantinides (1947) studied the stromal
nuclei of the endometrium at different
stages of the cycle and found that by the
Hooker-Forbes criteria there is evidence of
progesterone secretion during proestrum.
Astwood (1939) on the basis of water content of rat uteri concluded that progesterone
secretion begins with proestrum. In the rabl)it, Forbes (1953) assayed peripheral blood
at various intervals after mating or gonadotrophin injection. Although no progesterone
was detectable in controls, significant
amounts appeared an average of 97 minutes
after mating and 66 minutes after gonado
 
 
trophin injection. As much as 2.5 /xg. ])er ml.
was found during the first 8 to 10 hours,
although marked fluctuations were noted
from time to time in the blood of individual
animals. Verly (1951) reported that soon
after mating the urine of rabbits contains
significant amounts of pregnanediol.
 
It has become customary to state that
the gestagen that appears during the follicular phase of the cycle is probably formed by
the maturing follicle itself. Indeed, assays
of fluid from Graafian follicles and cysts
have indicated the presence of the hormone
(Duyvene de Wit, 1942; Hooker and
Forbes, 1947; Edgar, 1952, 1953). However,
if it is to take part in the release of ovulating hormone gestagen must be secreted earlier than preovulatory maturation. For this
also there is some evidence. Two reports
cited above indicate that in monkeys, at
least, there is a detectable amount present
in the blood during the early follicular
phase. The known fact that a waning corpus luteum favors the experimental induction of estrus and/or ovulation in sheep and
cattle (Hammond, Jr., 1945; Robinson,
1951 ; Alarden, 1952) is suggestive. Although
Hammond, Jr., Hammond and Parkes
(1942) tested this possibility by progesterone sul)stitution with negative results, the
amount given may have been too small, as
Robinson suggested. A waning corpus luteum in the rat favors ovulation, as disclosed in persistent-estrous animals in which
pseudopregnancy had been induced (Everett, 1939). Each of three pseudopregnancies
was followed b}' a short cycle before the
animals returned to persistent estrus.
 
In the course of studies growing out of
this observation evidence was advanced
(Everett, 1945) which indicated that corpora lutea of the normal rat are not wholly
inactive during the short cycle. Transient
depletion of cholesterol was observed in
such corpora lutea during the proestrum
that followed their formation. This implies
a transient increase of luteotrophin secretion. Significantly this occurs before the release of LH. It is this writer's opinion that
gestagen from such sources is not essential
for the induction of ovulation but that it
does facilitate the action of estrogen.
 
 
 
520
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
C. ROLE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
IN OVULATION
 
Historically, the fact of neural control of
reflex ovulation has been recognized in the
ral)bit for many years. The comparable role
of the nervous system in spontaneous ovulation, on the other hand, has more recently
become apparent. It now seems justifiable
and useful to postulate in the hypothalamus
of reflex ovulators and spontaneous ovulators alike the existence of a mechanism
that is peculiarly concerned with release
of ovulating hormone. Whether it consists
in a discrete anatomic entity is immaterial
for the present.
 
The suggestion has been made that the
outstanding difference between reflex and
sjiontaneous ovulation may be in the kinds
of afferent impulses that most readily excite the hypothalamus (Sawyer, Everett
and Markee, 1949). The difference is not
absolute, for spontaneous ovulation has been
induced in rabbits by estrogen-progesterone
injection (see p. 519) and reflex ovulation
has been demonstrated under special circumstances in rats (Dempsey and Searles,
1943; Everett, 1952a) and cattle (Marion,
Smith, Wiley and Barrett, 1950). The random distribution of reflex ovulators and
spontaneous ovulators among mammalian
orders becomes more understandable if one
assumes that dual controls are widely represented and that special adaptations favor
one or the other in given species.
 
The ovulation reflex in rabbits is apparently initiated by afferent impulses of multiple origin, among them not only impulses
from the genitalia, but also propriocejUive
impulses from muscles that are utilized in
coitus. Brooks (1937, 1938) found that,
although the sacral segments of the spinal
cord and the abdominal sympathetic chains
could be eliminated without jM'eventing ovulation, the luml)ai' cord must remain. Only
by paralysis of the lower half of the body
so that the female could not take pai't in
coitus was ovulation pi'cvcntfMl. The neocortex could be removed, together with the
olfactory bulbs, labyrinths, auditory apparatus and eyes without impairing the
ovulation response. Even after complete decortication, ovulation followecl coitus in 1
out of 3 j'abbits. It must l)e admitted, how
 
 
ever, that, although various parts of the
nervous system may thus be eliminated
without changing the end result, some of
them may normally play a considerable
role. With little cjuestion, direct stimuli from
the genitalia play a part in the natural
reflex. Under certain experimental conditions detectable electrical activity in the
rabbit rhinencephalon is associated with the
induction of ovulation (Sawyer, 1955).
Electrical stimulation of the amygdala will
induce ovulation in rabbits and cats (Koikegami, Yamada and Usei, 1954; Shealy
and Peele, 1957 ) .
 
In rats, Davis (1939) found that removal of the neocortex had no effect on the
estrous cycle and ovulation. Removal of
portions or of the entire sympathetic chains
of rats likewise did not interfere with ovulation (Bacq, 1932). Bunn and Everett
(1957) reported ovulation in constantestrous rats after electrical stimulation of
the amygdala.
 
The importance of the dorsal thalamus is
unknown. The reticular activating system
has been implicated as a component of the
ovulation mechanism (Sawyer, 1958), but
the manner of its contribution is not clear.
There is little cjuestion, on the other hand,
of the indispensability of the hypothalamus
and its neurovascular connection to the
adenoliyi:)ophysis through the median eminence and the hypophyseal portal veins.
 
Although the observation by ]\Iarshall
and Verney (1936) that ovulation can be
induced by passing an electric current
through the heads of estrous rabbits hardl}^
limited the effect to the hypothalamus itself, it was later shown that more localized
electrical stimuli api)lied to certain hypothalamic regions are consistently effective
(preoptic area, Haterius, 1937; Christian.
1956; posterior hypothalamus or tuber
cinereum, Harris, 1937, 19481); tuber cinereum or adjacent hypothalamic areas,
Markee, Sawyer anirHollinshead. 1946;
medial hypothalamus fi'om ])i-eo])tic area
to mammillai'V bodies. Kui'otsiu Kurachi
and Ban, 195o"; Kuiotsu, Kurachi, Tabaya>hi and Ban, 1952).
 
Ahliougli liypotliahimic lesions. l)oth
natural and expeiimental. hax'c frecjuently
been reported to interfere with normal
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
sex function (.see Harris. 1948a, 1955, for
references), the majority of these reports
do not api^ly to the question at issue — control of ovulation. When ovarian atrophy
occurs, as it frequently did in these cases,
it reflects a profound depression of gonadotroi)hin secretion and absence of competent
follicles. However, Dey, Fisher, Berry and
Ranson (1940) and Dey (1941, 1943) 'found
in guinea pigs that gross bilateral electrolytic lesions placed in the rostral hypothalamus resulted in persistent follicles with
continuous estrogen secretion. Similar results were obtained in rats by Hillarp
(1949) when small bilateral electrolytic lesions were placed in the anterior hypothalamic area near the paraventricular nuclei
or between this region and the median eminence. Greer (1953) reported continuous
estrus in rats after placing certain small
lesions in the ventromedial nucleus, provided they were bilateral. There was no
correlation with obesity. There are at least
four significant points in common among
these several ablation experiments. ( 1 ) The
effective lesions were rost rally placed and
either were limited to or included the
medial group of nuclei. (2) The tuber
cinereum, median eminence, and stalk
connection to the hypophysis were intact.
(3) Although development of competent
follicles was not evidently impaired, estrogen secretion became continuous instead of
cyclic. (4) The proper impetus for release
of ovulating hormone from the hypophysis
was absent. It would be most instructive to
learn whether ovulation can be invoked
in such animals by reflex stimulation or by
direct electrical stimulation of the tuber.
AUoiteau and Courvoisier (1953) reported
that rats in constant estrus as a result of
hypothalamic lesions did not undergo
pseudopregnancy after stimulation of the
cervix uteri. This observation, confirmed
by Greer (1953), could be construed as indirect evidence of failure of reflex ovulation,
for Greer regularly obtained pseudopregnancy by cervical stimulation, once corpora
lutea had been formed by other means.
 
Other findings by Greer are important
because of their bearing on the location and
character of a presumptive ovulation center.
Althougli the onset of persistent estrus after
 
 
 
making the lesions was sometimes almost
immediate (following a brief anestrous interval), in other cases it was preceded by
several apparently normal cycles. In any
event, once the condition had become established, the daily injection of small amounts
of progesterone brought about the recurrence of cycles and corpus luteum formation. In about half of the cases these cycles
continued for awhile after withdrawal of
treatment, whereas in the remainder there
was a prompt return to persistent estrus.
Essentially the same results were reported
by AUoiteau (1954), and the observations
suggest that the areas involved in such lesions may be of only secondary importance.
 
The use of radioactive phosphorus for
estimating energy exchange in tissues affords a different approach to the problem
of neural control of ovulation (Borell, Westman and Orstrom, 1947, 1948). This method
has the virtue that the experimental subject
remains undamaged until injection of P'*compounds 30 minutes before the end of
the experiment. In rabbits there is a marked
increase in phosphorus turn-over in the
tuber cinereum within 2 minutes post
coitum, and continuing for about an hour
thereafter (Table 8.1). The adenohypoi)hysis shows increasing activity during the
first 10 minutes which reaches a peak at
about 1 hour and then regresses somewhat,
although it remains relatively high for 24
hours. Response of the ovary to gonadotroi:)hin release is marked by a rapid rise
during the second half-hour and another
pronounced increase near the time of ovulation. In rats, at various stages of the
estrous cycle, phosphorus exchange in both
tuber cinereum and adenohypophysis is
maximal during proestrum. In the ovary
high values were reported during diestrum
and proestrum, somewhat lower values during estrus and metestrum.
 
Possibly correlated with the above information is the observation (Gitsch,
1952b) that in rats the acetylcholine (ACh)
content of the tuberal region becomes elevated during proestrum and estrus. It is
said that ACh synthesis requires high
energy phosphate (see Bain, 1952). Further
investigation by Gitsch (1952a) and Gitscl:
and Reitinger (1953) revealed that ACh
 
 
 
TABLE 8.1
Sequence of events in rabbit ovulation
 
 
 
Time Post Coitum Central Nervous System
 
 
 
Hypophysis
 
 
 
Ovary
 
 
 
Circulating Blood
 
 
 
<30 sec.
 
<2 mill.
 
10 mill.
30 mill.
 
60 mill.
 
75-90 mill.
 
13^-2 hrs.
3-5 hrs.
 
6-7 hrs.
 
7-8 hrs.
9-11 hrs.
 
 
 
Barbiturate-sensitive and atropinesensitive mechanisms^
 
t Phosphorylation
in tuber cinereum^
 
t Phosphorylation
 
in tuber ciner
reumt Phosphoryhition
 
in tuber cine
reum^
 
 
 
t Phosphorylation
in tuber cinereum
 
 
t Phosphoryhition^
 
 
 
Release of LH ca.
20 per cent. 6 Hypophysectomy
prevents ovulation^' 12
 
Release of LH nowsufficient for ovulation."' 12 Phosphorylation at
peak^
 
 
 
I Phosphor\iatioii
 
 
 
i Animal may be bled
and transfused
without prevent
! ing ovulationi2
 
 
 
folliculi.
in egg
 
 
 
f Liquor
Tetrad.'
nuclei*
 
Cholesterol depletion in interstitial
gland. ^ Egg nucleus migrates,
membrane dissolves.** • " Prominent corona*
 
Liquor folliculi increasingly viscous*
 
First polar hotly'*
 
Marked .swelling of
follicles. Thecal
hypertrophy,! ■ i°
hyperemia
 
OvuL.^Tion."
t Phosphorylation2
 
 
 
Bleeding and transfusion now prevent
ovulationi2
 
Progesterone detectable ^
 
 
 
Increased estrogen
(endometrial hj-peremia)'
 
 
 
' Asdell, 1946.
 
2 Borell, Westman and Orstrom, 1947.
 
3 Claesson and Hillarp, 1947a.
" Fee and Parkes, 1929.
 
'^ Forbes, 1953.
 
« Hill, 1934.
 
^ Sawyer, Markee and Hollinshcad, 1947.
 
* Pincus and Enzmann, 1935.
 
^ Sawyer and associates, 1947, 1949, 1950.
 
1" Walton and Hammond, 192S.
 
" Waterman, 1943.
 
'2 Weslmaii and .lacohsohn, 1936.
 
 
 
522
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
523
 
 
 
in the rat hypothalamus is increased also
by administration of estrogen or by castration, conditions that similarly increase
lihosphorus exchange (Borell and Westman,
1949). The ACh content is depressed during
pregnancy or when the rat has been injected with progesterone. It is also lowered
by Pentothal anesthesia, a matter of interest
in relation to the fact that the barbiturates
suppress ovulation (see p. 526).
 
The location and measurement of activity
in discrete nuclei and pathways are largely
in the future, although a beginning has been
made in the rabbit, cat, rat, and mouse.
Sawyer (1955) found in rabbits, after the
combined administration of pentobarbital
intravenously and histamine by way of the
3rd ventricle, that there was associated
with induction of ovulation a characteristic
change in intrinsic electrical activity of the
rhinencephalon, extending into the preoptic
area. If the olfactory tracts were cut, however, this activity could not be elicited and
ovulation failed. According to Porter, Cavanaugh and Sawyer (1954), vaginal stimulation of estrous cats caused altered electrical activity in two hypothalamic regions:
 
(1 ) in the lateral hypothalamic area at
the anterior tuberal level during stimulation
and for 15 to 45 seconds afterward; and
 
(2) in the anterior hypothalamic area near
the medial forebrain bundle, where response
was delayed as much as 5 n:iinutes after
stimulation. According to a i)reliminary
account (Critchlow and Sawyer, 1955) in
curarized, proestrous rats, there were i)eriods lasting approximately 20 minutes in
the midafternoon, during which altered
electrical activity appeared differentially in
the preoptic area or anterior hypothalamus.
 
Another approach to localization has been
described by Hertl (1952, 1955). On the
pro])Osition that increased function of particular cells is reflected by increased volume
of their nuclei, cell nuclear volumes were
measured in hypothalamic nuclei of female
mice at different stages of the estrous cycle.
During proestrum and estrus there was
said to be a functional edema in hypothalamic nucleus 20 of Griinthal (possibly the
pars posterior of the ventromedial nucleus
of Krieg) and to lesser extent in nucleus 16
(Nucl. arcuatus).
 
 
 
1. The Ilypophi/seal Portal Veins and the
Chemotransmitter Hypothesis
 
As noted elsewhere, hypothalamic control
of the jiars distalis is probably mediated by
the hypophyseal portal circulation. Evidence for this has been especially convincing with respect to control of ovulation,
although indications are that other phases
of the cycle are also regulated by this
means. Pertinent data from numerous transplantation and stalk-section experiments
may be summarized by the following statement. Aside from a questionable grafting
experiment (2 rats) reported by May
(1937), in no case has ovulation or luteinization been reported in the absence of vascular linkage of the pars distalis with the
median eminence; on the other hand, ovulatory cycles have often been cjuickly restored when the gland has been revascularized by the portal vessels (see especially,
Harris, 1950a; Harris and Jacobsohn, 1952;
Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett, 1957,
1958b).
 
Although the importance of local vasomotor regulation in the stalk vessels remains
to be evaluated (Green, 1951), there is extensive support for the hypothesis that ovulatory release of gonadotrophin is invoked
by a chemotransmitter (Harris, 1948a,
1955). If one accei)ts the prevailing opinion
that nerve fibers entering the pars distalis
are too few to account for its secretomotor
control and that the flow of blood in the
hyi^ophyseal portal vessels is toward the
gland (Wislocki and King, 1936; Green,
1947; Green and Harris, 1947, 1949; Barrnett and Greep, 1951 ; Landsmeer, 1951 ;
]McConnell, 1953; Xuereb, Prichard and
Daniel, 1954; Worthington, 1955), the
plausibility of the chemotransmitter hypothesis becomes inescapable.^
 
Evidence that the transmitter may l)e
 
^ For a dissenting view, see Zuckerman (1952).
Reference should also be made to the hypothesis
formulated by Spatz (1951) and associates (see
Nowakowski, 1950, 1952). They postulated that
a descending pathway in the spinal cord is the
connecting link between hypothalamus and ovaries. With respect to ovulation, this is clearly
denied by the fact that local stimulation of the
hypotlialamus provokes ovulation in rabbits in
which the thoracic spinal cord has been transsected (Christian, Markee and Markee, 1955).
 
 
 
524
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
adrenergic was presented by Markee, Sawyer and Hollinshead (1948), who provoked
ovulation in rabbits by instilling epinephrine directly into the pars distalis. Detailed
experiments supporting this w^ere fully reviewed by Markee, Everett and Sawyer
(1952). In discussion following that paper,
Sawyer reported the induction of ovulation
in rabbits by the injection into the third
ventricle of either epinephrine or norepinephrine, and suggested that the latter is
"more closely related to the natural mediator than is epinephrine." Donovan and
Harris (1956), from studies in which the
rabbit hypophysis was slowdy infused in
situ with solutions of epinephrine or norepinephrine, concluded that neither substance
is the agent in question, and that the positive results of Markee, Sawyer and Hollinshead (1948) were the effects of low pH and
not of the drugs per se. Proof of the negative
is elusive, however, and one must note that
Donovan and Harris did not meet the conditions of timing and drug concentration
that obtained in the earlier work.
 
Intravenous injection of Dibenamine or
its congener, SKF-501,-^ will usually prevent
ovulation in rabl)its when injection is completed within 1 minute after coitus (Sawyer
and associates, 1947-50). On the other
hand, when injection is delayed until 3 minutes or later, ovulation is unaffected. The
nonadrenergic hydrolysis product of Dibenamine, 2-dibenzylaminoethanol, does not
have the blocking action, although its central excitatory powers are much like those
of the parent substance. The failure of
blockade by Dibenamine, if injection is
withheld for 3 minutes, demonstrates that
the drug does not interfere with the actual
discharge of ovulating hormone into the
l)lood stream, for that process recjuires
about an hour (Fee and Parkes, 1929; Westman and Jacobsohn, 1936). The Dibenamine-sensitive mechanism thus serves as a
trigger, the gland being adequately stimulated within 1 01' 2 minutes post coitum.
This estin^ate is in remarkal)le agreement
with the earlier mentioned obscMA'ations on
 
•'■' Dibenamine is iV,iV-dibenzyl-/:i-cliloioetliy lamine. SKF-501 is A'-(9-fluorenyl)-.V-ethyl-/i-chlor()ethylamine hydrochlorifle. Banthine is /i-dictliylaminuc'tliyl-.\anthene-9-cai'l)Oxvlak' niclliohroiniilc
 
 
 
l)hosphorus exchange in the tuber cinereum
and hypoi)hysis (p. 521, and Table 8.1 1.
 
A mechanism that is subject to blockade by atropine or Banthine^ evidently precedes the Dibenamine-sensitive process
— temjDorally if not anatomically. To accomplish blockade in rabbits, these anticholinergic drugs must be injected intravenously within about 30 seconds after
coitus (Sawyer and associates, 1949-1951).
It should be recalled that Foster, Haney
and Hisaw (1934) reported failure of ovulation in several rabbits treated with small
amounts of atropine before mating. ]\Iakepeace (1938), however, was unable to confirm the effect with somewhat larger doses
and the former observation was forgotten.
 
A seemingly crucial experiment devised
by Sawyer gives conclusive evidence that
the atropine-sensitive process is antecedent
to the Dibenamine-sensitive one. It was
based on two facts: (1) intravenous injection of nearly lethal doses of epinephrine
does not induce ovulation in estrous rabbits,
and (2) atropine protects rabbits against
fatal pulmonary edema after injection of
large amounts of epinephrine. In rabbits
protected by atropine in dosage that was
also sufficient to block the ovulation reflex,
the injection of twice-lethal doses of epinephrine caused ovulation or significant degrees of follicle maturation in 5 of 7 cases.
These effects were not found in rabbits protected by Dibenamine. Supporting evidence
was adduced by Christian (1956i who
found that atropine would not prevent
ovulation in response to electi'ical stimulation of the medial preoptic area or adjacent
parts of the hypothalanuis, whereas in a significant number of such rabliits ovulation
was blocked by SKF-501.
 
Extension of the blocking experiments to
the rat, as an example of a spontaneous ovulator, disclosed that in this species also ovulation can be blocked by Dibenamine, SKF501, atropine, and Banthine, when the injections ai'c appropriately timed with respect to the stage- of the cycle and time of
day (Sawyer, Everett and Markee, 1949;
Everett, Sawyer and Markee, 1949; Everett
and Sawyer, 1949, 1950, 1953: see \). 526).
Furthermore, blockade of ])oth estrogenimhiccd and pi'ogcstci-oiic-induced ovuhition
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
525
 
 
 
was aceomi)lished with cither Dibonamine
or atropine. Neither agent, however, prevented ovulation after injection of sheep
liypophyseal LH. A report by Hansel and
Trimberger (1951) stated that in cattle a
significant delay of ovulation (as great as
72 hours) followed atropine administration.
In control experiments the simultaneous
injection of atropine and human chorionic
gonadotrophin was followed by ovulation
slightly earlier than the normally expected
time. Treatments were begun 1 to 5 hours
after the onset of estrus. This work was confirmed and extended by Hough, Beardon
and Hansel (1955). In the hen, blockade of
ovulation, normal or induced by progesterone, has been reported after administration of Dibenamine, Dibenzyline, SKF-501
or atropine (Zarrow and Bastian, 1953;
van Tienhoven, 1955). According to van
Tienhoven, the drugs did not interfere with
the ovulating action of extrinsic gonadotrophin.
 
It is important that the same drugs will
block ovulation in lioth rabbits and rats
(Table 8.2) . Of ec^ual significance is the fact
that several agents that are ineffective in
rabbits are also ineffective in rats (notably
2-dibenzylaminoethanol, the imidazoline
adrenolytic drugs, and the ganglion blocking
agents). These considerations are interjireted to mean that spontaneous ovulation
is invoked by neurohumoral mechanisms
that are very like those in the reflex ovulation of rabbits.
 
The suggestion that the l)locking effects
might result from nonspecific stress, causing
the hypophysis to be so actively secreting
ACTH that gonadotroiihin secretion is interfered with (Dordoni and Timiras, 1952),
is clearly denied by several facts. ( 1 ) In
the rabbit studies, none of the various
agents prevented ovulation when injected
more than a minute post coitum. (2) In one
study (Sawyer, Markee and Everett, 1950b)
ovulation was actually induced by the intravenous injection of "lethal" doses of epinephrine when the animals WTre protected
by atropine. (3) In rats ovulation is unaffected by massive intravenous doses of
either the imidazoline drugs or 2-dibenzylamionethanol in amounts known to be
stressing (Sawyer and Parkerson, 1953).
 
 
 
TABLE 8.2
Pharmacologic Agents and Blockade of Ovulation
 
 
 
Antiadrenergics
 
/3-Haloalkylamines
 
Dibenamine
 
SKF-501
 
Dibenzyline
 
ImidazoHnes
 
Priscoline
 
Regitine
 
Yohimbine
 
Anticholinergics
 
Atropine
 
Banthine
 
Antihistaminics
 
Neo-antergan
 
Ganglion blockers
 
Tetraethvlammonium. .
 
SC-1950/
 
Barbiturates
 
Nembutal
 
Dial
 
Ipral
 
Amvtal
 
Barbital
 
Phenobarl)ital
 
Prominal
 
Others
 
Morphine
 
Procaine, locally near
tuber
 
Procaine, systemically .
 
Chlorpromazine
 
Reserpine
 
Ether
 
2,4-Dimtrophenol
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Rat
 
 
Cow
 
 
Bi
 
 
Bi
 
 
 
 
Bi
 
 
Bi
 
 
 
 
01
 
 
01
 
 
 
 
0^
 
 
01
 
■?4. 5
 
 
 
 
Bi
 
 
BI
 
 
B6
 
 
Bi
 
 
Bi
 
 
 
 
01
 
 
 
 
 
 
01
 
 
01
 
 
 
 
01
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bi
 
 
Bi
Bi
Bi
Bi
B'
Bi 8
 
B9
 
BIO
 
 
 
 
Bii
 
 
 
 
 
 
01
 
 
B12
B13
B14
B16
 
 
 
 
 
B3
 
 
 
I Sawyer and associates, 1947-1951; Everett
and associates, 1949-1950; Christian, 1956; and see
present text.
 
^ van Tienhoven, 1955; van Tienhoven, Nalbandov and Norton, 1954.
 
3 Zarrow and Bastian, 1953.
 
•• Fugo and Gross, 1942.
 
5 Sulman and Black, 1945.
 
^Hansel and Triml)erger, 1951; Hough, Beardon and Hansel, 1955.
 
' Fraps and Case, 1953.
 
* Doring and Goz, 1952.
 
» Westman, 1947.
 
1" Barraclough and Sawyer, 1955.
 
II Westman and Jacol)8ohn, 1942.
1- Barraclough, 1956.
 
13 Barraclough, 1955.
 
" Unpublished. Temporary, during deep anesthesia.
 
1^ Unpublished. EDso : 25 mg. per kg. subcutaneously.
 
Key: B = Blockade.
 
= No blockade.
 
1 = Ovulation induced by the drug.
 
 
 
526
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Nor is it influenced by severe trauma, heat,
cold, or formalin injection coincident with
the known "critical period" (Everett, unpublished).
 
2. Central Depressants and Ovulation
 
Reported evidence of a blocking action
of barbiturates on ovulation traces back
to experiments by Westman (1947) who injected female rats with Prominal twice
daily for 3 weeks. Approximately 30 per
cent of these rats experienced prolonged
vaginal estrus and had ovaries containing
only follicles at the end of the experiment.
Almost identical results were reported by
Doring and Goz (1952) when rats were
treated daily with phenobarbital. The agreement is not unexpected in view of the fact
that in the body Prominal is quickly demethylated to phenobarbital. It was shown
by Everett and Sawyer (1950) that when
administration of barbiturates to rats is
critically timed with respect to stage of the
cycle and the time of day, blockade of ovulation can be accomplished at will in shortterm experiments (Fig. 8.10). Chronic
administration introduces considerable uncertainty for reasons that are not yet clear
(Everett, 1952b). In the rabbit, the rapid
intravenous injection of pentobarbital or
Pentothal, within as short a time as 12
seconds after coitus, generally failed to
block ovulation (Sawyer, Everett and
Markee, 1950) . However, it was later shown
that barbiturate anesthesia will prevent the
ovulation that is otherwise caused in the
estrogen-primed rabbit by mechanical
stimulation of the vagina, the anesthesia
t)eing induced in advance of the stimulation
(unjuiblished i.
 
Other central dcpi-es^ants reported to
block ovulation in the rat are morj^hine,
reserj^ine, chlorpromazine (Barraclough and
Sawyer, 1955; Barraclough, 1955, 1956),
and even meprobamate acting synergistically with an anticholinergic drug (Gitscli,
1958). Special interest attaches to the
mori)hine work, in that anicnoi'i lica and
sterility often a('C()in|)any moiphinc addiction in the human female. Related studies
(Sawyer, Critchlow and Barraclough, 1955),
in which recordings were made of electi'ical
acti\ity in various regions in the bi-ain.
 
 
 
demonstrated in rats that morphine acts
nmch like the barbiturates in depressing
activity in the reticular activating system.
The effect was also shown by atropine, in
doses that would block ovulation. The inference is that all three agents block by
striking at the same central elements of
the LH-release apparatus.
 
An interesting peculiarity of domestic
hens with respect to barbiturates was encountered by Fraps and Case (1953), who
noted that pentobarbital induces ovulation
jirematurely, and that pentobarbital and
progesterone supplement each other in this
capacity. Although these developments may
represent pharmacologic curiosities limited
to the bird, the possibility should be seriously considered that similar effects may
occur in other animals. In fact, pentobarbital in rabbits facilitates the release of
hypophyseal gonadotrophin in response to
intraventricular injection of histamine,
seemingly by an effect in the rhinencephalon
(Sawyer^ 1955).
 
3. The Central Xervous System as a Timing
Mechanism for Oi'ulation
 
In the rat and the hen and probably many
other species the pro-ovulatory excitation of
the hypophysis is dejiendent in large measure on time of day.
 
In the rat, the blocking agents have
served to delimit a critical period on the day
of proestrum, before which ovulation can be
blocked and after which it will occur in
sjiite of injection of the blocking agent.
Under controlled illumination for 14 hours
daily, this critical period extends from
about 2 P.M. to 4 P.M. Administration of
either atroi^ine or i^entobarbital at 2 p.m.
consistently blocks ovulation (Fig. 8.10),
whereas injections later in the period are
progressively less eff"ecti\-e ( l']\-erett and
Sawyer, 1950, 1953; Everett, 1956b). Such
l)redictability of the hour of pituitary activation is, in itself, evidence of a relationship
between this event and diunial physiologic
I'liythnis.
 
Furthei' e\-i(lence is seen in the seciuelae
of pentobarbital injection (Fig. 8.11). Repetition at 2 P.M. on successive days results in a follicular cycle and prolonged
vaginal estrus with eventual atresia of all
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
<- — 24hr.— >
 
 
 
527
 
 
 
DAY NIGHT
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 8.10. Deinoni^lration of 24-lioiir penodu-ity in the luteinizing hormone-release apparatus of female rats (Vanderbilt strain, 4-day cycle, controlled lighting: 14 hours per day).
Schematic representations of the normal cycle (A) and of characteristic results of different
regimes of Nembutal treatment (B to F). Vaginal stages indicated by Roman numerals over
each time scale; symbols above these show the corresponding follicle and corpus luteum
stages. The device marked <S defines the "critical period," the time limits of pituitary activation as experimentally determined (Fig. 8.11). OV indicates normal ovulation iinic in .1 and
estimated ovulation time elsewhere. NBTL indicates intraperitoneal injection of Nembutal.
(From J. W. Everett and C. H. Saw.yer, Endocrinology, 47, 200, 1950.)
 
 
 
large follicles, providing that on the second
and third days the dose is increased or
supplemented by a second injection. Omission of any of these injections results in
 
 
 
ovulation during the ensuing night. Thus,
there is a clearly defined 24-hour rhythm
in the LH-release mechanism. The results
confirm a similar conclusion based on the
 
 
 
i28
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
2:00
 
 
 
2.30
 
 
 
3:00
 
 
 
3:30
 
 
 
4:00
 
 
 
TIME
 
 
 
Fig. 8.11. The "critical period" in certain rats on the afternoon of proestrum (Vanderbilt
strain, 4-day cycle, controlled lighting: 14 hours per day). Complete blockade of ovulation
(solid bars) is regularly found if either atropine or Nembutal is administered at 2:00 p.m.
Failure of blockade is usual when injections are made at 4:00 p.m. or later. Injection of
atropine at different times during the critical period results in jarogressive decline of percentage blocked and often accomplishes only partial blockade (cross-hatching). (From J. W.
Everett, Ciba Foundation Colloquia Endocrinol., 4, 172, 1952.)
 
 
 
24-hour advancement of ovulation l)y i)rogcsterone. Approximately 24 hours before
pituitary stimulation would occur spontaneously there is a period limited to a
few hours during which progesterone can
he effective (Everett and Sawyer, 1949).
Although these time relationships were first
recognized in a colony of inbred rats in
North Carolina, they have since been confirmed in commercial rats (Sprague-Dawley ) kept under controlled lighting for only
a few weeks in southern California (Barraclough and Sawyer, 1955; Barraclough,
1955, 1956). In these studies morphine,
reserpine, and chlorj^romazine wcic consistently effective when injected during pioestrus at 2 p.m., and ineffective at 4 p..m.
 
Not only is the critical period pictlictablc
under controlled lighting, but it may be
readily changed by sliiftiiig the ligliting
schedule. For example, after an abrupt 3
 
 
liour advance of the time switch controlling
the lights, the animals slowly readjusted
over a 2- to 3-week period (Everett, 1952b ) ;
when the switch was later returned to the
original setting, they required again about
2 weeks to readjust. After a full 12-hour
change of lighting schedule, full reversal of
diurnal rhythms of activity and estrous
behavior similarly requires about 2 weeks
(Hemmingsen and Krarup, 1937).
 
The duration of the process of ])ituitai'y
activation in rabbits and its time relationship to release of LH and the subsequent
o\-uhiti()ii ha\'e l)een well defined (Table
8.1 I. In no other species is the available
iufoi'uiation so complete, but some advance
has been luadt' in the rat (also the hen; see
chapter l)y van Tienhoven).
 
Diu'ation of the activating stimulus in the
rat has been estimated from the frequency
of partial blockade of ovulation after atro
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
529
 
 
 
piiU' injections in the midst of the critical
period (Everett and Sawyer, 1953; Everett,
1956b L Unlike the trigger-like stimulus in
rabbits, that in rats is prolonged to about a
half-hour. In different individuals the stimulus begins at different times, (Fig. 8.11 L
Release of LH is probably coextensive with
the stimulus. In parallel experiments carried
out at various times during the critical
period, groups of proestrous rats w^ere hypophysectomized and other similar groups
were injected with atropine. The two procedures gave essentially the same results,
as measured on the following morning by
the proportionate numbers of rats in which
ovulation w^as found blocked or partially
blocked (Everett, 1956b). The time interval
from stimulation of the hypophysis to ovulation is 10 to 12 hours in rats (Everett,
Sawyer and INIarkee, 19491. thus ai)out
the same as in rabbits.
 
D. PERSISTENT FOLLICLE
 
The state of persistent follicle may be
considered as one in which for some reason
there is a physiologic blockade of the hypothalamic ovulating stimulus. In the rabbit
one may attribute failure of ovulation to
absence of reflex stimulation, on the one
hand, and a relatively high threshold of the
hypothalamo-pituitary apparatus for estrogen and progesterone, on the other. In the
rat certain conditions {e.g., continuous illumination) elevate the threshold of the
hypothalamo-pituitary system, with the
result that persistent estrus and jicrsistent
follicle occur (Hemmingsen and Krarup,
1937; Browman, 1937; Everett, 1940a;
Dempsey and Searles, 1943). Additional
stimulation, furnished by either progesterone or coitus, is necessary to overcome this
blockade.
 
An age factor is operative in the spontaneous onset of persistent follicle in old
female rats. This condition is well recognized as an occasional occurrence (Evans
and Long, 1921 ; Doling, Blandau, Rundlett
and Young, 1941 ; Marvin and Meyer, 1941 ;
Hartman, 1944). In the DA strain (Everett,
1939-1944) the age of onset was unusually
early in segregated females under normal
lighting conditions, i.e., about 150 days of
age which was more than 200 davs earlier
 
 
 
than in a normal strain. In Fi hyljrids the
age of onset was intermediate. This factor,
ill defined though it is, is also expressed in
sensitivity to continuous illumination. Postpubertal rats of the normal strain in continuous light continued to experience regular
cycles for as long as 40 days, whereas older
animals (200 to 250 days) began to show
persistent estrus within 10 days. Postpubertal DA rats, on the other hand, responded
as promptly as 250-day-old normal rats.
Hybrids again were intermediate. It was
also found in older DA rats that had spontaneously developed persistent estrus under
a lighting schedule of 14 hours per day, that
reduction of the light ration to 9 hours usually restored cyclic function. It seems, then,
that the age factor in cjuestion intensifies
the effect of a given amount of daily illumination.
 
Interference with ovarian cii'culation in
rats causes persistent follicle and failure
of luteinization. This effect has been reported after ligation of the pedicle (Fels,
1952) , ligation of the oviduct with resultant
increase of pressure within the ovarian capsule (Haterius, 1936; Navori, Fugo and
Davis, 1952), hysterectomy with increased
pressure (Bradbury, Brown and Gray,
1950), and transplantation of the ovary to
the tip of the tail (Hernandez, 1943; Bielschowsky and Hall, 1953). A possible explanation of this result is that the diminished
blood flow releases insufficient estrogen
to reach the threshold of the LH-release
mechanism. An alternative explanation may
l)e a change in the character of the secretory
product of the ovary. "Cystic" changes
of the ovaries are not uncommon after pelvic surgery in women.
 
The occurrence of persistent follicle in
rats following partial nephrectomy (Diaz,
1940) has never been explained. It seemed
to be correlated with the development of
high blood pressure. Hence it may be allied
with the experiments just described.
 
Pfeiffer (1936, 1937) reported that when
testes are temporarily grafted into female
rats during early infancy and removed before puberty the host animals exhibit constant estrus after reaching maturity. The
same phenomenon has been observed after
postnatal treatment with testosterone or
 
 
 
530
 
 
 
physioloc;y of gonads
 
 
 
chorionic gonadotroi)hin (Selye, 1940;
Bradbury, 1940, 1941), estrogen, progesterone, or desoxycorticosterone (Hale, 1944;
Takasugi, 1954). The adult ovaries develop
])rominent follicles which never luteinize.
Pfeiffer reported that his constant-estrous
animals would not copulate. The conclusion
was reached that the hypophyses of these
rats had been masculinized by the early action of androgen. Subsequently (1941), he
attempted unsuccessfully to invoke ovulation in similar animals by daily injection of
small amounts of progesterone. Kempf
(1950) later accomplished this with 2 injections, more widely spaced (interval, 1
week ) . Takasugi was unable to produce
corpora lutea in postnatally estrogenized
rats by chronic progesterone treatment after
puberty, although vaginal cycles were observed. The further addition of androgen,
interestingly enough, brought about luteinization. It would seem that a prime effect of
the hormones during infancy is to produce
a permanently high threshold in the hypothalamic ovulating mechanism without destroying it.
 
VII. The Luteal Phase
 
The luteal phase presents more enigmas
than the phases that precede it. What initiates it? What keeps it going? What brings it
to an end? How is its duration determined?
 
Its beginning may arbitrarily be defined
as the moment of ovulation, yet gestagen secretion may start during the follicular
phase, and structural changes in the follicle
wall during pre-ovulatory maturation may
be considered as first steps in luteinization.
Fi'om the time of follicle rupture onward the
ac(iuisition of full secretory activity by the
cori)ora lutea roughly parallels their morphologic differentiation. It is even then a
gi'adual process.
 
Luteinization as a structural change does
not insure the attainment of secretory activity. The former is the ultimate effect of
the preovulatory discharge of hypojihyseal
luteinizing hormone; some other (lutcotrol)hic) factor must come into play to bring
about and maintain gestagen secretion. We
must, then, hv concerned with the special
character of luteotrophins, with nieclianisnis tliat favor their secretion by the hypo])hysis, with mechanisms that shortcMi or
 
 
 
lengthen the Hfc of the corpus luteum and,
therefore, witli the mechanisms that normally bring the corpus luteum phase to an
end. In the final analysis this last has an
im])oi-tance equal to the ovulation mechanism in the timing of recurrent cycles.
 
1. Lutcotrophic Snbst(niccs
 
The term luteotropliin was proposed by
Astwood ( 1941 j to I'efer to a substance that
maintains function of corpora lutea, in distinction to substances that cause them to
form. It is now conceded that the substance
desci'ibed in that paper was probably the
lactogenic hormone. Evans, Simpson, Lyons
and Turpeincn (1941) demonstrated that
purified lactogen is luteotrophic in hypophysectomized rats. This has been confirmed by
several later investigations (Tobin, 1942;
Nelson and Pichette, 1943; Everett, 1944b;
Desclin, 1948; Gaarenstroom and de Jongh,
1946 ) . Although lactogen seems to be the
hypophyseal luteotrophin in rats, such is not
necessarily true for all species (Bradbury,
Brown and Gray, 1950). Nevertheless, the
expression luteotrophin in the generic sense
continues to be desirable.
 
In the rabbit, lactogen is said to have little, if any, luteotrophic effect (Klein and
Mayer, 1943; Mayer, 1951). Yet rabbits
have never been tested with rabbit lactogen.
Several workers have failed to demonstrate
a luteotrophic function of lactogen preparations in monkeys (Hisaw, 1944; Bryans,
1951) and women (Holmstrom and Jones,
1949; Bradbury, Brown and Gray, 1950).
Positi^•e evidence of such activity in primates furnished by Fried and Rakoff ( 1952)
and more recently by Lyon (1956) lias not
gained wide acceptance. The former authors
re])orted that amounts of chorionic gonadoti'ophin which were tluMUseh-es inadequate,
wlicii siipplciiicnrcd by lacrogcii ( Luteoti-()pliiii, S(|uil)l>l prolonged the functional
life of the coi'pus luteuni in nonpregnant
women. Lyon rejjorted such prolongation
using lactogen alone. The Squibl) lactogen
was also used by Moore and Nalbandov
(1955) in prolonging the luteal phase of the
cycle in the ewe. As in the human experiments, howe\-er. one would like to know
whether lactogen is capable of initial stimul.'iiioii of secretory activity of corpora lutea
and of maintaining their function in the ab
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
531
 
 
 
sence of the hypophysis. There is no evidence for or against the lactogenic liormone
in this capacity, except in rats.
 
Estrogens have direct hiteotrophic action
in the rabbit (Robson, 1937, 1938, 1947).
The effect does not depend on the hypophysis and has been produced by impLantation
of estrogen crystals within corpora liitea
(Hammond, Jr., and Robson, 1951; Hammond, Jr., 1952). Westman (1934) had earlier shown that operative reduction of
ovarian stroma in pseudopregnant rabbits
results in corpus luteum regression and that
this can be prevented by administration of
estrogen. Corpora lutea induced by gonadotrophin injection or by mating, as the case
may be, require the presence of the hypophysis for their continued function ( Smith and
White, 1931; Westman and Jacobsohn,
1936). Theoretically, then, in rabbits the
hypophysis liberates FSH and LH which act
on the interstitial tissue to cause estrogen
secretion. This in turn stimulates the corpora lutea to secrete progesterone.
 
The effect of estrogen on the corpora lutea
of rats is largely indirect and requires the
presence of the hypophysis. Massive dosage
with estrogen beginning soon after ovulation results in the enlargement of the corpora lutea and the production of sufficient
amounts of progesterone to mucify the vaginal mucosa (Selye, Collip and Thomson,
1935; Wolfe, 1935; Desclin, 1935; Merckel
and Nelson, 1940). In fact, a single injection of 50 /Ag. estradiol bcnzoate on the day
after ovulation is sufficient to cause pseudopregnancy. These effects are now judged to
be the result of induced liberation of hypophyseal luteotrophin. vSimilar effects have
been reported after administration of androgens (McKeown and Zuckerman, 1937;
Wolfe and Hamilton, 1937; Freed, Greenhill
and Soskin, 1938; Laqueur and Fluhmann,
1942).
 
Desclin (1949b) stated that in hypophysectomized rats the administration of estrogen augments the hiteotrophic action of
lactogen, producing functional corpora lutea in the presence of subthreshold doses of
the latter hormone. A physiologic synergism
of the two substances has thus been indicated. Mayer (1951) suggested that this
may explain the stimulation of corpora lutea
of lactation which follows estrogen treat
 
 
ment in this species. Greep and Chester
Jones (1950) postulated that estrogen favors corpus luteum function in the rat by
causing the luteal cells to produce cholesterol as a precursor of progesterone. Their
actual data, however, indicate that the increase of visible cholesterol after estrogen
treatment was confined to the interstitial
tissue.
 
Factors responsible for cholesterol storage
and mobilization in corpora lutea of the rat
were analyzed by Everett (1947). In hypophysectomized rats in which corpora lutea
were maintained by lactogen the injection
of pituitary LH induced the storage of
cholesterol, but this effect did not occur in
hypophysectomized rats in the absence of
lactogen. It could be induced during pregnancy or pseudopregnancy by estrogen if
the hypophysis remained in place. Addition
of an excess of lactogen prevented cholesterol storage. Lactogen thus tends to deplete
cholesterol content of rat luteal tissue as
ACTH tends to deplete adrenocortical cholesterol.
 
2. ''XonfunctionaV' Corpora Lutea
 
In the short cycles of the rat, mouse,
hamster, and so on, the corpora lutea are
commonly said to be nonfunctional. The
meaning of this statement, of course, is that
they are incapable of supporting a decidual
reaction (Long and Evans, 1922), or of lireventing ovulation. They need not be totally
inactive, however, to fail to cause these
manifestations. Whereas daily injection of
1.5 mg. or more of progesterone into intact
female rats will simulate pseudopregnancy
and indefinitely delay ovulation (Selye,
Browne and Collii^, 1936; Phillips, 1937),
smaller amounts of 1.0 rag. or less are compatible with the short cycle (Lahr and
Riddle, 1936; Phillips, 1937; Everett, 1940a,
b; and unpublished). In the absence of estrogen in castrated females, daily injection
of as little as 0.25 rag. progesterone will support deciduomata (Velardo and Hisaw,
1951). Very small amounts of estrogen augment this action of progesterone (Rothchild,
Meyer and Spielman, 1940) but somewhat
larger amounts are inhibitory unless the
progesterone dose is proportionately increased (Velardo and Hisaw, 1951). In the
intact animal the progestational effects of
 
 
 
53^
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
less than 1.0 mg. progesterone would be inhibited by the periodic rise in estrogen secretion.
 
Evidence that some rats, but not all, actually experience low-grade corpus luteum
activity during the short cycle was furnished
by Everett (1945). In the comparison of
ovaries from females of two strains of rats,
it was noted in the supposedly normal Vanderbilt strain that on the two days immediately following ovulation the corpora
lutea of the next youngest generation contained a great quantity of cholesterol, giving a strong Schultz reaction. By contrast,
comparable corpora lutea of the DA strain
were usually free of visible lipid in Sudan
preparations or the Schultz test. Administration of small amounts of lactogen (luteotrophin I during the cycle preceding the
current one, amounts inadequate to cause
l)seudopregnancy, resulted in the rich deposition of cholesterol in these otherwise lipidfree corpora lutea. The conclusion was
reached that the corpora lutea of the Vanderbilt rat must be slightly active during the
short cycle and those of the DA rat less so, if
at all. This would easily explain the relative
indifference of the Vanderbilt rat to continuous light and the ease with which persistent
cstrus could be induced in the DA rat by
such treatment (Everett, 1942a, b). In fact,
the low dosages of lactogen mentioned substituted for progesterone treatment in maintaining regular cycles in persistent-estrous
rats of the DA strain (Everett, 1944b). Significantly, the treatment was effective in
only those animals in which a set of corpora
lutea had been induced by other means at
the beginning of the experiment.
 
To be correlated with the above indications of low-grade function during the short
cycle, is the finding that corpora lutea of
the Vanderl)ilt rat retain full responsiveness
to luteotrophin throughout most of the diestrous interval (Nikitovitch-Winer and
Everett, 1958a). Responsiveness diminishes
near the onset of i:)roestrum. Once the rat
has entered proestrum these older corpora
lutea are not capable of sustained function.
The loss is not a function of time per se, but
of stage of the cycle.
 
.\. I'.^KTI)OPRE(;\.\XrY
 
The terms coi-pu,^ hitcuni of ()^•ulation and
corpus luteum of pscudojji'cgnancy are com
 
 
monly u.sed to differentiate the luteal bodies
occurring during the normal cycles from
those found during some unusually long
period of luteal activity. However, the
terms deny the fundamental similarity of
the luteal phase in the cycles of such animals as the guinea pig and the luteal phase
induced by sterile mating or its equivalent
in animals like the rat. In the unmated bitch
the spontaneous luteal phase of the cycle is
commonly called pseudopregnancy, yet it
is equally common to say that the guinea
pig does not experience pseudopregnancy.
The truth is that the luteal phase of the
canine cycle is simply longer than the luteal
phase in the guinea pig and may be marked
by a period of lactation near its close. In
the present discussion, the expression pseudopregnancy will be equivalent to saying
the luteal phase of the infertile cycle. Under
experimental conditions it will refer to any
period of sustained luteal function similar
to that of the normal progestational state.
Wherever appropriate, the distinction will
be made between a pseudopregnancy that is
spontaneous and one that is induced.
 
In most of the familiar animals that ovulate spontanously corpus luteum function
also begins spontaneously and continues for
at least several days after ovulation. With
respect to the rabbit, cat, and ferret, it is
often said that pseudopregnancy is invoked
by sterile copulation, whereas strictly speaking it is only ovulation and corpus luteum
formation which are invoked. The pseudopregnancy then follows automatically. This
interpretation seems appropriate, inasmuch
as in all three species the formation of
corpora lutea by l)rief treatment with hypophyseal or chorionic gonadotrophin is followed by long periods of progesterone secretion which can hardly be the direct effect
of the injected substances (Hill and Parkes,
1930a, b; Foster and Hisaw, 1935; van
Dyke and Li, 1938). Quite different is the
pseudopregnancy of the rat, mouse, and
hauistei', in \\liich progestational activity is
invoked by stinudation of the cervix uteri,
l^verett (1952a) described the ex])eriiuental
dissociation in rats of the o^•^llati()n and
luteotr()])hic mechanisms. respectively.
When o\-uhition is blocked (by pentobarbital) in the cycle dui'ing which controlled
uiatinu occurs, pseudopi-egnancy begins
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
533
 
 
 
A
 
A.
 
 
A
 
 
A,
 
 
A
 
 
/
 
 
 
 
NB Np X
 
 
X
 
 
X
 
 
A
 
 
 
 
Q
 
/ \
 
 
A
 
 
s A
 
 
A
 
 
s /
 
 
 
 
NB NB (X)
 
 
X
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C
 
 
/^
 
 
A
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 8.12. Experimental dissociation in rats of the ovulation mechanism and that causing
pseudopregnancy. A. Control cycles for comparison with B and C . Points on base line
represent diestrum, on ascending lines proestrum, on highest level full vaginal estrum. X,
ovulation. B. Blockade with Nembutal {'NB) on day of proestrum and following day (see
Fig. 8.11E'). Ovulation during third night. C. Same basic procedure as B, but with copulation
during first night (M). Ovulation usually failing in this cycle (contrast with B) . Corpora
lutea formed after spontaneous ovulation in second cycle regularly become functional without further stimulation : the wavy line represents pseudopregnancy. The early copulation has
introduced some change in the animal such that this pseudopregnancy "spontaneously"
follows ovulation as in the standard mammalian cycle. (From J. W. Everett, Ciba Foundation Collofiuia Endocrinol.. 4, 172. 1952.)
 
 
 
"spontaneously" a]ter the next cyclic estrus
(Fig. 8.12). Dissociation of the two mechanisms is expressed in another way by certain Mustelidae, e.g., the mink and marten.
Ovulation in these forms is invoked by
mating, whereas corpus luteum activation
awaits appropriate environmental conditions, i.e., temperature and length of daily
illumination (Pearson and Enders, 1944;
Hansson, 1947). In the mink, during the period of relative luteal inactivity that follows mating early in the season, recurrent
estrus continues. If reraating takes place at
an interval of 6 days or more, new ovulations are induced (Hansson, 1947). Matings
late in the season are immediately followed
by luteal activity. The pseudopregnant cycles of a representative series of mammals
are much alike when conditions appropriate to the respective species are applied
(Fig. 8.1).
 
1. Duration of Psciidopregndncn
 
The length of time that corpora lutea remain functional in the pseudopregnant cycle is thought to be relatively uniform in
the great majority of mammals, usually
about 10 to 15 days. Rarely it is shorter,
 
 
 
e.g., the hamster, 7 days, although usually
9 to 10 days (Asdell, 1946). At the other
extreme, the corpora lutea remain functional
for periods corresponding to the duration of
pregnancy, as in the ferret, 5 to 6 weeks. In
fact, corpus luteum function lasting over a
month is usual in the other two carnivores
for which information is at hand: cat, 30 to
44 days (Foster and Hisaw, 1935) ; and dog,
30 days or more (Evans and Cole, 1931).
 
These figures are only approximations,
however, as the criteria on which they are
based differ. In the rat, in which pseudopregnancy is said to last 12 to 14 days, its
termination is taken to be the onset of the
next estrus, whereas the corpora lutea must
have undergone a decline of activity 2 or 3
days earlier (Everett, 1948). The decline is
probably not abrupt, inasmuch as the vaginal smear during the next estrus is very
strongly mucified and, as mentioned earlier
(p. 519), enough progesterone seems to be
secreted by the waning corpora lutea to facilitate ovulation. Morphologic criteria are
often employed as indicators of corpus luteum regression: characteristically, fatty
vacuolation of luteal cells, decrease in size
of the individual cells or of the entire corpus
 
 
 
534
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
luteuni. and changes in the smusoidal pattern suggesting reduced circulation. Such
changes are first observed in the guinea pig
corpora lutea on about the 13th day of the
cycle. One has the choice of taking this date
as the end of the pseudopregnant phase or,
alternatively, the date on which the first
indications of estrus are noted. Either choice
is arbitrary, but the former seems preferable
as it suggests that progesterone secretion is
diminishing and probably is no longer sufficient to maintain progestational changes
in the uterus. In fact, regression of the endometrium sets in about a day earlier than
frank degenerative changes in the corpora
lutea. In the cat, according to van Dyke and
l.i (1938) the corpora lutea 20 days after
ovulation no longer secrete enough progesterone to cause motor effects of epinephrine in the myometrium, the so-called "epinephrine-reversal" effect, yet by histologic
criteria corpus luteum regression is not apparent until 28 days or later (Liche, 1939;
Foster and Hisaw, 1935). In the bitch the
uterus begins regression 20 to 30 days after
heat, l)ut the corpora lutea are said to remain in good condition for a longer time
(see Asdell, 1946, for references). Regression is so gradual that anestrum is not
reached until about 85 days. In the primates
the beginning of menstruation offers a means
of delimiting the luteal phase, inasmuch as
menstruation in the ovulatory cycle reflects
a marked reduction in corpus luteum function. Nevertheless, this reduction probably
occurs a few days before bleeding begins.
The i^eak of pregnanediol excretion in
women (Venning and Browne, 1937) and of
plasma progesterone concentration in
women and monkeys (Forbes, 1950; Bryans.
1951 ) is passed about midway between ovuhition and menstruation.
 
2. Xciivdl Factors in Pseudoprciindiicji
 
The importance of the nervous system
in control of pseudopregnancy is well recognized in only the few species re])resented
by the rat. .\ neural effect in the mink and
similar Mustelidae is implied by the relation of hiteal function to daily illumination,
as mentioned earlier. Beyond that fact, however, no information is available. Att(>ntion
will therefore be directed largely to the rat.
 
Not only sterile mating, but se\'eral other
 
 
 
procedures involving neural stimulation will
cause rats to become pseudopregnant. Stimulation of the cervix by mechanical means
(Long and Evans, 1922) or electric shock
(Shelesnyak, 1931) have become standard
methods. In fact, Greep and Hisaw (1938)
obtained pseudopregnancies after electrical
stimulation during early diestrum, several
days before ovulation. Pseudopregnancy is
also invoked by continuous stimulation of
the nipples for several days (Selye and McKeown, 1934). According to Harris (1936)
electric shock through the head is effective.
His negative results with "spinal shock"
are difficult to explain. From the description
of position of the electrode it seems doubtful that the current passed through the cord
itself, yet the sacral plexus must have been
stimulated.
 
Al)dominal sympathectomy or superior
cervical ganglionectomy are said to diminish
the numbers of animals responding to electrical or mechanical stimulation of the cervix (Vogt, 1931; Haterius, 1933; Friedgood
and Bevin, 1941). On the other hand, there
is no diminution of response to sterile copulation, which shows that the sympathetic
chains are not essential. Ball (1934) emphasized the quantitative aspects of the
problem, noting that partial resection of the
uterus or excision of the cervix diminished
the response to sterile copulation, but only
when "single-plug" matings were allowed.
Multiple plugs gave pseudopregnancy in 100
per cent of the animals. It may be assumed
that Vogt's (1933) negative results after
hysterectomy resulted from single-jilug copulations. Kollar (1953) re-opened the cjuestion and found that pelvic nerve resection
usually pi-evented the response to mating. It
is not clear, howevei', whether multiple copulations wnv the rule, although it seems that
the I'outiiie procedure was to leave the male
with the female overnight. His contention
was that cervicectomy fails to abolish the
resjionse completely because the vagina remains sensitive.
 
Anesthesia with ether, nitrous oxide, or
ethylene ( Mcyei', Leonard and Hisaw, 1929)
diniiiiished the ficciuency of response to
inecliaiiical stimulation of tlu> (•er\-ix. The
statement was made, although without v\\(len(c, that spinal anesthesia |)re\-ents pseudopreiinanev. Aeeoi'ding to A'ogt (1933),
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVP] CYCLE
 
 
 
535
 
 
 
local anesthesia of the vagina and cervix by
cocaine or procaine prevented the response
to sterile copulation in 23 of 35 rats.
 
Removal of neocortex (Davis, 1939) did
not interfere with the pseudopregnancy response to electrical stimulation of the cervix, although there was slight impairment of
the response to mechanical stimulation or
sterile mating (single-plug?).
 
These results taken together have been
construed to mean that induction of pseudopregnancy in rats involves a reflex similar to
the ovulation reflex in rabbits. Certain considerations, however, raise the possibility
that it may not be a "trigger" stimulus to
the hypophysis as long believed (Everett,
1952a). In the first place, it seems doubtful
that a trigger stimulus would result in continuation of a new pattern of secretion
(luteotrophin) for as long as 10 to 12 days.
Furthermore, as noted above, cervical stimulation during the diestrum preceding ovulation may induce pseudopregnancy (Greep
and Hisaw, 1938). Similarly, copulation
during a cycle in which ovulation is blocked
by pentobarbital results in a pseudoi)regnancv that begins after the next estrus (Fig.
8.12)^.
 
We turn now to experiments concerned
directly with the hypothalamo-pituitary
system and pseudopregnancy. Westman and
Jacobsohn (1938c) cut the pituitary stalks
of estrous female rats. Barriers of metal foil
were inserted to prevent regeneration of
nerve fibers assumed to innervate the adenohypophysis. Regeneration of blood vessels
must have been equally impossible. Controls
were simply hypophysectomized. Two to 5
hours after the operations electrical stimulation of the cervix was administered to all
animals. Pseudopregnancies were demonstrated by deciduomas in traumatized uteri
of all the stalk-sectioned animals but not in
the completely hypophysectomized rats.
Desclin (1950) reported the maintenance of
pseudopregnancy in estrogen-treated rats
in which the only remaining hypophyseal
tissue was in the form of grafts in the kidney. Whereas in hypophysectomized controls the estrogen treatment (stilbestrol pellets) produced cornification of the vagina
and no enlargement of corpora lutea, the engrafted-estrogenized rats developed mucified vaginas and enlarged corpora lutea as
 
 
 
in intact rats similarly treated with estrogen. Desclin concluded that the grafted hypophysis is able to respond to estrogen by
liberating luteotrophin.
 
It is now apparent, however, that neither
cervical stimulation nor estrogen treatment
is needed to invoke pseudopregnancy when
the gland is isolated from the hypothalamus
(Everett, 1954, 1956a; Nikitovitch-Winer
and Everett, 1958a; Sanders and Rennels,
1957; Desclin, 1956a, b). When autografts
of anterior hypophysis were made to the renal capsule or near the common carotid
artery on the day after ovulation in adult
cyclic rats, corpus luteum function was invoked and maintained without any stimulus other than the operative procedures
themselves. In short-term experiments in
which the uteri were traumatized 4 days
after the transplantation large deciduomas
were regularly found at 8 days in the proven
absence of residual hypophyseal tissue at
the original site (Everett, 1954). Hypophysectomized controls were negative. In longterm experiments, continuing luteal function
was demonstrated for as long as 3 months.
Here the test for luteal function was vaginal
mucification in the presence of massive
amounts of estrogen administered during
the final week of the experiment (Everett,
1956a). Controls in which the grafts or the
ovaries were removed at the beginning of
such estrogen treatment responded with full
vaginal cornification. Follicular apparatus
and interstitial tissue of the ovaries atrophied promptly after the grafting operations, whereas corpora lutea forming at that
time were maintained for the long periods
without histologic sign of deterioration. In
later work, the decidual reaction was used
as the test for luteal function, positive reactions being elicited as late as 2 months
after the transplantation. It was discovered
that function of the graft is not influenced
by stage of the cycle at which transplantation is carried out and that grafts in the
anterior chamber of the eye secrete luteotrophin like those on the kidney (Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett, 1958a). Transsection of the pituitary stalk is sufficient
in itself to provoke pseudopregnancy. If an
effective barrier to vascular regeneration is
inserted, the pseudopregnancy will heorve
permanent, but otherwise it will l:i •■ i;!*'
 
 
 
536
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
usual length of time (Xikitovitch-Winer,
1957 j. In fact, there is reason to suspect
that even a transient impairment of circulation in the median eminence-hypophj'seal
linkage can be a sufficient impetus to pseudopregnancy. The experiments of Taubenhaus and Soskin ( 1941 ) in which application of an acetylcholine-prostigmine mixture
to the exposed hypophysis was followed by
pseudopregnancy, may well be explained
in some such way.
 
It thus seems that in the rat the deprivation of, or interference with, the normal connection of the pars distalis with the median
eminence facilitates secretion of luteotrophin and at the same time eliminates luteolytic mechanisms. It is significant that
transplants of pars distalis into the pituitary
capsule or to the immediate vicinity of the
median eminence resume cyclic function
(see page 512). The hypothalamus may
have an inhibitory effect on luteotrophic activity of the pars distalis during the short
cycle in this species. Greep and Chester
Jones (1950) made the pertinent suggestion
in attempting to explain the induction of
pseudopregnancy by estrogen treatment,
that the fundamental action of estrogen
here is the suppression of FSH and LH,
after which luteotrophic secretion may
"proceed apace."
 
There is necessarily some uncertainty
concerning the amount of luteotrophin secreted by the pars distalis when dissociated
from the brain. Three sets of facts indicate
that the output is larger than that in the
cycling animal. (1) Sufficient gestagen is
secreted by the engrafted animal to maintain a ])regnancy (Everett, 1956c; Meyer,
I'rasad and Cochrane, 1958) when the pituitary is trans])lanted on the day after
mating. (2) After stalk-transsection, in
which there is less initial destruction of
glandular parenchyma than in transplantation experiments, the corpora lutea enlarge
to a diameter like that usually found in late
pregnancy rather than remaining like those
of pseudopregnancy (Nikitovitch-Winer,
1957). (3) A single homotransplant of pars
distalis placed subcutaneously in an otherwise normal female mouse will maintain a
se(iueiicc of pseudopregnancies that override
the short cycles expected of the animal's
own hypophysis (Miihlbock and Boot,
19591. This is also true of rats (Nikitovitch
 
 
Winer, uni)ublislie(l). To avoid the conclusion that in such preparations the grafted
gland is secreting luteotrophin at an increased rate, one must assume that the outl)ut of this hormone from the intact gland
is only slightly below threshold and that the
graft adds just enough to make the total
output effective. To explain the maintenance
of pregnancy one might assume that the
luteotrophin output and the resulting gestagen secretion are no greater than during the
normal short cycle and that the formation
of deciduomas takes place because of the
deficiency of estrogen. The results of stalksection, however, cannot easily be explained
away. The weight of evidence, then, is in
favor of increased luteotrophin secretion by
hypophyses isolated from the brain by
severance of the stalk or transplantation.
 
Under certain experimental conditions it
has seemed that to establish pseudopregnancy all that is necessary is to block out
the forthcoming estrus and ovulation. Thus,
in cycling rats, when the hypophysis is
transplanted to the kidney as late as 60
hours after ovulation, the current diestrum
transforms into a permanent pseudopregnancy supported by the existing set of corpora lutea (Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett,
1958a ». Similarly, injections of chlorpromazine (Barraclough, 1957) or Pathilon
(ditsch and Everett, 1958) begun during
diestrum, may transform it into a pseudopregnancy by blocking out the expected
estrus.
 
The Miihlhock-Boot experiment mentioned above furnishes an instructive model
of the standard mammalian cycle, in which
both ovulation and pseudopregnancy are
spontaneous events. Given the extra pituitary tissue producing luteotrophin at a presumably constant rate, with the output of
the normal ghmd fluctuating (juantitatively
and (jualitatively, the mouse or rat undergoes one ])seudopregnancy after another.
Possibly, in animals that normally liave a
spontaneou.- hiteal phase, thei'c is a considei'ahle poUion ot' the pars distalis which
I'unctions somewhat indepeiidentl}- of the
hyputhalaiiius. with a continuous output of
luteotrophin as from the grafted gland in
the Mvihlb()ck-P)Oot pi-epaiation. The portion nioic (Hrectly under control of the
me(lian eminence I zona tuberaHs'.'l would
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
537
 
 
 
then act like the intact hypoiihysis of the
Miihlbock-Boot mouse. Such a view, unfortunately, continues to set apart species
in which the luteal phase is not spontaneous,
by suggesting that only in them are special
neui'al nieclianisnis involved.
 
B. LUTEOLYTIC MECHANISMS
 
By luteolysis we shall refer to corpus luteum regression in any of its manifestations.
Supposedly the initial change is functional,
after which overt cytologic and histologic
changes appear, leading eventually to the
total loss of glandular tissue. Very likely
the initial stages are occult and only gradually reach recognizable proportions. Mention was made earlier of the fact that in
women and monkeys the peak of gestagen
secretion is about midway between ovulation and menstruation. In rats indirect evidence from progesterone injection experiments leads to the deduction that toward
the close of a pseudoi)regnancy gestagen
secretion must drop below the estrus-suppressing level several days before estrous
changes appear in the vaginal smear (see
Fig. 8.8). A more al)rupt drop is reported
for the ewe l)etween the 16th and 17th
(last) days of the cycle (Edgar and Ronaldson, 1958).
 
Long-term experiments with pituitary
autotransplants indicate that at least in the
rat the life span of the corpus luteum is not
limited by intrinsic factors. Some agent (s)
of extra-ovarian origin must, therefore, be
res]5onsible for at least the initial luteolytic changes. Various bits of information
suggest that the agent is associated with, if
not identical with, FSH and/or LH. Greep
(1938) noted that after hypophysectomy
in rats the daily injection of LH over a period of 10 days caused the corpora lutea to
regress more rapidly than otherwise. Greep,
van Dyke and Chow (1942) later were unable to repeat this with a more highly purified LH C'metakentrin") , a fact suggesting
that the earlier material was effective because of impurity. During the short cycle
of the rat, luteolysis is interrupted by translilantation of the pars distalis (Everett,
1954; Nikitovitch-Winer and Everett,
1958a). Whatever regressive changes are
in progress at that moment are evidently
suspended forthwith. They are first appar
 
 
ent during the third day of diestrum and become increasingly pronounced during proestrum and estrus. In this connection, it
should be recalled that during late diestrum
and proestrum patches of cells undergoing
fatty necrosis are first recognizable histologically (Boling, 1942; Everett, 1945).
 
Why is it that, in the face of a continuing
supply of luteotrophin in the MiihlbockBoot preparation, or in intact animals injected daily with lactogen (Lahr and Riddle,
1936; Aschheim, 1954), luteolysis sets in
during the 2nd week? The question obviously cannot be answered from present
knowledge. Nevertheless, it is clear that the
pseudopregnancy that transpires when a
significant i)ortion of hypophyseal tissue
remains in normal relation to the hypothalamus is far from the steady state of that
which becomes established by total removal of the pars distalis to an extracranial
site. It is also apparent that the onset of
luteolysis may be postponed by such means
as hysterectomy or production of artificial
deciduomas (see p. 538). Furthermore,
during lactation-pseudoi)regnancies in rats,
Canivenc and Mayer (1953) prolonged luteal function to 34 days by substituting successive new litters of suckling young. This
technique should prove especially valuable
in experimental analysis of both luteotrophic and luteolytic mechanisms.
 
Benson and Folley (1956) suggested that
lactogen secretion is activated by oxytocin,
inasmuch as its injection prevented the normal inv'olution of the mammary glands after
withdrawal of the litters from lactating rats.
This observation has been confirmed by
McCann, Mack and Gale (1958), who also
noted the interruption of lactation by lesions of the sui)raoi)tico-hyiiophyseal tract.
Selye and ]\lcKeown (1934) long ago found
that pseudopregnancy could be induced in
cycling rats by the introduction of a suckling litter. Although all this is consistent
with the above-mentioned observation by
Canivenc and Alayer, other workers have
observed luteolytic effects of gonadotrophinfree oxytocin administered to cycling dairy
heifers (Armstrong and Hansel, 1958). Furthermore, Grosvenor and Turner (1958),
after first noting that the administration of
Dibenamine, atropine, or pentobarbital to
rats prevented the expected drop in assay
 
 
588
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
able pituitary lactogen at nursing, found no
decrease when pentobarbitalized mothers
were injected with physiologic doses of oxytocin intravenously. When the dosage was
increased 30 to 60 times there was apparently some moderate discharge, but the authors regard it as insignificant.
 
C. EFFECT OF THE UTERUS ON
LUTEAL FUNCTION
 
This subject has been reviewed by Bradbury, Brown and Gray (1950). In three
species (Fig. 8.13) hysterectomy results in
significant prolongation of the functional
life-span of corpora lutea (guinea pig, Loeb,
1927; rabbit, Asdell and Hammond, 1933;
rat, Bradbury, 1937). In each case the period of luteal function approximates that of
normal pregnancy. The fact that corpora lutea in the pseudopregnant ferret normally
function as long as in the pregnant animal
may be a clue to the noncffect of hysterectomy in that species (Deanesly and Parkes,
 
 
 
19331. Ahhough Burford and Diddle (1936)
rej^orted that in monkeys total hysterectomy was followed by vaginal cycles of normal length, examination of their protocols
shows that during the several postoperative
months just 1 corpus luteum was produced
among all 5 animals. The experiment thus
seems inconclusive. Impairment of pelvic
circulation seems to be a common factor
complicating the results of hysterectomy in
women and may have been one cause of the
failure of luteinization in these monkeys.
 
An interpretation given by Loeb (1927)
and Bradbury, Brown and Gray (1950) for
the prolongation of luteal function by hysterectomy is that in species in which the effect is demonstrable the uterus secretes a
specific substance which abbreviates the life
of the corpus luteum. Hechter, Fraenkel,
Lev and Soskin (1940) found in rats that
grafts of estrous uteri shortened the pseudopregnancies of hysterectomized animals to
normal length. Implantation of similar tis
 
 
 
 
M 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
I I T
GUINFA
 
 
pin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Actual duration
 
 
2
 
 
none
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
..
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
" 90± days (Loeb)(Brouha)
70± days
 
 
?
 
 
5
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
 
 
"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
■^
 
 
"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
""
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
 
 
""
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RARRIT
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
 
,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
mil
 
 
mill
 
 
lilll
 
 
mill
 
 
 
 
mill
 
 
iiiii;*'
 
 
1
 
 
 
 
14-16 days
 
24-29 days (Asdell S Hammond)
 
 
n
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
J.
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
,.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
,
 
 
 
 
 
 
==
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
— '
 
 
 
 
 
 
30 days
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RAT
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
M\
 
 
Mil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
nnn
 
 
nmn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12 days
I8±days
22 days
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^H
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
^
 
 
=
 
 
=
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
^
 
 
^
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
■~
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FERRET
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6 weeks (Parkes)
 
 
nil
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hill
 
 
lilll
 
 
Hill
 
 
Hill
 
 
Mlllllillillllllllliilllllllliiiilll
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6 weeks
6 weeks
 
 
=
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=1
 
 
^
 
 
=
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
~
 
 
~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L Pseudopregnancy
 
 
iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiii
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pseudopregnancy hysterectomized
 
 
m^^^g^^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mil
 
. Prpnnnnrv
 
 
 
Fi(i. 8.13. Reliilive duiation.s of p.seiulopicgnaiicy in normal and hysterectomizeil animals
of four species in relation to the duration of j^ostation characteristic of each. Gestation
plotted as a common unit of time. (After J. T. Bradbury, W. E. Brown and L. A. Gray,
Recent Proj,n-. Hormone Res., 5, 151-194, 1950.)
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTn'E CYCLE
 
 
 
539
 
 
 
SIR' which had been killed by freezing had
no such effect, nor did successful grafts of
uteri from diestrous donors. Bradbury,
Brown and Gray (1950) found that partially hysterectomized rats in which the remaining uterine tissue was continuous with
the cervix, hence properly drained, experienced pseudopregnancies of normal length.
However, when the continuity was interrupted the uterine remnants became greatly
distended, the endometrium was destroyed,
and the animals had prolonged pseudopregnancies. Possibly the endometrium is the
source of the hypothetical "luteolytic" substance.*'
 
Under other circumstances the endometrium of rats has a luteotrophic rather than
luteolytic effect, for when deciduomas are
induced by trauma the pseudopregnancies of
otherwise normal animals are lengthened to
22 days or more (Ershoff and Duell, 1943;
Velardo, Dawson, Olsen and Hisaw, 1953).
This is not true in mice, however, and Kamell and Atkinson (1948) suggest that the
I'eason may lie in the shorter life-span of the
decidual tissue in that species. Loeb (1927)
reported that deciduomas in cyclic guinea
pigs ])rolonged the luteal phase, i.e., delayed
the next ovulation from 3 to 7 days, which
is far less than the prolongation after hysterectomy.
 
As an alternative to the concept of conI rol of the corpus luteum by humoral agents
 
" The denial by Velardo, Olsen, Hisaw and
Dawson (1953) that hysterectomy in rats prolongs
l)seiidopregnancy is based on operations performed
later in the luteal phase than those of Bradbury,
Brown and Gray and of Hechter, Fraenkel, Lev
and Soskin. Whereas the latter workers had operated in the range from the 4th to the 7th day.^^
of p.seudopregnancy and many of Bradbury's
cases lacked uteri when they entered pseudopregnancy, Velardo and associates excised the uteri
on the 9th day. It seems possible that this difference in time may be crucial, for by the 9th
day of a 12-day pseudopregnancy the corpora
lutea must be on the verge of regression, if that
in'ocess has not already been initiated. After
maintaining pseudopregnancy in estrogenized,
liypophysectomized rats b}^ means of lactogen,
its withdrawal is followed about 3 days later by
estrous smears (Nelson and Bichette, 1943; Nelson, 1946). A slightly longer delay occurs in nonestrogenized, intact rats at the end of a lactogeninduced pseudopregnancy (Everett, unpublished)
or after withdrawal of progesterone treatment
(Fig. 8C).
 
 
 
formed in the uterus, Loeb considered the
jjossibility that neural mechanisms are involved. The idea was not acceptable, he felt,
because in partial hysterectomies the result
was not detennined by the locus of the part
removed. The finding by Hechter, Fraenkel,
Lev and Soskin (1940) that grafts of uterine
tissue in hysterectomized rats return the
duration of pseudopregnancy to normal, is
significant evidence pointing in the same direction.
 
A third hypothesis was advanced by
Heckel (1942) who found in rabbits that
the extent of prolongation of luteal function by subtotal hysterectomy is roughly
proportional to the amount of uterine tissue removed. The suggestion was offered
that removal of the uterus has an estrogensparing effect. The greater amount of estrogen thus available to the corpora lutea prolongs their life, according to this view.
 
Later investigations by Moore and Nalbandov (1953) revive the possibility that
the uterus influences the ovary by way of
the nervous system. In sheep the implantation of a plastic bead in utero during the
early luteal phase shortened the cycle by
several days. Successive cycles tended to be
unusually short. When the uterine segments
containing the beads were denervated, however, the cycles were essentially normal.
Other work from the same laboratory (Huston and Nalbandov, 1953) which indirectly
may bear on this problem, indicates that
the presence of a mechanical irritant (a
thread) in the oviduct of the domestic fowl
tends to block ovulation. The blockade may
extend for as long as 20 days if the thread
is placed in the isthmus (van Tienhoven,
1953). The ovaries remain functional, producing large follicles which may be ovulated
at will by injection of LH. The authors feel
that this phenomenon, like the effect of the
bead in the sheep uterus, involves a neural
mechanism, Init crucial information is lacking. It may be significant that stimulation
of the ovaries was found in some hens, in
place of blockade.
 
We may hope that as more information
becomes available the assortment of facts
given in these paragraphs will fit into a
rational system. Not until this is realized
can we hope to understand the regulation of
the luteal phase.
 
 
 
540
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF COXADS
 
 
 
VIII. Concluding Comments
 
From what has been written here it is
readily apparent that present knowledge of
the mechanisms controlling the reproductive
cycle is extremely spotty. The number of
assumptions necessary to knit the various
items of factual information into an orderly
pattern is disturbing. In spite of a voluminous literature which has grown during the
last 60 years, we are really only a few steps
ahead of our predecessors at the turn of
the century in terms of fundamental understanding. A brief recounting of some of
these steps may be desirable.
 
The first three decades saw the gradual
development of proof that the ovary is a
gland of internal secretion as well as the
producer of eggs, governing the uterus and
other accessory organs by secretion of hormones into the blood stream. For a while it
seemed that the events of the reproductive
cycle could be neatly explained, with the
ovary in the capacity of controlling agent.
Yet there were indications that the ovary
itself is not independent. As early as 19091910 (Aschner; Crowe, Gushing and Honuins) it was noted that destruction of the
hypophysis is accompanied by atrophy of
the gonads and reproductive tract. In 1927
the separate investigations of Smith and
Engle and of Zondek and Aschheim demonstrated conclusively that function of the
ovary depends vitally on the anterior hyjiophysis. Promptly it was learned that the
hypophyseal secretion of gonadotrophic
hormone is in turn modified by estrogens. In
the early 1930's the "push-pull" hypothesis
of pituitary-ovarian interaction was separately stated by Brouha and Simonnet and
by Moore (see Moore and Price, 1932).
Modified in detail as new facts appeared,
this hypothesis is held to the present day in
some quarters as a simple exi)lanation of
how the cycle comes about in polyestrous,
continuous breeders in which ovulation takes
l)lacc spontaneously. Much of the investigation of pituitary-ovarian i)hysiology during
the 1930's was performed within the framework of this hypothesis.
 
For seasonal breeders and reflex ovulators,
however, the assumption was necessary that
special controlling mechanisms are superimjiosed. It bccaiiie iccognizcd also that in
 
 
 
some vaguely defined manner even the human cycle is subject to intervention of the
nervous system. The possible importance of
the hypothalamus was debated at some
length in the twenties. In 1932 the existence
of a sex center there was proposed by Hohlweg and Junkmann. In an attempt to explain the coital excitation of the rabbit hypophysis which causes the liberation of
gonadotrophin, Hinsey and Markee (1933)
suggested diffusion of a chemical substance
from the posterior lobe to the anterior lobe.
Hinsey (1937) later elaborated on this possibility and mentioned the hypophyseal portal vessels as a plausible route by which the
substance might travel. We have seen the
later history of these ideas.
 
The "Sexualcentrum" of Hohlweg and
Junkmann was proposed as a mediator of
the effects of estrogen on the anterior hypophysis of rats. Westman and Jacobsohn
(1936-1940), on the other hand, believed
that through its stalk connection with the
hypophysis the rat hypothalamus governs
gonadotrophin synthesis, not release. The
latter they regarded as a direct effect of estrogen on the gland. These views did not
afford a common basis for spontaneous and
refiex ovulation.
 
Schweizer, Chari])i)er and Haterius
( 1937) offered the first surmise of similarity,
after finding that guinea pigs bearing intraocular pituitary grafts developed persistent
estrus and large follicles that failed to go
through maturation changes. Their feeling
was that the normal connection of hypophysis with hypothalamus may be necessary for
cyclic liberation of LH. Almost concurrently, Dempsey (1937) expressed a similar
view as one alternative explanation of his
experimental results with the guinea i)ig cycle. Suggesting cautiously that release of
luteinizer may be brought about l)y a
"rhythmic discharge" from the central nervous system, he went on to mention the "possibility that a high level of oestrin is necessary but not directly responsible for the
release of luteinizer" (italics added). From
this it is only a short transition to certain
concepts set forth in the present exposition.
 
Accoi'ding to current views: (1) Reflex
ovulation and spontaneous ovulation alike
are go\-enicd by a liypothalamo-pituitary
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
541
 
 
 
apparatus whose final link to the pituitaiy
is neurohumoral by way of the hypophyseal
portal veins and whose activity precipitates
release of LH. (2) The apparatus includes
a hypothalamic center or centers whose excitation depends on estrogen-progesterone
levels and afferent impulses of various
kinds. (3) The sensitivity of the center (s)
is influenced not only by the sex steroids, but
by other poorly understood factors that
vary from species to species and from time
to time in individuals, e.g., the diurnal
rhythm in rats. Here in bare outline is a
plausible hypothesis that may be generally
applied to the events immediately relating
to ovulation.
 
Satisfactory hypotheses respecting other
phases of the cycle must await future developments. The extent and manner of intervention of the nervous system in the follicular and luteal phases remain unsettled.
Although the hypophyseal hormones concerned in ovarian follicle development have
been characterized, their exact chemical descrijition has not been accomplished. The
rate of their output at different stages of the
cycle is largely a matter of conjecture.
Structural changes that they jiroduce in the
ovary are well known, but in chemical terms
only the end products of ovarian activity are
well recognized, and these probably incompletely. The fact that the estrogens, in turn,
have a regulating effect on follicle-stimulating activity of the hypophysis is known, but
the mechanisms by which this effect is accomplished are uncertain. The hypophyseal
hormones that maintain the luteal phase
are recognized with any certainty in only
three species and there is a wide difference
between rabbits, on the one hand, and rats
and mice, on the other. For mammals generally, the luteotrophic factors have not been
identified. Whether the hypothalamus is
actively concerned in maintenance of the
luteal i)hase in the majority of mammals is
unknown. The morphologic effects of luteotrojihic stimulation on corpora lutea are well
recognized, but here again the chemical
mechanisms leading to the end products are
obscure. The action of the corpus luteum
hormone in regulation of the cycle is partially known, including the well established
fact that its continual jiresence in large
amount will suiijiress the estrogenic and
 
 
 
ovulatory phases. Yet, one cannot say
whether this effect is accomplished by direct
action on the hypophysis or by indirect action through the central nervous system.
Nor can one state how the hypophysisgonad equilibrium of the luteal phase is interrupted in the absence of a conceptus.
With respect to the ovulation mechanism
itself, the hypothesis outlined above requires
verification in additional species. Assuming
its validity, many details remain to be studied, e.g., the neural pathways and nuclei
involved, identification of neurochemical
activators of the pars distalis and their
sources and loci of action, the precise nature
of mechanisms whereby the gonadal steroids
excite or suppress, the cellular mechanisms
by which ovulating hormone is released into
circulation by the hypoi^hysis, and the cytochemical effects within the ovary. All too
evidently an encompassing theory of the
female reproductive cycle is far from realization.
 
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PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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VAN Wagenen, G., and Simpson, M. E. 1957. Induction of multiple ovulation in the rhesus
monkey (Macaca mulatta). Endocrinology,
61, 316-318.
 
Velardo, J. T., AND Hisaw, F. L. 1951. Quantitative inhibition of progesterone by estrogens in
development of deciduomata. Endocrinology,
49, 530-537.
 
Vel.\rdo, J. T., Dawson, A. B., Olsen, A. G., and
His.wv, F. L. 1953. Sequence of histological
changes in the uterus and vagina of the rat
diu'ing prolongation of pseudopregnancy associated with the presence of deciduomata. Am.
J. Anat., 93, 273-305.
 
Velardo, J. T., Olsen, A. G., Hisaw, F. L., and
Dawson, A. B. 1953. The influence of decidual tissue upon pseudopregnancy. Endocrinology, 53, 216-220.
 
Venning, E. H., and Browne, J. S. L. 1937.
Studies on corpus luteum function. I. The
m-inary excretion of sodium pregnanediol glucnronidate in the human menstrual cvcle. En<l.)crmology, 21, 711-721.
 
Verly, W. G. 1951. The urinary excretion of
prenane-3a:20a-diol in the female rabbit immediatelv after mating. J. Endocrinol., 7, 258259.
 
Veziris, C. D. 1951. Cycle vaginal chez les femmes castrees ou menopausees. Ann. endocrinol., 12,917-921.
 
VoGT, M. 1931. ijber den Mechanismus der Auslosung der Graviditiit und Pseudograviditjit
zugleicli ein ]jhysiologischer Beweis fiir die
sympathische Innervation des Hypophysenvor(lerla])i>("ns. Arch, exper. Path. Pharmakol.,
162, 197-208.
 
VoGT, M. 1933. Uber den Mecli.iiiismus der Ausl().sung der Graviditiit. II. Mitlcilunji- Arcli.
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Walton, A., and Hammond, J. 1928. Observations
on ovulation in the rabbit. Brit. J. Exper.
Biol., 6, 190-204.
 
W.\RWiCK, ]•]. J. 1946. Gonadolrophic potc^ncy of
ewe pituitary glands as affected by spaying,
.season, and breed. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. <fe
Med., 63, 530-533.
 
W.\ti;r.\ia\, A. J. 1943. Studies of normal de
 
 
velopment of the New Zealand White .strain
of rabbit. Am. J. Anat., 73, 473-515.
 
Weinberger, L. M., .\nd Grant, F. C. 1941. Precocious pubert}^ and tumors of the hypothalamus. Arch. Int. Med., 67, 762-792.
 
Werthessen, N. T., Schwenk, E., and Baker, C.
1953. Biosynthesis of estrone and /3-estradiol
in the perfused ovary. Science, 117, 380-381.
 
Westman, A. 1934. Untersuchung iiber die Abhangigkeit der P^unktion des Corpus luteum
von den 0\arialfollikeln und iiber die Bildungsstiitte der Hormone im Ovarium. Arch.
Gynak., 158, 476-504.
 
Westman, A. 1947. The effect of Prominal on
the sexual cvcle. Acta med. scandinav., 128,
Suppl. 196, 111-115.
 
Westman, A., and J.\cobsohn, D. 1936. tjber
Ovarialveranderungen beim Kaninchen nach
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Westman, A., and Jacobsohn, D. 1937a. Uber
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1-12.
 
Westman, A., .\nd Jacobsohn, D. 1937b. Uber
Oestrinwirkung auf die Corpus luteum-Funktion. II. Acta obst. gynec. scandinav., 17,
13-23.
 
W^estman, a., and Jacobsohn, D. 1937c. Experimentelle Untersuchungen iiber die Bedeutung
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Westman, A., and Jacobsohn, D. 1938a. Endokrinologische Untersuchungen an Ratten mit
durchtrenntem Hypophysenstiel. I. Hypophysenveranderungen nach Kastration untl
nach Oestrinbehandlungen. Acta obst. gynec.
scandinav., 18, 99-108.
 
Westman, A., and Jacob.sohn, D. 1938b. Endokrinologische Untersuchungen an Ratten mit
durchtrenntem Hypophysenstiel. III. Uber
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Westman, A., and Jacobsohn, D. 1938c. Endokrinologische Untersuchimgen an Ratten mit
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445-453.
 
Westman, A., and Jacobsohn, D. 1940. Endokrinologische Unteisucliungen an Kaninchen
mit durchtrenntcMi Hypophyse.stic^l. Acta obst.
gynec. scandinav., 20, 392-433.
 
Westman, A., and Jacobsohn, D. 1942. Die Wirkung transorbital an das Tuber cinereum injizierten Novocains auf die Ovulation. Acta
ob.st. gynec. scandinav., 22, 16-23.
 
Whitaker, W. L. 1940. Some effects of artificial
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Williams. P. C. 1940. Effect of stilboestrol on
 
 
 
MAMMALIAN REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE
 
 
 
555
 
 
 
the ovaries of hyi>ophyseftomized rats. Nature, London, 145, 388-389.
 
WiLLi.AMS, P. C. 1944. 0\'arian stimulation by
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132, 189-199.
 
Williams, P. C. 1945a. Ovarian stimulation by
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the hypophysis, uterus, and adrenal glands.
J. Endocrinol., 4, 125-126.
 
WiLLi.AMS, P. C. 1945b. Studies of the biological
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WiLsox, R. B., R.AXD.ALL, L. M., and Osterberg,
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WiSLocKi, G. B., AND King, L. S. 1936. The permeability of the h.vpophysis and hypothalamus
to vital dyes, with a study of the hypophyseal
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Wolfe, J. M. 1935. Reaction of ovaries of mature female rats to injection of oestrin. Proc.
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Wolfe, J. M., and H.a.milton, J. B. 1937. Action
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Med., 37, 189-193.
 
WoRTHiNGTON, W. C, Jr. 1955. Some observations on the hypophyseal portal system in the
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343-357.
 
XuEREB, G. P., Prichard, M. M. L., and Daniel,
P. M. 1954. The hypophysial portal \essels
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Young, W. C, Boling, J. L., and Blandau, R. J.
1941. The vaginal smear picture, sexual receptivity, and time of ovulation in the albino
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Young, W. C, and Yerkes, R. M. 1943. Factors
influencing the reproductive cycle in the chimpanzee; the period of adolescent sterility and
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Z.ARRow, M. X., and Bastian, J. W. 1953. Blockade of ovulation in the hen with adrenolytic
and parasympatholytic drugs. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 84, 457-459.
 
Zondek, B., and Aschheim, S. 1927. Hypophysenvorderlappen und Ovarium. Beziehungen der
endokrinen Driisen zur Ovarialfunktion. Arch.
Gynak., 130, 1^5.
 
ZucKERMAN, S. 1937. The menstrual cycle of
primates. X. The oestrone threshold of the
uterus of the rhesus monkey. Proc. Rov. Soc.
London, ser. B, 123, 441-471.
 
ZucKERMAN, S. 1941. Periodic uterine bleeding in
spayed rhesus monkeys injected daily with a
constant threshold dose of oestrone. J. Endocrinol., 2, 263-267.
 
ZucKERMAN, S. 1952. The influence of environmental changes on the anterior pituitary.
Ciba Foundation CoUociuia Endocrinol., 4,
213-228.
 
ZucKERMAN, S., AND FuLTON, J. F. 1934. The
 
menstrual cycle of the primates. VII. The
sexual skin of the chimpanzee. J. Anat., 69,
38-46.
ZwARENSTEiN, H. 1937. Experimental induction
of ovulation with progesterone. Nature, London, 139, 112-113.
 
 
 
9
 
 
 
ACTION OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
ON THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT OF
 
LOWER PRIMATES
 
Frederick L. Hisaw, Ph.D.
 
THE BIOLOGICAL LAB0RAT0RIF:S, HARVARD TNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE,
MASSACHUSETTS
 
and ^
 
Frederick L. Hisaw, Jr., Ph.D.
 
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, OREGON STATE COLLEGE, CORVALLIS,
OREGON
 
 
 
I. Introduction 556
 
II. Ovarian Hormones and Growth of
 
THE Genital Tract 558
 
III. Effects of Progesterone on the
 
Uterus 565
 
IV. Synergism between Estrogen and
 
Progesterone 567
 
V. Experimentally Produced Implantation Reactions 571
 
VI. The Cervix Uteri 572
 
VII. The Vagina 575
 
VIII. Sexual Skin 576
 
IX. Menstruation 578
 
X. The Mechanism of Menstru.^tion. . 583
XI. References 586
 
I. Introduction
 
Cyclic menstruation is the most characteristic feature of primate reproduction, and
distinguishes it from the estrous cycle of
lower mammals. This cardinal primate
event is heralded by the bloody uterine
effluent emanating from the vagina, whereas
in estrus the dominant characteristic is a
sudden modification in behavior featuring
an intense mating drive. However, the internal secretions that regulate the various
events in the menstrual and estrous cycles
are the same, and this similarity is fundamentally more significant than the key descriptive differences just mentioned. Estrus
comes at the peak of the growth phase of the
cycle and is associated with ovulation. In
 
 
 
contrast, menstruation occurs in the cycle
midway between times of ovulation and is
not accompanied by an increase in sexual
activity. From earliest times menstruation
has been recognized as degenerative: the
characteristic odor, and the necrotic changes
in the lining of the uterus, part of which is
cast off at this time, sustain this interpretation. Therefore, menstruation is at the
opposite phase of the cycle from estrus. It
is such an obvious event that menstrual
cycles are dated from the onset of bleeding.
Menstruation is not analogous to the proestrous bleeding in the dog or cow nor to the
slight bleeding of primates at midpoint between menstrual periods (Hartman, 1929).
The study of menstruation was at first almost entirely the province of the clinician
and the material for investigation limited to
w^omen. Hitschmann and Adler (1907),
Meyer (1911), Schroder (1914). Novak and
Te Linde (1924), and Bartelmez (1933) are
among many of the earlier investigators who
contributed descriptions of the cyclic
changes in the human endometrium. The
physiology of the menstrual cycle and attendant morphologic changes have continued to be an area of active research interest
in science and medicine. Among the many
more recent contributors are Bartelmez
 
 
 
556
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
557
 
 
 
(1937), Latz and Reiner (1942), Haman
(1942), Knaus (1950), Mazer and Israel
(1951), and Crossen (1953).
 
The earlier concepts regarding the menstrual cycle were based primarily on the
changes occurring in the human endometrium and for convenience of description the
cycle was divided into four stages or periods. The first of these was the period of
active menstruation, and the length of the
cycle was dated from its onset. Most authors agreed that menses began by leaking
of blood from superficial vessels to form
lakes under the surface epithelium and that
there was some sloughing of tissue after the
beginning of bleeding. There was considerable disagreement as to the amount of destruction and loss of tissue; estimates of
various authors ranged from very little to
almost complete denudation of the surface.
Bartelmez (1933) emphasized both the wide
individual variability of the amount of tissue lost and differences in the stage of development of the endometria at the time of
menstruation.
 
The second period immediately following
menstruation began with regeneration of the
surface epithelium, which started sometimes
before menstrual bleeding had ceased and
was completed in a very short time. This
lieriod included the 5 to 7 days after cessation of menses, during which the endometrium grew in thickness. Frequent mitoses
were recognized, especially in the glands
which lengthened but remained straight and
tubular.
 
The third ("interval") period, lasting 6
to 10 days, was characterized by a somewhat thickened endometrium, still with
straight glands and showing little evidence
of secretory activity. At first this was considered a quiescent period as indicated by
the term "interval." However, as will be
shown later, such a characterization was not
justified from the physiologic viewpoint.
 
The fourth period, called the premenstrual period, included the 10 days or 2
weeks before menstruation. During this
phase the glands continued to increase in
size and became distended, coiled, or even
sacculated. The glandular cells increased
in height, and there was evidence of glycogen mobilization and secretion. Next, the
epithelium became "frayed out" along the
 
 
 
outer borders, then decreased in height, indicating secretory depletion. Decidual cells
appeared in the stroma at this time. The
endometrium was much thickened and extremely hyperemic. At the height of this
period the endometrium was approximately
5 mm. in thickness, as compared with V2
mm. toward the end of menses. The term
premenstrual was usually applied to this
phase but today the term progestational
would seem preferable.
 
During and after these descriptions of the
changes in the human endometrium, many
attempts were made to locate the time of
ovulation in the menstrual cycle. When it
was found, as will be discussed later, that
ovulation occurred approximately midway
between two menses, and was preceded by
follicular growth and followed by development of a corpus luteum, it became customary to refer to the two halves of the menstrual cycle as the follicular phase and the
luteal phase. One advantage of this descriptive terminology was the emphasis it placed
on the homology of the two phases of the
menstrual cycle in primates with the follicular and luteal phases of the estrous cycles of lower mammals.
 
A theory to explain menstruation, widely
adopted in 1920, was formulated from this
morphologic evidence. The essentials were
that menstruation occurs because the lining
of the uterus, prepared for implantation of
the ovum, degenerates if fertilization of the
egg does not occur. This required that ovulation and corpus luteum formation precede
the i^remenstrual changes in the endometrium. Subsequent research disclosed that
menstrual cycles frequently occur in which
ovulation does not take place and bleeding
results from the breakdown of an "interval"
rather than a progestational endometrium.
 
The discovery of anovulatory cycles not
only brought about a revision of ideas regarding an explanation for menstruation
but also raised questions as to what constituted a normal menstrual cycle. The length
of the cycle and the amount and duration of
bleeding are approximately the same regardless of whether or not ovulation has
taken place. The gross features of menstruation under these two conditions are indistinguishable one from the other. However,
the biologic purpose of the menstrual cycle
 
 
 
558
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
is reproduction wliicli obviously cannot l)0
fulfilled unless an ovum is made available
for fertilization. Therefore, in this sense it
seems quite clear that anovulatory cycles
should be considered incomplete and abnormal.
 
The investigation of changes taking place
in the uterine endometrium at various periods of the menstrual cycle in women was
confronted with many difficulties, the chief
one being that of obtaining normal tissue
representative of specific times of the cycle.
The entire uterus and both ovaries are essential for proper evaluations and it was
rarely possible to meet these requirements.
The material for such studies came from
autopsies and surgery and tissues usually
had suffered postmortem changes or the
surgical condition was one involving serious
pelvic disease. There have been, however,
a goodly number of instances in which
these difficulties were adequately overcome
(Stieve, 1926, 1942, 1943, 1944; Allen, Pratt,
Newell and Bland, 1930) and the clinic will
continue to make important contributions
(Rock and Hertig, 1942; Hertig and Rock,
1944), but quite early the need became obvious for a suitable primate that could be
used as an experimental animal for research
on the different aspects of the physiology
of reproduction.
 
Since the initial observations by Corner
(1923) on the menstrual cycles of captive
rhesus monkeys iMacaca mulatta) , more
has been learned about the physiology of
reproduction of this animal than any other
primate. Monkeys of this species thrive under laboratory conditions, which has made
it possible to devise accurately controlled
experiments on normal healthy animals and
obtain reliable information on the menstrual cycle, gestation, fetal development,
and the interaction of hormones concerned
with regulating reproductive processes.
 
Other features that make the rhesus monkey such an attractive animal for these purposes are the many morphologic and physiologic attributes that are strikingly like
those of the human being. Tiic modal length
of their menstrual cycles is 28 days but
there is wide variation (Corner, 1923; Hartman, 1932; Zuckcrman, 1937a). From an
analysis of 1000 cycles recorded for some
80 females of different ages, Zuckerman
 
 
 
(1937a) found an average cycle length of
33.5 ± 0.6 days, and the mode 28 days with
an over-all range of 9 to 200 days. Ovulation
occtu's api:)roximately midway between two
menstrual periods, most between the 11th
and 14th days (Hartman, 1932, 1944; van
Wagenen, 1945, 1947), and although these
animals breed at all seasons of the year
many cycles are anovulatory, especially
during the hot summer months (Eckstein
and Zuckerman, 1956). A method developed
by Hartman for detecting the exact time of
ovulation by palpation of the ovaries in the
unanesthetized animal greatly facilitated
the timing of events of the menstrual cycle.
This procedure also made it possible to determine the age of corpora lutea with great
accuracy (Corner, 1942, 1945) and correlate their develojiment and involution with
corresponding changes in the endometrium
(Bartelmez, 1951 ) and, in ju-egnancy, with
the exact age of developing embryos ( Wislocki and Streeter, 1938; Heuser and
Streeter, 1941).
 
The primary purpose of the present discussion is to review the results of experimental investigations of physiologic processes occurring in the female reproductive
tract of lower primates during the menstrual
cycle, and particularly those processes that
are under hormonal control. The brief introductory presentation of basic observations could be greatly extended and we take
up the discussion of endocrine problems
knowing that we must return often to the
work of these authors and that of others to
be cited, as conclusions based on experimental data take on meaning only in terms
of normal function.
 
II. Ovarian Hormones and Growth
of the Genital Tract
 
The changes that are repeated in different parts of the reproductive tract with each
menstrual cycle are produced by ovarian
hormones, estrogens, and progesterone. The
dominant hormone of the follicular phase is
estradiol-17/y, which is secreted by the
Graafian follicle, and in the tissues is readily transformed in i)art to estrone, an estrogenic metabolite. Progesterone, secreted by
the corinis luteum, is jirimarily a hormone
of the luteal phase of the cycle. However,
small amounts of progesterone may appear
 
 
 
ESTROGEX AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
559
 
 
 
ill the blood of monkeys as early as the 7th
(lay and attain a concentration of 1 fxg. per
ml. of serum at ovulation, whereas a maximal concentration of 10 /xg. per ml. is
reached at approximately the middle of the
luteal phase (Forbes, Hooker and Pfeiffer,
1950; Bryans, 1951). Also, some estrogen is
present during the luteal phase, probably
secreted by the corpus luteum (estrogens
can be obtained from luteal tissue) or it
may be partially derived from developing
follicles. It is unlikely that estrogen is ever
entirely absent during a normal menstrual
cycle or that the presence of progesterone is
completely restricted to the luteal phase.
 
The dependence of the reproductive tract
on ovarian hormones is strikingly demonstrated by the profound atrophy that follows surgical removal of the ovaries. A progressive decrease in size of the Fallopian
tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina takes place,
and usually, the involution of the uterine
endometrium involves tissue loss and bleeding, commonly referred to as post castrational bleeding. Dramatic as these effects
may seem, it is equally dramatic to find
that these atrophic structures can be restored entirely to their original condition by
the administration of ovarian hormones.
Therefore, it is seen at the beginning that
investigations dealing with the physiology
of the female reproductive tract of primates
in large measure involve a study of the independent and combined actions of estrogens and progesterone on the activities of
the various structures concerned.
 
Much can be learned about the action of
ovarian hormones by observing the changes
they produce in the gross appearance of the
atrophied reproductive tract of castrated
animals. Daily injections of an estrogen in
doses equivalent to 1000 I.U. or more for
10 days or a fortnight will restore the uterus,
cervix, and vagina to a condition comparal)le with that found in a normal monkey at
the close of the follicular phase of a menstrual cycle (Fig. 9.1A). If a similar castrated monkey is given 1 or 2 mg. of progesterone daily for the same length of time,
very little if any change in size of the reproductive organs results. However, if first
the normal condition is restored by giving
estrogen and then is followed by the progesterone treatment, the size of the uterus
 
 
 
is maintained but that of the cervix and
vagina decreases to an extent approaching
that in a castrated animal (Fig. 9.1B). Such
experiments show that an estrogen promotes
growth of the reproductive tract whereas
progesterone is comparatively ineffective
when given alone. Yet progesterone can
maintain the size of the uterus when administered following an estrogen treatment but
it does not prevent involution of the cervix
and vagina.
 
An additional feature of the growth-stimulating action of the ovarian hormones is
brought out when estrogen and progesterone
are administered concurrently. If, after repair of the reproductive tract of a castrated
animal has been accomplished by a series of
injections of estrogen, both estrogen (1000
I.U.) and progesterone (1 or 2 mg.) are
given daily for 20 days, it will be found that
the uterus is larger than when either hormone is given alone for a similar length of
time, whereas the cervix and vagina have
involuted and are approximately the size
found in animals given only progesterone.
Thus it can be demonstrated that a synergistic effect on growth of the uterus occurs
when the two hormones are given simultane
 
 
 
FiG. 9.1. Reproductive tracts of three adolescent
monkeys which were castrated and given estrogen
daily for approximately 3 weeks. A shows the condition at the conclusion of the estrogen treatment,
B the condition following the injection of progesterone for an additional three weeks, and C the
effects of continuing the treatment with both estrogen and progesterone for a like period.
 
 
 
560
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
ously whereas in the cervix and vagina the
growth -stimulating action of estrogen is
inhibited by progesterone (Fig. 9.1C). This
presents a most interesting situation in
which the combined actions of two hormones on three closely associated structures
of the reproductive tract join in a synergistic effort in promoting the growth of the
uterus although progesterone prevents estrogen from affecting growth of the cervix
and vagina.
 
These changes in gross morphology in
response to the ovarian hormones are reflected in the histology of the responding
tissues. Also, the character of the response
differs depending upon the physiologic nature of the tissue concerned; therefore, for
the sake of clarity each will be discussed
separately. The first of these to be considered is the uterus and particularly growth
of the endometrium.
 
 
 
It has been reported (Hisaw, 1935, 1950)
that growth of the endometrium, as induced
by estrogen, is limited. That is, a dosage of
estrogen capable of maintaining the endometrium of a castrated animal for an indefinite period without the occurrence of
bleeding, stimulates rapid growth for approximately the first 2 weeks. Within this
time a maximal thickness of the endometrium is attained which remains constant or
may become less during the course of treatment (Fig. 9.2). Engle and Smith (1935)
made similar observations. They found that
the endometria of castrated monkeys receiving estrogen for 100 days or longer were
thinner than endometria of animals on estrogen for a much shorter time. Also, on
prolonged treatment, the stroma of the endometrium becomes dense and the lumen
small whereas the size of the uterus remains
about the same. In fact, they state that in
 
 
 
 
I'll,. (1.2. I'll n Ml lour i-a.-^tra(c>d monkeys wliicli were givi^i 10 /ug. estradiol daily for 10
to 78 days. A was given estrogen for 10 days, B for 30 days, C for 60 days, and D for 78
days. Depression in the endometrium of anterior wall of D is the result of a biopsy taken
a year previously. (From F. L. Hisaw, in A Si/niposium on Steroid Hormones, University
of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
561
 
 
 
four experimental animals the only well developed fundus was found in the animal on
the shortest treatment, i.e., 60 days.
 
The mitotic activity in the epithelium of
the glands and surface mucosa also indicates
a limited effect of estrogen. This can be
demonstrated to best advantage in the endometria of castrated monkeys that have been
on estrogen for different lengths of time and
have received an injection of colchicine 8
hours before their uteri were removed. A
comparison of the number of cells in mitosis
per square centimeter of surface mucosa at
10, 30, 45, and 60 days is shown in Figure
9.3. From this it can be seen that mitotic
activity approaches that in a castrated animal. Although the five points used in drawing the curve are quite inadequate for an
accurate analysis of the mitotic response in
the epithelial components of the endometrium, they do show that cell division is
most rapid soon after the beginning of an
estrogen treatment and subseciuently declines.
 
The loss of responsiveness of the endometrium to estrogen seems related more to the
length of treatment than to dosage of hormone. An endometrium of normal thickness
can be produced in 2 or 3 weeks at a dosage
level of estrogen that will not maintain the
growth induced for longer than about 40
days without bleeding (Hisaw, 1935; Engle
and Smith, 1935; Zuckerman, 1937b). The
response to a low dosage of estrogen that
will prevent bleeding during the course of
treatment (about 10 /xg. estradiol-17/8 daily)
is one of rapid endometrial growth at first,
as has been described, followed by a thinning of the endometrium. The refractoriness
of the endometrium to estrogen becomes so
pronounced after about 100 days of treatment that very few cell divisions are seen in
the epithelium of the glands and surface
mucosa. The general morphology of the endometrium retains the characteristic appearance of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle except that the stroma is
usually more dense and the cells of the
glandular epithelium have large deposits of
glycogen between the nucleus and the basement membrane. However, metabolically
such endometria are surprisingly inactive.
Although they are dependent on the presence of estrogen and may bleed within about
 
 
 
Mitotic Response of
Uterine Lpithelium
TO looo I. u. Estrogen
PER D«y.
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.3. The number of mitoses per square centimeter of surface epithelium of the endometrium in
a castrated monkey and in four castrated animals
given 10 /xg. estradiol daily for 10, 30, 45, and 60
days, respectively. One-tenth of actual number of
mitoses is shown on the ordinate. (From F. L.
Hisaw, in A Symposium on Steroid Hormones, University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
48 hours if the treatment is stopped, the
activity of their oxidative enzymes and the
ratio of nucleoproteins (RNA:DNA) are
about the same as in the involuted endometria of castrated animals.
 
The effects that accompany moderate estrogenic stimulation become exaggerated in
several respects when large doses of estrogen
are given for an extended period. The disparity between the area of myometrium and
endometrium becomes greater as the treatment progresses (Fig. 9.4). Kaiser (1947)
described the destruction of the spiraled
arterioles of the endometrium in monkeys
given large doses of estrogen and Hartman,
Geschickter and Speert (1941) reported the
reduction of the reproductive tract to the
size of that of a juvenile animal by the end
of 18 months during which injections of
large doses of estrogen were supplemented
by subcutaneous implantation of estrogen
pellets. These observations not only show
that the endometrium becomes unresponsive
to estrogen when the treatment is prolonged
but that large doses produce injurious effects.
 
 
 
562
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.4. .4. i'v'< — ' ri:,,ii of the uterus of a castrated monkey which had received 1.0 mg. estradiol
daily for 35 days. Compare with B which shows the
effects of 1/10 this dosage (100 fig. daily) when
gi\en for 185 days.
 
The limited response of the endometrium
to estrogen is in some respects surprising in
view of its remarkable growth potentialities and regenerative capacity. These qualities were dramatically demonstrated by
Hartman (1944) who dissected out as carefully as possible all of the endometrium
from the uterus of a monkey and wiped the
uterine cavity with a rough swab and yet
the undetected endometrial fragments that
remained were capable of restoring the entire structure. Also, considering the enormous increase in size of the uterus during
gestation, it is even more difficult to account for the rather sharp limitation of
growtli under the influence of estrogen.
 
The increase in tonus of the uterine musculature, a known effect of estrogen, has
been considered as possibly exercising a restrictive influence on growth of the endo
 
 
metrium. An attempt has been made to remove this containing influence the muscle
may have by making an incision through
the anterior wall of the uterus (Hisaw,
1950) . A castrated monkey was given 10 ixg.
estradiol daily for 21 days at which time the
operation was performed and the treatment
continued with 30 ^g. estradiol daily for 40
days. The uterus was laid open by a sagittal incision from fundus to cervix and most
of the endometrium was removed from the
anterior wall. This caused gaping of the incised uterus and exposure of the endometrium on the posterior wall. The incision
was not closed and after hemorrhage was
completely controlled the uterus was returned to the abdomen.
 
Examination of the uterus at the conclusion of the experiment showed no indications
that endometrial growth had been enhanced.
The muscularis had reunited and only a few
small bits of endometrium were found in the
incision (Fig. 9.5). It seemed probable that
the purpose of the experiment had been defeated by rapid repair of the uterus. Therefore, a similar experiment was done in which
the musculature of the incised uterus was
held open by suturing a wire loop into the
incision. Yet the incision closed and no unusual growth of the endometrium was detected (Fig. 9.6).
 
Observations under these conditions are
necessarily limited to those made on the
uterus when it is removed at the conclusion
of an experiment and comparisons must be
made between uteri of different animals.
Obviously, it would be more desirable if the
response of an individual endometrium
could be followed during the course of treatment. It is possible to meet most of these
requirements under conditions afforded by
utero-abdominal fistulae, exteriorized uteri,
and endometrial implants in the anterior
chamber of the eye. In continuing our discussion we first shall present information
obtained by such techni(iues that have a
bearing on the response of the endometrium
to estrogen.
 
The surgical procedure used by Hisaw
( 19501 for preparing utero-abdominal fistulae foi' studies of the exj^erimental induction
of endometrial growth by estrogen and progesterone was a modification of that used
by van Wagenen and Morse (1940) for ob
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
563
 
 
 
 
Figs. 9.5 and 9.6
 
The uteri of these two castrated monkeys were opened from fundus to cer\'ix by an incision
through the anterior wall while the animals were receiving estrogen. Part of the endometrium
of the anterior wall was removed and the incision in the myometrium was not closed.
 
Fig. 9.5. Estradiol, 10 fig., was given daily for 7 days; the uterus was opened and the animal
continued on 30 /xg. estradiol daily for 40 days. (From F. L. Hisaw, in A Sy7nposiii7n on Steroid
Hormones, University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
Fig. 9.6. Estradiol, 10 ^g., was given daily for 7 days; the uterus was opened and the treatment continued at a dosage of 30 /ig. estradiol daily for 20 days. (From F. L. Hisaw, in A
Symposium on Steroid Hormones, University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
 
 
serving changes in the endometrium (luring
the normal menstrual cycle. This procedure
makes frequent inspections possible either
by hand lens or dissecting microscope, of
most of the upper part of the endometrium
on the anterior and posterior walls of the
uterus. The elliptic slit formed by the endometrium of the two opposing walls can be
located easily, the two sides pressed apart
by any small smooth instrument, and the
surface of the endometrium examined.
Changes in thickness of the endometrium
cannot be ascertained without resorting to
biopsies but it is free to grow out of the
opened uterus if it is so inclined. However,
in such preparations the growth produced in
the endometrium by daily injections of 10
fjig. estradiol for periods of 2 or 3 weeks is
not sufficient to show any tendency whatever to grow out through the fistular opening or obstruct examination of the walls of
the uterus. The limited growth observed in
these experiments is in agreement with that
obtained with estrogen on intact and incised
uteri.
 
The cervix uteri of the rhesus monkey is
sufficiently long to make it possible to bring
the entire fundus to the exterior through a
midal)dominal incision. Advantage of this
 
 
 
was taken in an attempt to exteriorize the
uterus and maintain it outside the body for
long enough periods to make it possible to
study the growth responses of the endometrium (Hisaw, 1950). These preparations
did not i)rove satisfactory in all respects but
they did contribute a number of interesting
observations.
 
The operational i^rocedure used in these
experiments involved dividing the uterus
transversely from fundus to cervix so that
the anterior wall was deflected downward
and the posterior wall upward (Fig. 9.7).
The endometrium of the exteriorized uterus
is difficult to maintain but with proper care
it seems to retain its normal condition for
at least the first few days after the uterus
is opened. Small localized areas of ischemia
can be seen to come and go, probably action
of the coiled arteries, and there is a periodic
general blanching of the endometrium associated with rhythmic contractions of the
muscularis. This, however, does not seem
true of the whole endometrium. A zone surrounding the internal os of the cervix tends
to retain its blood-red color even during
strong contractions of the uterus and the
growth reactions of the endometrium in this
area are of particular interest.
 
 
 
564
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.7. Exteriorized uteii. The uteri were divided transversely from fundus to cervix.
The anterior half is seen deflected to the right and the posterior half to the left. A and B
are of the same uterus taken 13 days after exteriorization showing the "blush" and "blanch"
reaction of uterine contractions. It can be seen that during blanching the endometrium
of the cervix does not become ischemic. C. Uterus 18 days after exteriorization, showing
response to estrogen. Ridges formed by growth of the endometrium surrounding the internal OS of the cervix can be seen at the upper edge of the photograph. D, taken 83 days
after exteriorization, shows response produced by a series of injections of 10 ^ig. estradiol
and 1 mg. progesterone daily. The transverse ridge is formed by the two opposed lips of
endometrium derived from the area surrounding the internal os of the cervix. Growth when
the two hormones are given is greater than when only estrogen is injected. (From F. L.
Hisaw, in A Symposium on Steroid Hormones, University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
 
 
The endometrium on the exposed anterior
and posterior halves of the uterus underwent
deterioration despite the best of care that
could be given, but that surrounding the internal OS of the cervix survived and retained
its capacity to grow, in one animal, for as
long as 9 months. When estrogen was given
this endometrium grew rapidly and within
a few days stood out as large elliptic lips
surrounding the internal os (Fig. 9.7).
Within 2 to 3 weeks the lips appeared to
reach their full size and further growth was
slow or absent. When estrogen treatments
were discontinued the endometrial lips underwent bleeding within a few days and
were entirely lost. At no time were activities
observed that could be ascribed to coiled
arterioles, nor did ischemia occur during involution previous to bleeding. It seems that
the response of this tissue to estrogen is like
that found in other experiments but the absence of ischemia preceding bleeding is ex
 
 
ceptional. The endometrium on the anterior
and posterior walls of uterine fistulae invariably showed ischemia for several hours
before active bleeding following the withdrawal of estrogen.
 
Markee (1940) approached the problem
of endometrial growth in monkeys by studying the changes that occur in bits of endometrial tissue transplanted to the anterior
chamber of the eye. Such transplants retain
in large measure the normal morphology of
endometrial tissue and changes in their cyclic growth parallel those going on simultaneously in the uterus. So much so that if
the animal has an ovulatory cycle, the ocular implants show conditions characteristic
of both the follicular and luteal phases, but
if ovulation fails to occur then the luteal
phase is omitted. Also, the morphologic
events taking place at menstruation can be
seen and recorded, since the transplants regress and bleed at each menstrual period.
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
565
 
 
 
These ingenious experiments will be referred
to often in the course of our discussion but
at present the response of endometrial
transplants in the eye to estrogen is of primary interest.
 
Monkeys having ocular transplants were
given 200 to 300 R.U. of estrone daily for
about 1 to 3 months. The transplants did
not grow to a certain size and then remain
stationary, but instead periods of rapid
growth were interrupted by periods of regression which usually involved a marked
decrease in size, and if regression was extensive and rapid, bleeding ensued. It also
was found that these episodes of regression
in the transplants were usually accompanied
by a decrease in the size of the uterus.
 
Comparisons between the results of these
experiments and those we have discussed
previously may be misleading since it seems
that only 1 of the 5 animals (no. 295) used
was castrated. Also, the dosage of estrogen
was not sufficient to maintain the endometrium of the uterus for an indefinite period
without bleeding and this also was reflected
in the transplants. It seems questionable
that the growth capacity of endometrial
transplants in the eye can be determined unless sufficient estrogen is given to prevent
bleeding in the uterus. Therefore, it would
seem that these experiments contribute less
to an analysis of the effects of estrogen on
endometrial growth than they do to an understanding of the events that precede and
accompany menstruation.
 
In summary, it seems clear that the outstanding effect of estrogen on the uterus of
the monkey is one of growth (Allen, 1927,
1928). The involuted uterus of a castrated
animal can be restored to its normal size in
2 or 3 weeks by daily injections of adequate
amounts of estrogen. At this time there is an
increase in vascularity, a clear-cut hyperemia as seen in rodents. There also is secretion of luminal fluid (Sturgis, 1942) but this
does not distend the uterus as in the mouse
and rat. This is accompanied by an increase
in tissue fluid, especially in epithelial tissues
(surface epithelium and glands) , and in the
connective tissue of the stroma. Glycogen
may be present at the basal ends of epithelial cells beneath the nuclei (Overholser and
Nelson, 1936) but it apparently is not readily released under the action of estrogen
 
 
 
alone (Lendrum and Hisaw, 1936; Engle
and Smith, 1938) . The glands of the endometrium maintain a straight tubular structure with some branching near the muscle
layers. The condition produced experimentally in the monkey's uterus by short term
treatments with estrogen is equivalent to
that present in the normal animal at midcycle, or even a few days later if ovulation
does not occur.
 
If, however, an estrogen treatment is continued for several months conditions develop in the uterus that are not found
during the follicular phase of a normal menstrual cycle. When the daily dose of estrogen
is small menstruation occurs at intervals
during the treatment (Zuckerman, 1937b)
and probably marks periods of endometrial
regression as observed by Markee (1940) in
eye transplants, but if the dosage is increased by a sufficient amount (about 10
/xg. estradiol- 17/3 daily) injections may be
continued for a year or longer without
bleeding. Although the size of the uterus remains within the range of normal variation
as the injections are continued, the myometrium tends to increase in thickness and the
endometrium becomes thinner, a condition
not corrected by further increases in dosage
or by prolonging the treatment. The cause
responsible for the limited response of the
endometrium under these conditions is not
known but apparently is not a restrictive influence of the myometrium as similar responses are given when the endometrium is
exposed by incising the uterus, in abdominal
fistulae, and in exteriorized uteri.
 
III. Effects of Progesterone
on the Uterus
 
It has been mentioned that a menstrual
cycle, in which ovulation occurs, can be conveniently divided into a follicular and a
luteal phase. The follicular phase extends
from menstruation to ovulation and the
luteal phase from ovulation to the following
menstruation. It has been shown in the
previous discussion that the endometrial
modifications characteristic of the follicular
phase of the cycle can be duplicated in a
castrated monkey by the injection of estrogen. Likewise, the progestational condition
characteristic of the luteal phase can be developed by giving progesterone. In fact, all
 
 
 
566
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
the morphologic and physiologic features
that are known for anovulatory and ovulatory cycles can be reproduced in castrated
monkeys by estrogen and progesterone.
 
If one designs an experiment to simulate
the normal cycle in a castrated monkey
then estrogen should be given first to develop the conditions of the follicular phase
followed by progesterone for the progestational development of the luteal phase. Experience has shown that this is the most effective procedure for the production of a
progestational endometrium. Progesterone,
as compared with estrogen, is a weak growth
jH'omoter and although it can produce progestational changes in the atrophic endometrium of a castrated monkey when given in
large doses, its action is greatly facilitated
when preceded by estrogen. The first experiments in which progesterone was used
for this purpose were planned on this principle (Hisaw, Meyer and Fevold, 1930; Hisaw, 1935; Engle, Smith and Shelesnyak,
1935).
 
The first noticeable effect of progesterone
is an elongation of the epithelial cells of the
surface membrane and necks of the glands.
When the treatment is continued, this effect progresses down the gland towards the
base. This change is followed closely by a
rearrangement of the nuclei which is more
pronounced in the glands than in the surface
epithelium. The nuclei under the influence
of estrogen in doses which reproduce the
conditions of the follicular phase of a normal cvcle, are situated niostlv in the basal
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.8. Uterus of a castratefl monkey which
was given 2 mg. progesterone daily tor 113 days.
The endometrium is thin but bleeding occiu\s when
such treatment is stopped. The myometrimn is
soft and pliable and ilir l)lood vessels are cnlarsed
and have thick wails.
 
 
 
half of the cells, some of them touching the
basement membrane. The nuclei retreat
from the basement membrane when progesterone is given leaving a conspicuous clear
zone. This zone is produced by intracellular
deposits of glycogen. These early changes
usually appear before pronounced spiraling
and dilation of the glands.
 
Secretion begins in response to estrogenic
stimulation and increases greatly as progestational changes are established. It appears first in the necks of the glands and
progresses basalward. The surface epithelium takes a less conspicuous part in secretion and is usually reduced to a thin membrane when injections of progesterone are
continued until a fully developed progestational endometrium is established. This progressive action of progesterone is such that
it is possible to find all conditions in a single
gland from active secretion and fraying in
the neck region through primary swelling to
an unmodified condition at the base.
 
When treatment is continued for 25 to 30
days at doses of about 2.0 mg. daily, the
glands enter a state that has been called
"secretory exhaustion" (Hisaw, 1935). This
condition also is seen first in the necks of
the glands and progresses toward the base.
The glandular epithelium decreases in
thickness, and active secretion, as judged
by fraying of the cells, is absent. The glands
may become narrow and straight and the
endometrium may resemble that in castration atrophy. These involutionary changes
become even more pronounced if the treatment is continued for several months or a
year (Fig. 9.8). The endometrium by this
time is extremely thin. The glands are
straight, short, and narrow, and the stroma
very dense. The myometrium is thick in proportion to the endometrium and the uterine
blood vessels are large and have greatly
thickened walls. Such uteri tend to be somewhat smaller than normal and are soft and
pHable.
 
Thus, it is seen that when growth is produced in the endonietiiuni of a castrated
monkey by giving estrogen and then continued on injections of progesterone, there
follows a sequential development of all
stages of the luteal phase of a normal menstiual cycle terminating in secretory exhaustion. However, this condition cannot
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
567
 
 
 
be maintained by continuing the progesterone treatment, and involutionary processes
set in and the endometrium is reduced to a
thin structure. Yet, such degenerate endometria are dependent upon progesterone
and will bleed within about 48 hours if the
injections are stopped. It also was found
that after discontinuence of progesterone
daily injections of 10 /i.g. estradiol may not
prevent bleeding.
 
IV. Synergism between Estrogen
and Progesterone
 
There is considerable evidence that in
primates progesterone under normal conditions rarely if ever produces its effects in the
absence of estrogen. Large quantities of estrogen are present in human corpora lutea
(Allen, Pratt, Newell and Bland, 1930) and
during pregnancy the placenta secretes estrogens as well as progesterone (Diczfalusy,
1953) . This apparently is a common feature
of primates, as indicated by the excretion of
estrogens in the urine of pregnant chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys (Allen, Diddle,
Burford and Elder, 1936; Fish, Young and
Dorfman, 1941 ; Dorfman and van Wagenen, 1941). Also, correlated with this is
the observation that estrogen and progesterone when given concurrently produce a
greater effect on the uterus of castrated
monkeys than either alone (Hisaw, Greep
and Fevold, 1937; Engle, 1937; Hisaw and
Greep, 1938; Engle and Smith, 1938) and
that an ineffective dose of progesterone is
greatly potentiated by estrogen. This synergistic effect of the two hormones on the
uterus of monkeys is quite different from
their action on the uteri of laboratory rodents and rabbits. In these animals the effects of progesterone can be inhibited quite
easily by a surprisingly small dose of estrogen (see chapter 7).
 
The synergism between estrogen and progesterone in the promotion of endometrial
growth can be demonstrated to best advantage under the conditions of some of the
physiologic preparations that have been discussed. For instance, it was shown (Fig.
9.5) that growth of the endometrium under
the influence of estrogen was not enhanced
by relieving muscle tension by a midline incision through the anterior wall of the
uterus. Now, if a similar operation is per
 
 
 
FiG. 9.9. Uterus of a castrated monkey that received 10 fig. estradiol and 1 mg. progesterone
daily for 18 days, at which time the uterus was
opened from fundus to cervix and most of the
endometrium of the anterior wall removed. The
incision was not closed and the treatment was
continued for an additional 20 days. (From F. L.
Hisaw, in A Symposium on Steroid Hormones,
University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
formed on the uterus of a monkey that is
receiving 10 /tg. estradiol daily and the
treatment continued with the addition of a
daily dose of 1 mg. progesterone, there usually follows a rapid growth of endometrial
tissue out through the incision until by
about 3 weeks a mass is formed which approximates the size of the entire uterus (Fig.
9.9). If this experiment is repeated and the
same dosage of progesterone is given without estrogen, there is no outgrowth of the
endometrium (Fig. 9.10).
 
A similar synergistic action can be seen in
utero-abdominal fistulae. We have mentioned that estrogen does not cause excessive
growth of the endometrium under these conditions. However, endometria that have
reached their maximal response to estrogen
will show a resumption of growth if 1 or 2
mg. progesterone are added daily to the
treatment. By the 4th or 5th day lobes of
blood-red endometrium begin to protrude
 
 
 
568
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.10. Uteru.s of a castrated monkey which
was given 1 mg. progesteione (lail>' for 18 days
following an estrogen treatment. The uterus was
opened as described for Figure 9.9, and the injections of progesterone continued for 20 days. (From
F. L. Hisaw, in A Syiyiposium on Steroid Hormones, University of Wisconsin Press, 1950.)
 
through the opening of the fistula. Within a
few days tongue-like processes of endometrial tissue are thrust out of the opening
with each uterine contraction and are entirely or i^artially withdrawn at each relaxation.
 
Such outgrowths are difficult to protect
from mechanical injury and consequent tissue loss so it is not possible to determine accurately how much endometrium is produced in a given time. In one experiment an
animal was kept on 10 fxg. estradiol and 2
mg. progesterone daily for 98 days and it
was found that the endometrium continued
to grow, but the rate seemed considerably
slow^er toward the conclusion of the treatment than at the beginning. How long an
endometrium would continue to grow under
these conditions was not determined, but it
is obvious that much more endometrial tissue was produced by the treatment than is
ever found at one time in the uterus of a
monkey during a normal menstrual cycle.
This takes on added significance when it is
compared with the endometrial response in
the intact uterus of an animal given the
same dosage of estrogen and progesterone
for a similar length of time.
 
The progestational development of the
endometrium, when both hormones are
given, passes through the same stages as
those following the injection of only progesterone; i.e., presecretory swelling of the
glandular epithelium, active secretion, and
 
 
 
secretory exhaustion. The endometrium,
however, is considerably thicker than when
a comparable dose of progesterone is given
alone, and secretory exhaustion may not be
so pronounced by the 30th day (Fig. 9.11).
The glandular epithelium in the necks of
the glands may be reduced to a thin membrane scarcely thicker than the nuclei
whereas some secretion is usually present in
the dilated basal parts of the glands. Also
dilation of the glands in the basalis is
more pronounced following a 30-day estrogen-])rogesterone treatment than when the
same amount of progesterone is given separately.
 
Secretory exhaustion appears to be the
initial indication of an involutionary process that ensues when an estrogen-progesterone treatment is continued for a long time
(Hisaw, 1950). When a combination of the
two hormones, known to be capable of producing a large uterus with a thick, fully develojied, progestational endometrium within
al)out 20 days, is given for 100 days, an
astonishingly different endometrium results
(Fig. 9.12). It is thin, the stroma is dense
and the narrow straight glands are reduced
to cords of cells in the basal area. The condition is one suggesting inactivity and atrophy.
 
When such dosages of estrogen and i)rogesterone are given to castrated monkeys
for 200 days or a year further changes in
the endometrium occur. By 200 days the
epithelium of the surface mucosa and glands
 
 
 
 
Fk;. 9.11, .\ late i)r()ges1ati()iial condition produced in the endometrium of a castrated monkey
by giving 10 (ig. estradiol daily for 18 days followed
by 10 /xg. estradiol and 2 mg. progesterone daily
for 31 davs.
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
569
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.12. The endometnuin of a castrated monkey that had received 10 /xg. estradiol
and 1 mg. progesterone daily for 99 days.
 
 
 
is lost except for small glandular vestiges
along the musciilaris at the base of the endometrium. There are no glands, coiled arteries, or large blood vessels in what one
might yet call the functionalis. All that remains is a modified stroma that resembles
decidual tissue (Fig. 9.13.4 and B). It is also
of interest that these endometria will menstruate if the treatment is discontinued and
in most if the injections of progesterone are
stopped and estrogen continued, but not if
estrogen is stopped and progesterone continued.
 
Even though in such experiments the endometrium has been under the influence of
both estrogen and progesterone for a year
and has undergone extremely abnormal
modification, it yet is capable of responding
to estrogen in a more or less characteristic
way when progesterone is stopped and in
 
 
jections of estrogen continued. Apparently
within about three weeks the modified endometrium is replaced, under the influence of
estrogen, by one that has few glands which
tend to be cystic, a mesenchymatous stroma,
and no coiled arteries (Fig. 9.14).
 
Under similar circumstances, if estrogen
is stopped and jjrogesterone is continued, the
modified endometrium is lost without bleeding and there is almost no repair of the endometrium even after a period of 3 weeks.
There seems to be an incompatability between the epithelial outgrowths from the
mouths of the glands and the underlying
stroma of the denuded surface. Consequently the epithelium crumbles away and
epithelization of the raw surface is not accomplished (Fig. 9.15j. How long this condition could continue has not been determined.
 
 
 
570
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
Fk;. 9.13. The endometrium shown m .4 is (h;i( from a castraled mdiik.N wlml, l,a,l
received 10 /xg- estradiol and 2 mg. progesterone daily for 200 days. In B, jiart of ilie endometrium of a snndai animal given the same treatment for 312 days is shown at a higher
magnification. The endometrium is almost entirely a modified stroma in which glandular
epithelium and coiled arteries are absent. Only vestiges of glands are present in the basal
area next to the myometrium.
 
One of the most interesting aspects of
these observations is that these effects were
jiroduced by dosages of estrogen and progesterone that are very probably within the
range of normal physiology. From this it
appears that although growth of the endometrium is greater when the two hormones
are given together, due to their synergistic
interaction, this does not prevent involutionary changes from setting in when the
treatment is continued for a period of weeks
or months. In fact, greater damage to the
endometrium occurs under the simultaneous
action of the two hormones than when either
is given alone. Also, increasing the dose intensifies the damaging action of both estrogen and progesterone, so much so that very
large doses will almost completely destroy
the endometrium.
 
The myometrium, however, shows a different response to these treatments. Estrogen stimulates myometrial growth, which is
 
 
 
 
Fir;. 9.14. Uterus of a castrated monkey which
was given 10 ixg. of estradiol and 2 mg. progesterone daily for 307 days at which time the
injections of progesterone were stopped and estrogen continued for 20 days. Bleeding occurred the
second day following discontinuance of progesterone. The absence of coiled arteries and the presence of cystic glands and a mesenchymetous stroma
characterize the endometrium.
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
571
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.15. Uterus of a castrated monkey which was given 10 yug. estradiol and 2 mg. progesterone daily for 275 days at which time estrogen was stopped and progesterone was continued for 21 days. A shows the thin endometrium and dense stroma whereas B shows failure
of formation of a surface epithelium following the loss of the modified functionalis presumably present at the conclusion of treatment with both hormono.^^ (see Fig. 9.13).
 
 
 
intensified both by cln-onic treatment and
high dosage, and seems to be equally effective when it is given alone or in combination with progesterone. Progesterone also
promotes growth of the muscularis but
seems less effective than estrogen and differs from it by causing pronounced thickening of the walls of the arcuate blood vessels.
These vascular changes extend to the coiled
arteries of the endometrium, which are also
affected by high dosages of estrogen. It
seems remarkable that estrogen is capable of
preventing the action of progesterone on the
myometrial blood vessels and correcting
such effects after they are produced and yet
at the same time it assists in the destruction of the coiled arteries in the endometrium.
 
V. Experimentally Produced
Implantation Reactions
 
Progestational endometria of the normal
menstrual cycle or those produced in castrated monkeys by progesterone, if mechanically traumatized, will develop endometrial
proliferations which seem identical with
those found at normal implantation sites of
fertilized ova (Figs. 9.16 and 9.171 (Hisaw,
 
 
 
1935; Hisaw, Creep and Fevold, 1937; Wislocki and Streeter, 1938; Rossman, 1940).
The proliferated cells originate from the
surface and glandular epithelium and grow
into the surrounding stroma. The reaction
spreads from the point of injury and within
a few days may involve the entire inner
l)ortion of the endometrium bordering the
lumen. The implantation plaques on the 3rd
or 4th day present a fairly homogeneous appearance but soon thereafter certain cells
attain the proportions of giant cells and
many are multinucleated.
 
The development of the plaques is most
rapid during the first week, by the end of
which cell division is found only in the basal
half of the proliferation and evidence of regression is seen in the superficial portion
adjoining the uterine lumen. After 10 days
degenerative and phagocytic processes are
the dominant features and by 24 days the
ut'prus contains few or no ]iroliferation cells.
Wislocki and Streeter ( 1938,1 found that implantation plaques during pregnancy and
those experimentally induced underwent ajjl^roximately the same development arid
subsequent degeneration except for modifications produced by the invading troplio
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
:^a.
 
 
:^^--.^
 
 
 
tx: ^ .
 
 
 
Fig. 9.16. An area of the normal implantation
site of a developing ovum. (From Carnegie Institution, No. C467.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.17. An experimentally induced implantation reaction in a castrated monkey showing condition 6 days after mechanical traumatization of the
endometrium.
 
 
 
blast. Rossman (1940j made an extensive
morphologic study of these epithelial proliferations and concluded that they should
be regarded as typical metaplasias \vith an
embryotrophic function.
 
VI. The Cervix Uteri
 
The cervix uteri of the rhesus monkey is
remarkable for its size and complexity. It
forms a large segment that is set off from
the fundus by a conspicuous constriction at
the level of the internal os (Fig. 9.1). A
sagittal section (Fig. 9.18) shows the cervical canal not straight but thrown into several sharp turns by colliculi that extend
from its walls into the lumen. The largest
of these projects from the midventral wall.
The functional advantage of such tortuosity
of the cervical canal is not obvious but
since the cervix probably serves as a barrier
between the bacterial flora of the vagina and
the corpus uteri, this may be a useful adaptation.
 
The physiology of the cervix has received
much less attention than has been given the
uterus. This is regrettable in view of the
consideration it must receive in practical
obstetrics and gynecology, as well as the
possibility that physiologically the monkey
cervix may be homologous with that of the
human regardless of morphologic difTerences. Recent observations indicate that
this is indeed quite probable.
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.18. Sagittal section of the cervix from a
normal monkey. The vagina and the external os of
the cervix are shown at the left and the entrance
to the fundus is at the right.
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
573
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.19. Sagittal section of the cervix of a pregnant monkey showing conditions present
just previous to parturition on the 154th day of gestation. The dominant features are
dilation of the cervical canal and reduction of the cervical lips (shown at the left) and the
coUiculi. (From Carnegie Institution, No. C713.)
 
 
 
Hamilton (1949) made a detailed study
of the changes in the cervix of rhesus monkeys during the menstrual cycle, paying
particular attention to alterations that took
place in the cells of the surface epithelium
of the endocervical canal and the cervical
glands. It was found that heights of the
cells showed consistent increases and decreases during the cycle. The peaks came on
the 3rd, 13th to 15th, and 22nd days, the
greatest of these being the 14th day which
is approximately the time of ovulation. It
also was observed that, following a peak,
secretion was associated with the decline.
 
Attention was called b3^ Hamilton to the
rather close correlation between the fluctuations in height of the cervical epithelium in
monkeys and the fluctuations observed by
Markee and Berg (1944) in the blood estrogens of the human menstrual cycle. It was
concluded that, if similar changes in estrogen levels also occur in monkeys, one would
be justified in concluding that the increase
in cell height in the cervical mucosa was due
to the action of estrogen and the sudden periodic drops in blood estrogen caused secretion and consequent regression. However, it
is not clear how this could account for the
abundant secretion of the cervical glands in
 
 
 
the presence of high levels of estrogen during
late pregnancy (Fig. 9.19).
 
Much has been learned regarding the
physiology of the primate cervix from experiments on castrated monkeys. The cervical mucosa is very responsive to estrogen
and castration atrophy can be repaired and
a normal condition maintained by daily injections of small doses. Cervical secretion
may become abundant when an estrogen
treatment is prolonged and especially if
large doses are injected. However, the
amount of secretion induced by estrogen
never equals that of the last half of pregnancy, and it usually subsides if the injections are continued for several months.
 
Under conditions of chronic treatments
with estrogen metaplastic aberrations invariably appear in the epithelium of the
endocervix. This reaction was first reported
in monkeys by Overholser and Allen ( 1933,
1935) and has been confirmed by many investigators (Engle and Smith, 1935; Hisaw
and Lendrum, 1936; Zuckerman, 1937c (.
Similar lesions may be found in the cervix
uteri of women (Fluhmann, 1954). They
seem especially prone to occur under conditions characterized by excessive production of estrogen, such as hyperplasia of the
 
 
 
574
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
endometrium (Hellman, Rosenthal, Kistner
and Gordon, 1954) and granulosa-cell tumors of the ovary. Various degrees of metaplasia may occur in the cervix during pregnancy both in the mother and newborn but
Fluhmann (1954) did not find it as frequently as in nonpregnant women.
 
This reaction to estrogen as seen in the
cervix of castrated monkeys is initiated by
growth of small undifferentiated cells below
the columnar mucous cells of the secretory
epithelium. Fluhmann (1954) suggests that
these cells are really undifferentiated cells
of the cervical mucosa which have the potentiality of becoming columnar or squamous or simply undergoing multiplication
and remaining as indifferent or reserve cells.
These cells accumulate, in response to estrogen, to form aggregates of several cells
in thickness and, although this may occur in
any area of the endocervix, it is generally
more pronounced below the base of the
glands. As this process proceeds the columnar mucous cells are pushed outward and
are finally desquamated thus exposing the
underlying metaplastic cells to the lumen of
the gland (Fig. 9.20).
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.20. Al.iaph
 
 
 
in a castrated monkey that li.-id rci-civcd 1 nig.
estriol daily for 48 days.
 
 
 
The cells of these lesions undergo a characteristic differentiation. When first formed
they are small, cuboidal, and have spherical nuclei with dense chromatin. As they increase in number those in the center of the
cellular mass become larger and acquire an
eosinophilic cytoplasm. Such collections, as
seen at the base of the cervical glands, may
grow in height and form cone-shaped masses
with the apexes protruding through the mucous epithelium into the lumen or they may
remain as more or less compact structures.
This difference in growth seems to have a
general relation to the dosage of estrogen.
Large doses cause more rapid growth and
cone formation with the loss of cells from
the apex either singly or in groups, whereas
small doses produce slower growth and desquamated cells are seldom seen in the lumen. However, regardless of the rate of
growth, the cells at the base of the lesion
remain undifferentiated and continue as the
principal area of cell proliferation.
 
Pearl formation is occasionally seen and
may be quite common in animals on low
dosages of estrogen. Under strong estrogenic
stimulation and consequently rapid growth,
these structures apparently are desquamated before they are completely formed.
However, very early stages are frequently
seen and may even be present in small
clumps of metaplastic cells, but they are
more commonly found in the larger collections at the base of the glands. Their appearance is initiated by swelling and disintegration of one or more adjacent cells
that form a center around which epidermidization takes place. Further development
does not proceed under the influence of esti'ogen, beyond the formation of a small central cavity.
 
The most conspicuous difference between
the metaplastic growths produced by estrogen and true cancer of the cervix in the
monkey (Hisaw and Hisaw, Jr., 1958) is
that the former remain noninvasive even
when the treatment is continued well over
a year. They also involute when the treatiiiciit is discontinued and they do not appeal' when progesterone is given simultaneously with estrogen. When the injections of
progesterone are started after metaplastic
growths have been formed in response to
estrogen, further growth is inhibited and
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
the keratinized cells of the lesion become
vacuolated and are lost.
 
In contrast with the effects of estrogen
on the cervix, the modifications that occur
as pregnancy advances are remarkable. The
cervix becomes a soft thin-walled structure,
the glands increase in number, and their
lumina become greatly enlarged, pressing
the stroma into thin partitions between
them, and the amount of mucus secreted is
enormous (Fig. 9.19). Attempts at duplicating these changes in castrated animals by
hormone therapy have been only partially
successful. Estrogen produces a solid thickwalled cervix that tends to be larger than
normal, an effect that is especially noticeable in young animals. Progesterone does
not promote cervical growth and repair of
the glands unless large doses are given and
even then there is little if any secretion. The
best results were obtained when both estrogen and progesterone were given and especially so when relaxin was added to the
treatment (see chapter by Zarrow).
 
VII. The Vagina
 
The general features of the vaginal smear
of rhesus monkeys have been described by
several investigators (Allen, 1927; Hartman, 1932; Westman, 1932) and a detailed
study of the cellular components at different times of the menstrual cycle has been
made by Lopez Columbo de Allende, Shorr
and Hartman (1945). The changes in the
vagina of a monkey are in most respects like
those found for the human being (Papanicolaou, Traut and Marchetti, 1948; Lopez
Columbo de Allende and Orias, 1950). Epithelial growth and desquamation of cornified cells continue at all stages of the cycle
but at various rates. The epithelium is
thinnest at menstruation and gradually increases in thickness during the follicular
phase, reaching a maximum at ovulation.
At this time there is a well developed basal
area in which numerous mitoses can be seen
and from which many papillae or ''bulbs"
extend into the underlying stroma. Above
this is an intermediate zone, an interepithelial zone of cornification (so called Dierk's
layer), and a heavily cornified outer zone
(Fig. 9.21).
 
Cellular proliferation is less rapid during
the luteal phase and apparently cells are
 
 
 
desquamated more rapidly than they are replaced. Consequently there is a decrease in
the thickness of the epithelium in the luteal
phase which may include an almost complete loss of the cornified zone (Davis and
Hartman, 1935). The effects are probably
due to progesterone because similar changes
are seen following the introduction of progesterone into a treatment in which estrogen
is being given.
 
The vaginal epithelium of a castrated
monkey is remarkably sensitive to estrogen.
A small daily dose of 5 to 10 /xg. estradiol
will stimulate growth of an atrophic epithelium of 4 to 8 cells in thickness to one of
60 or even 80 layers thick within 3 weeks.
One of the first things that is noticed as the
vaginal epithelium thickens is the numerous
mitotic figures in the stratum germinativum
followed by a marked increase in the number of epithelial papillae along the basement membrane. This condition of rapid
growth, cornification, and loss of cells into
the vaginal lumen is typical of the follicular
phase of the menstrual cycle and can be
maintained indefinitely.
 
 
 
 
l''i(.. U.21. the vaginal epithelium of a castuUMJ
monkej' showing growth antl cornification induced
by estrogen.
 
 
 
576
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Progesterone, in contrast with estrogen,
does not produce rapid growth of the vaginal epithelium but at the same time it is
not without an effect. The vaginal epithelium, weeks or months after castration, has
relatively few papillae projecting from its
basal border into the underlying stroma.
When progesterone is given, this condition
is changed but not in a spectacular way.
There is very slow growth without cornification. The epithelium remains thin but the
papillae become more numerous. These are
mostly small epithelial buds which tend to
remain solid but may show enlargement of
the cells in their centers.
 
When estrogen and progesterone are given
concurrently, the effects of estrogen on the
vaginal mucosa are modified. If an estrogen
treatment has continued for a sufficient time
to produce full cornification and then progesterone is added, the first indication of an
inhibition of estrogen is a decrease in mitotic activity. This is followed by a continuation of cornification and loss of cells
faster than they are replaced ; consequently,
most of the functionalis is lost and the epithelium becomes thinner. There is also a
noticeable decrease in the intensity of cornification, which in the monkey is never as
pronounced as in rodents, and under these
conditions is quite incomplete, each cell retaining a conspicuous nucleus. Partly cornified cells may be present for several weeks
 
 
 
.-•^ss;^
 
 
 
4* ' V ^ §
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 9.22. ^^•tgi^al epithelium of a pregnant monkey showing condition on the 154th day of gestation. (From Carnegie Institution, No. C713.)
 
 
 
when both estrogen and progesterone are
given, but eventually they almost entirely
disappear and the epithelium attains a condition resembling that of late pregnancy.
 
The inhibitory effect of progesterone on
the action of estrogen is shown perhaps even
better when a castrated monkey having a
fully involuted reproductive tract is first
given progesterone for a few days and then
(>strogen is added to the treatment, or when
injections of the two hormones are started
at the same time. In such experiments estrogen has little effect on the vaginal mucosa
even in doses that would produce marked
cornification if given alone. These observations show that a fully cornified vaginal
epithelium cannot be produced or maintained by estrogen when an effective dosage
of progesterone is included in the treatment
(Hisaw, Greep and Fevold, 1937).
 
Estrogens and progesterone are the dominant hormones of gestation and their simultaneous action is reflected by the changes
in the vaginal epithelium. The fully cornified vagina, present at the time of ovulation,
is gradually modified as pregnancy progresses into a condition strikingly like that
seen in experiments when estrogen and progesterone are given concurrently. In late
pregnancy the most striking feature of the
thin, uncornified epithelium is the presence
of numerous epithelial buds extending
deeply into the underlying stroma. They
may branch and rebranch and along their
course there is conspicuous enlargement of
the more centrally situated cells among
which cavities ai^pear, enlarge, and join
each other (Fig. 9.22). It seems quite probable that this process may be of considerable
importance in increasing the diameter of
the vagina.
 
VIII. Sexual Skin
 
A so-called sexual skin is jiresent in most
catarrhine monkeys, is not found in platyriliine monkeys, and among the anthropoids
occurs regularly only in the chimpanzee
I l^]ckstein and Zuckcrman, 1956). Changes
in the sexual skin during the menstrual cycle have been observed most extensively in
the monkey (Macaca), the baboon (Papio),
and the chimpanzee (Pan). The sexual skin
of t!ie baboon and chimpanzee undergo jiro
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
577
 
 
 
nounced swelling during the follicular phase
of the cycle. A maximal size is attained by
the middle of the cycle followed by a rapid
regression and loss of edema which at least
in the baboon is associated with a marked
increase in the output of urine (Gillman,
1937a; Krohn and Zuckerman, 1937). The
subsidence of the sexual skin begins approximately at the time of ovulation and remains
in the reduced condition throughout the
luteal phase, followed by a subsequent initiation of swelling during or soon after
menstruation (Zuckerman, 1930, 1937e;
Zuckerman and Parkes, 1932; Gillman and
Gilbert, 1946; Young and Yerkes, 1943;
Nissen and Yerkes, 1943).
 
A w^ell developed sexual skin is present
in the monkey {Macaca mulatta) only during adolescence. With the appearance of
the menstrual cycles the sexual skin undergoes a process of maturation into the adult
condition in which cyclic changes in edema
are absent and the most noticeable feature
is a vivid red color. Such coloration is due
to vascular engorgement rather than pigment (Collings, 1926) and involves the
perineum, the buttocks, and may extend for
various distances down the legs and over
the symphysis pubis. The development and
maturation of the sexual skin have been described in considerable detail by several investigators (Hartman, 1932; Zuckerman,
van Wagenen and Gardiner, 1938) .
 
The sexual skin has been of considerable
interest both as to the nature of its responsiveness to ovarian hormones and the
manner in which its grossly visible changes
during the menstrual cycle parallel events
occurring in the reproductive tract. The
sudden loss of edema at the conclusion of
the follicular phase not only signals ovulation but also raises the question as to
whether the loss of tissue fluid is due to a
decrease in estrogen or is the direct effect
of progesterone. The importance of this
becomes obvious when it is considered that
a similar process also goes on simultaneously
in the endometrium and raises the question
again as to the respective roles played by
estrogen and progesterone in endometrial
growth and menstruation.
 
That the development and edema of the
sexual skin of adolescent rhesus monkeys
depend on the ovaries was first demon
 
 
strated by Allen ( 1927 ) . Involution and loss
of color follow castration, and the normal
condition can be restored by the injection
of estrogen. Also, when estrogen treatment
is continued for several weeks maturation of
the sexual skin occurs and a condition characteristic of that in the adult is established
(Zuckerman, van Wagenen and Gardiner,
1938). The genital area loses its edema and
develops a brilliant red color which is retained as long as estrogen is administered.
Once this mature condition is established
the response of the sexual skin to subsequent estrogen treatments is limited to a
change in color.
 
Similar experiments have been performed
on the chacma baboon, Papio porcarius
(Parkes and Zuckerman, 1931; Gillman,
1937b, 1938, 1940a). The large sexual skin
of these animals is very responsive to estrogen and development equal to that of the
follicular phase of the menstrual cycle can
be readily induced by daily injections for
about 2 weeks. However, the perineal swelling of the baboon differs from the sexual
skin of the genital area of the rhesus monkey in that it does not "mature" under the
influence of estrogen.
 
When large doses of estrogen are given to
a rhesus monkey a generalized edema of
the skin occurs beyond the genital area.
This first appears as deeply indented swellings along the sartorii from groin to knee,
and next appears at the base of the tail and
spreads gradually upward until it involves
the entire dorsal portion of the trunk. At the
same time, the skin of the face, scalp, and
supraorbital ridges becomes swollen and
finally the edema may extend out on the
arms and down the legs to the ankles (Bachman, Collip and Selye, 1935; Hartman,
Geschickter and Speert, 1941). A daily
dose of 500 /xg. or more of estriol or estradiol
w^ll produce this condition within 2 to 3
weeks and, when the treatment is continued for an extended period the effect
tends to subside.
 
Progesterone has a strong inhibitory action on the effects produced by estrogen on
both the genital and extragenital sexual
skin of the monkey. If daily injections of
progesterone are added to the treatmeiu
after full development of the sexual skin
has been induced by estrogen, there is a
 
 
 
578
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
noticeable loss of edema by the 4th or 5th
day followed by rapid involution and reduction of the turgid folds of skin to loose,
flabby wrinkles within about 10 days. When
estrogen and progesterone are given concurrently to a castrated monkey from the
beginning of treatment edema does not appear but the sexual skin regains its normal
color. In fact, progesterone alone, like estrogen, can restore the color to the sexual
skin of castrated adult monkeys (Hisaw,
Greep and Fevold, 1937; Hisaw, 1942).
 
The interaction of estrogen and i)rogesterone on the sexual skin of rhesus monkeys can best be demonstrated by the reaction of the skin of the sexual area in
adolescent animals. The most striking effect
and probably the most important is the
sequence of events initiated by a single
dose of progesterone when given to an animal on continuous estrogen treatment. Under such treatment a full response of the
sexual skin is obtained by the end of 20
days. If at this time 1 mg. progesterone is
given in a single dose and the estrogen
treatment continued uninterruptedly, the
first indication of an effect of the luteal hormone is a slight loss of edema and color of
the sexual skin on the 4th or 5th day thereafter. The sexual skin is markedly reduced
by the 8th day, almost gone by the 9th, and
at the end of about a fortnight regains its
ability to respond to estrogen as shown by
a return of color and swelling. However, the
most remarkable eventuation of such treatment is menstruation which usually begins
on about the 10th day (Hisaw, 1942).
 
Involution of the sexual skin and menstruation following a single injection of
progesterone also have been produced in the
baboon by Gillman (1940a). He found that
5 mg. progesterone, when given on the 8th
day of a normal menstrual cycle, would
cause an appreciable loss of edema of the
swollen perineal sexual skin by the day after
injection. This was followed by a progressive involution of the perineum until the
13th day and swelling was re-initiated by
the end of the 15th day. Reduction of the
sexual skin at this dosage of progesterone
was not associated with menstruation. However, when the dose was increased to 20 mg.
both deturgescence of the sexual skin and
menstruation occurred. These effects pro
 
 
duced by progesterone in the presence of
endogenous estrogen have much in common
with those described above as occurring in
castrated monkeys on continuous estrogen
treatments.
 
IX. Menstruation
 
An experimental ai^proach to the physiology of menstruation dates from the observations of Allen (1927) that uterine
bleeding would occur in castrated monkeys
following the discontinuance of an estrogen
treatment. He suggested that normal menstruation is due to a fluctuation in estrogen
secretion and proposed the "estrogen-withdrawal" theory to account for the observed
facts. This concept led to an extensive investigation of the effects of estrogens on the
endometrium and of conditions that modify
their action. It was soon found that in both
castrated monkeys and human beings there
was a quantitative relationship between the
dosage of estrogen given and the maintenance of the endometrium. Bleeding occurred during treatment when the daily dose
of estrogen was small, but with larger doses
a point was reached at which the injections
could be continued for months or even years
without bleeding (Werner and Collier, 1933;
Zuckerman, 1937b, d).
 
Estrogen also will inliihit i)ostop('rative
bleeding which usually follows total castration, provided the ovaries are removed before or soon after ovulation (Hartman.
1934). With the advent of a corpus luteum
and development of a progestational endometrium it becomes progressively more difficult, following castration, to prevent menstruation by injecting estrogen. Similar
results are obtained when estrogen is given
during a normal menstrual cycle. Small
doses may not prevent the onset of menstruation, but if continued, subsequent menstrual periods are delayed (Corner, 1935).
Large doses when given during the luteal
phase of the cycle do not disturb the normal
menstrual rhythm, but may do so if the
treatment is started during the follicular
phase (Zuckerman, 1935. 1936a).
 
Progesterone, in contrast with estrogen,
will prevent menstruation from an endometrium representative of any stage of the normal cycle. It will delay onset of the next menses even when the treatment is started only
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
579
 
 
 
a few days before the expected menstruation (Corner, 1935; Corner and Allen, 1936) .
Also, the bleeding that invariably follows
the discontinuance of a long treatment with
estrogen can be inhibited indefinitely by
giving progesterone (Hisaw, 1935; Engle,
Smith and Shelesnvak, 1935; Zuckerman,
1936b).
 
An impression held by many of the earlier investigators was that progesterone
could not produce its effects on the primate
endometrium unless it w^as preceded by the
action of estrogen. It is true, of course, that
progesterone is a comparatively weak
growth promoter and its effects can be demonstrated to best advantage on an endometrium that has been developed by estrogen. However, Hisaw, Greep and Fevold
(1937) produced a progestational endometrium in a monkey that had been castrated
242 days previously by giving synthetic
progesterone. Also, the endometrium of this
animal was found capable of forming a
decidual plaque upon traumatization. Soon
afterwards Hartman and Speert (1941) observed menstruation following the withdrawal of progesterone in castrated monkeys
that had not been given estrogen and more
recently similar results have been reported
by Eckstein ( 1950) . At the same time it has
l)een found that progesterone will induce
menstruation in women suffering from
amenorrhea and also that uterine bleeding
can l)e jirecipitated l)y similar treatment
(hiring the follicular j^hase of the cycle
(Zondek and Rozin, 1938; Rakoff, 1946).
 
These observations have been confirmed
and extended by Krohn (1951; 1955) who
finds that menstrual bleeding can be induced in monkeys wdth secondary amenorrhea by the injection of 5 daily doses of
progesterone. Progesterone (5 mg. daily for
5 days) also precipitates uterine bleeding
in castrated monkeys at intervals of about
8 days provided the treatment is started
innnediately a menstrual bleeding has been
induced either by removel of the ovaries
or withdrawal of estrogen. The most interesting aspect of these observations is
that the number of short 8-day cycles that
can be obtained in this way in a castrated
animal seems to be related to the size of the
initial dose of estrogen used to induce withdrawal bleeding. This also applies to pro
 
 
gesterone-withdrawal bleeding, so the effect does not depend upon the particular
hormone used to obtain the bleeding. It also
is of interest that such conditioning of the
endometrium to subsequent responses to the
5-day treatments with progesterone may
last for several months on a continuous regime. It is surprising that such a series of
responses cannot be initiated unless the
first injection of progesterone is given within
6 days following the initial withdrawal
bleeding. These observations have much in
common with those of Phelps (1947) who
also studied the influence of previous treatment on experimental menstruation in monkeys.
 
There seems to be a quantitative relationship between the dosage of progesterone
given in combination with estrogen and the
ability of estrogen to prevent bleeding after
the injections of progesterone are stopped. It
has been mentioned that once a fully
developed i^rogestational reaction has been
produc(Hl l)y progesterone, it is extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to inhibit menstruation by giving estrogen following the
withdrawal of progesterone. However, Hisaw and Greep (1938) found that progestational endometria produced ijy small
doses of estrogen plus api^roximately 0.5
mg. progesterone daily for 18 to 21 days
did not bleed following progesterone withdrawal when continued on 10 to 20 times the
original dosage of estrogen. In fact, such
endometria were brought back to a condition typical for the action of estrogen and
again transformed into a presecretory progestational state without the intervention of
bleeding. Similar observations were made
previously by Zuckerman (1936a, 1937d).
 
These experimental results give grounds
for some doubt as to the adequacy of the
estrogen-withdrawal theory to account fully
for menstruation. Not only can progesterone
bring about menstruation without the intervention of estrogen but other steroid hormones are capable of pi'oducing similar effects. Desoxycorticosterone in large doses
can inhibit estrogen-withdrawal bleeding in
castrated monkeys (Zuckerman, 1939, 1951 )
and induce phases of uterine bleeding in
rapid succession in normal monkeys
(Krohn, 1951). So too can testosterone prevent estrogen-withdrawal bleeding (Hart
 
 
580
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
man, 1937; Engle and Smith, 1939; Duncan,
Allen and Hamilton, 1941) and inhibit progesterone-withdrawal bleeding as well (Engle and Smith, 1939). Testosterone also will
precipitate bleeding during an estrogen
treatment (Hisaw, 1943) and in normal
monkeys if given early in the cycle (Krohn,
1951). Just what specific action these compounds have in common that enables them
to produce these effects or whether there are
different modes of action that lead to the
same results is not known, but, before mentioning certain possibilities, it may be helpful to consider information regarding the
influence of estrogen-progesterone interactions on menstruation.
 
Among the most significant observations
regarding primary causes of menstruation
are a few indications that there may be an
intrinsic difference in the ways in which estrogen and progesterone produce their effects on the endometrium. One of the first
indications of this was the discovery that a
short series of injections of progesterone
during treatment with estrogen will precipitate menstruation (Corner, 1937; Zuckerman, 1937d; Hisaw and Greep, 1938). This
can be demonstrated by giving a castrated
monkey a maintenance dose of estrogen
daily for 2 or 3 weeks, then adding a daily
injection of progesterone for 5 to 10 days
and continuing the estrogen treatment. As
a rule bleeding appears within 2 or 3 days
after stopping progesterone. The most interesting point brought out by such experiments is that bleeding can occur under these
conditions in the presence of an otherwise
maintenance dosage of estrogen.
 
Perhaps the most surprising as well as
most important fact brought out by subsequent experiments was the small amount of
progesterone required to bring about bleeding under these conditions. It was found that
only a single injection of 1 mg. was required
for animals on chronic treatment with a
maintenance dose of estradiol (1000 LIT.)
and some bled when 0.5 mg. progesterone
was given (Hisaw, 1942). The sequence of
events following the injection of progesterone can be seen to best advantage in an
adolescent monkey whose sexual skin also
respond" to the estrogen treatment. When
the 1 mg. ]irogesterone is given on the 20th
day of estrogen treatment the edema of th(^
 
 
 
sexual skin will have attained its maximal
development. The first indication of an effect of progesterone is a slight loss of edema
and color of the sexual skin which appears
on the 4th or 5th day and by the 9th or 10th
day the edema is almost gone and the sexual
skin is pale. Blood apjiears in the vaginal
lavage between the 7th and 10th days, of
about 70 per cent of the animals on this dosage. The sexual skin may remain markedly
reduced and pale until about the 15th day
after which both color and edema rapidly
return. These effects can also be seen when
1 mg. progesterone is given for a series of
days. However, neither the time of appearance nor loss of edema of the sexual skin is
significantly hastened, and if the injections
extend over no more than 5 days the time
between the first injection and bleeding remains approximately the same.
 
Similar observations have been made by
Gillman and Smyth (1939) on the South
African baboon iPapio porcarius). They
found that 3 mg. or more of progesterone
when given in a single injection during the
follicular phase of the cycle would cause
the relatively enormous perineal swellings
to pass rapidly through deturgescence and
reach a flabby resting condition within 5 to
7 days, and after a delay of about 24 hours
once again begin to swell. As much as 10 or
15 mg. in a single dose caused perineal deturgescence without bleeding, whereas 20
mg. in a single dose or a total of 15 mg. if
divided into 2 or 3 injections and given at
3 or 4 day intervals, produced both deturgescence and bleeding (Gillman, 1940b).
The l)aboon diff"ers from the monkey in that
larger doses of progesterone are required to
produce the effects and the sexual skin does
not ''mature" on repeated treatments and
lose its responsiveness; otherwise the basic
physiology of the reaction in both animals
seems to be the same.
 
The most important fact l)rought out by
these experiments is that the effects of a
single injection of progesterone can continue
in the presence of estrogen for as long as 10
to 15 days. It is highly imi^robable that progesterone lingers in the body for so long a
time (Zarrow, Shoger and Lazo-Wasem,
1954). In general it is considered the most
ephemeral of the sex steroids and is probablv inactivated within at least a few hours
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
581
 
 
 
after it is administered. It seems more lilvely
that progesterone modifies the sexual skin
in a way that renders it unresponsive to estrogen and that about a fortnight is required
to recover the original condition.
 
This takes on added significance when the
possibility is considered that effects similar
to those seen in the sexual skin might also
be going on simultaneously in the uterine
endometrium. An appreciable dehydration
of the endometrium occurs just previous to
menstruation (van Dyke and Ch'en, 1936)
and a loss of interstitial fluid before bleeding has been observed in endometrial implants in the eyes of monkeys and described
in detail by Markee (1940) . This was shown
by periodic regression in size and compactness of the grafts which resulted in a decrease in area of 25 to more than 75 per
cent. Because cyclic changes in endometrial
grafts in the eye are correlated with events
of the menstrual cycle there is reason to believe that similar reactions were going on
in the endometrium of the uterus.
 
Endometrial regression, as described by
Markee, did not always lead to menstruation although it invariably preceded, accompanied, and followed menstrual bleeding.
Menstruation occurred only when regression
was rapid and extensive. This was seen in
the endometrial grafts in the eye during a
normal menstrual cycle at the time of involution of a corpus luteum and during an
anovulatory cycle soon after the involution
of a large follicle. It also begins soon after
the last of a series of injections of estrogen
or i^'ogesterone. A slow decrease in size of
the ocular grafts, without concomitant
bleeding, can be induced in castrated monkeys by gradual withdrawal of estrogen,
and when estrogen is given in amounts that
are inadequate for maintaining the endometrium for an extended period the "break
through" bleeding that eventually ensues is
preceded by a rapid and extensive endometrial regression. Because this reaction also
occurs w^hen menstruation is induced by such
an unusual procedure as spinal transection
(Markee, Davis and Hinsey, 1936), it probably is a phenomenon that always precedes
menstruation.
 
It seems from these observations that the
changes in the endometrium preceding menstruation are initiated by a sudden with
 
 
drawal of a stimulus on which the endometrium at the time relies for the maintenance
of a particular physiologic condition, and
bleeding and tissue loss are incidents that
occur during the readjustment necessary for
the return to an inactive state. What this involves is only partly known, but an understanding of the initial changes in the endometrium that usher in menstruation most
certainly holds the explanation of the real
cause. This has been a perennial subject for
discussion and many suggestions and theories have been set forth in an extensive
literature to account for various aspects of
menstruation. Among the more recent general discussions are those by Zuckerman
(1949, 1951), Corner (19511, and Zondek
( 1954 ) .
 
The estrogen- withdrawal or estrogen-deprivation theory proposed by Edgar Allen
has received more attention than any other.
From what has been mentioned earlier it is
clear that this theory can account for uterine bleeding subsequent to the discontinuance of a series of estrogen injections and
also perhaps menstruation at the conclusion
of an anovulatory cycle. However, it is not
so obvious as to how this theory can explain
the occurrence of menstruation at the close
of the luteal phase of a normal cycle. Estrogen in large doses will not inhibit such
bleeding, but it is postponed if progesterone
is given. It is equally difficult to see how this
theory is helpful in accounting for the fact
that a small dose of progesterone will precipitate bleeding in the presence of a maintenance dosage of estrogen. As little as 2
/xg. progesterone will induce bleeding when
applied topically to the endometrial lips of
an exteriorized uterus (Fig. 9.7) in a monkey that is receiving 10 fig. estradiol daily
(Hisaw, 1950).
 
Uterine bleeding precipitated by administering progesterone during an estrogen
treatment has been explained on the grounds
that progesterone in some way interferes
with the action of estrogen on the endometrium. Therefore, it is assumed that an animal receiving both estrogen and progesterone is in a sense "deprived" of estrogen.
That is, when the two hormones are given
simultaneously, progesterone itself is capable of maintaining the endometrium without bleeding; but when it is stopped, the
 
 
 
582
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
suggestion is that the animal is physiologically deprived of estrogen and literally deprived of progesterone (Corner, 1951). Although this view is in descriptive agreement
with the observed facts the idea of the inhibitory effect of progesterone does not take
into consideration the synergistic interaction of the two hormones on the endometrium.
 
The physiologic function of progesterone
is the conversion of an estrogen-endometrium into a progestational endometrium
suitable for receiving and nourishing a developing blastocyst. Such an endometrium
is adapted for this specific reproductive
function and accordingly its physiologic nature must be quite different from that of the
follicular phase of the cycle. Indeed, it is
known that these two structures (follicular
and luteal phase endometrial are morphologically and biochemically unlike in a number of respects. This gradual transformation,
following ovulation, occurs as progesterone
becomes the dominant hormone, and consequently, as this proceeds, the endometrium
progressively loses competence to respond
to estrogen. However, this does not imply
that estrogen is without effect in the general
economy of the progestational endometrium.
It has been shown in a number of ways that
the action of progesterone on the primate
endometrium is greatly facilitated by the
presence of estrogen. In fact, it seems probable that rarely if ever does progesterone
perform its function in the absence of estrogen (Hisaw, 1959; chapter by Zarrow).
 
After consideration of the endometrial
specializations brought about by ]irogesterone, it seems rather jwintless to hark back
to the follicular phase and inject the past
recoi'd of accomjilishments and prerogatives
that estrogen had at that time into the explanation of an entirely different hormonal
situation. It seems more in keeping with the
facts to state outright that menstruation
following the involution of a corpus luteum
or the discontinuance of progesterone, even
though estrogen is present, is due to a decrease or absence of progesterone.
 
It also has become less certain that menstruation at the conclusion of an anovulatory cycle is really an estrogen-withdrawal
bleeding. This is possible, of couisc, but at
 
 
 
the same time the exceedingly small amount
of progesterone required to induce bleeding
in the presence of estrogen makes it difficult
to be sure what the situation might be. Even
a negative test for progesterone in the blood,
by our present methods, does not necessarily
indicate the absence of a physiologically effective amount of progesterone. Zarrow,
Shoger and Lazo-Wasem (1954) found that
in rabbits an intramuscular injection of 40
mg. progesterone was required to produce
an appreciable concentration of the hormone in the blood as determined by the
Hooker-Forbes method. Yet, 0.2 mg. progesterone daily for 5 days will produce a
progestational reaction in the uterus equivalent to that of the 5th day of normal pseudopregnancy. In monkeys 0.5 mg. daily when
given with 10 fxg. estradiol is an adequate
dosage of progesterone to induce unquestionable progestational changes in the endometrium and much less will cause bleeding. These observations indicate that the
minimal effective concentration of progesterone in the blood may be less than is possible to detect by our present methods.
 
This also seems to hold for the human being. Estimates of secretion and metabolism
of progesterone in the human being have
been based primarily on the recovery of its
excretory product sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate in the urine. It seems obvious
that such determinations must be only general approximations because only about 20
per cent of the progesterone secreted or injected can be accounted for by the pregnanediol in the urine. Also, it is generally known
that a physiologically effective dosage of
progesterone does not necessarily lead to the
excretion of pregnanediol (Hamblen, Cuylcr,
Powell, Ashley and Baptist, 1939; Seegar,
1940). In other words, the threshold dose of
progesterone for endometrial stimulation is
l)elow that at which the hormone is excreted
as pregnanediol. In fact, it has been suggested by some investigators that there is
no quantitative relationship between the
l)rogesterone present in the blood and the
pregnanediol excreted in the urine (Buxton,
1940; Sommerville and Marrian, 1950;
Kaufmann, Westphal and Zander, 1951).
 
These findings and the wide variation in
the amount of prc'gnancdiol excreted during
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
58.3
 
 
 
a menstrual cycle (Venning and Browne,
1937) suggest that, even in the absence of
ovulation, sufficient progesterone may be
present to influence menstruation. There
also is the possibility of progestational hormone from some extra-ovarian source, such
as the suprarenal cortex. This was suggested
by Zuckerman (1937b, 1941 j as a possible
explanation for periodic bleeding in monkeys on a constant submaintenance dose of
estrogen. This thought becomes more plausible in view of the fact that progesterone is
one of the precursors in the metabolic synthesis of androgens, estrogens, and adrenal
cortical steroids (Dorfman, 1956). Also, it
has been shown that desoxycorticosterone
acetate is converted to progesterone in vivo
(Zarrow, Hisaw and Bryans, 1950). Therefore, progesterone is not restricted to ovarian luteal function but instead is of rather
general occurrence in the body and the
likelihood is that small amounts are a constant constituent of the blood.
 
Also, the amount of progesterone from
extra-ovarian sources may fluctuate, as suggested by Zuckerman (1949), and consequently disturb the normal menstrual
rhythm and probably cause bleeding in
monkeys on a continuous submaintenance
dose of estrogen. However, as to the latter,
there is an alternative explanation. Castrated monkeys on a continuous treatment
of 10 fxg. of estradiol daily do not show
"break-through" bleeding, and a synergistic
effect on growth of the uterus is seen when
0.5 mg. or more of progesterone daily is introduced into the treatment. However, the
simultaneous administration of 0.25 mg. or
even 0.125 mg. progesterone daily in similar
exj^eriments results in bleeding between
a!)out the 10th to 16th day of the combination treatment. Thus, a dosage of progesterone less than that required for synergism or
prevention of bleeding when given alone,
modifies the endometrium so that it can no
longer be maintained by 10 fxg. estradiol
daily (Hisaw, Jr., unpublished). When it is
considered that the endometrium becomes
increasingly dependent on estrogen during
a chronic treatment, even after maximal
growth is attained (Hisaw, 1942), it seems
plausible that the effectiveness of a dosage
of estrogen only slightly alcove the thresh
 
 
old for bleeding may be decreased sufficiently by the endogenous progesterone from
extra-ovarian sources to precipitate bleeding.
 
Although it is obvious that the normal
menstrual cycle is primarily under the control of the ovarian estrogens and progesterone, it is also equally clear that menstruation is not due to a specific hormonal action.
Experimental evidence indicates that any
natural or synthetic compound having the
capacity for promoting growth or sustaining
an existing metabolic state in the endometrium is also capable of inducing withdrawal bleeding. However, this does not imply that all compounds capable of inducing
menstruation do so by the same biochemical
action; in fact, there is considerable evidence that this is not so (see chapter by
Villee). Yet in each instance a series of
events is set in motion that leads up to active bleeding.
 
X. The Mechanism of Menstruation
 
The immediate cause and mechanism of
menstruation has continued to be a topic of
special interest for many years and the subject of frequent general discussions. A generalization in keeping with our present
knowledge is that no gross morphologic feature of the endometrium is distinctive of
menstruation. A menstruating endometrium
may be representative of any stage of the
follicular or luteal phase of the cycle. The
most frequently discussed hypothesis regarding the mechanism of menstruation is
that proposed by Markee (1940, 1946)
which is based on direct observations of
vascular changes in endometrial grafts in
the anterior chamber of the eye of monkeys
(see p. 564). The changes observed in the
endometrium shortly before bleeding are,
briefly, as follows. (1) There is extensive
and rapid regression of the endometrium due
to loss of ground substance from the stroma
(Fig. 9.23). (2) The rapid regression brings
about a disproportion between the length of
the coiled arteries and thickness of the endometrium with the formation of additional
coils. (3) The increased coiling of the arteries retards the circulation of blood
through them and their branches. This stasis
begins 1 to 3 davs before the onset of the
 
 
 
584
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Repair
 
 
 
Fig. 9.23. A diagram indicating correlated changes in ovary and endometrium during
an ovulatory cycle of rhesus monkey. Thickness of endometrium, density of stroma, gland
form, and three types of arteries are indicated. There is a gradual rise in thickness up to the
time of ovulation, and a brief decline followed by development of the luteal or progestational phase with accumulation of secretion in the glands due to relaxation of the
myometrium. This is followed by loss of ground substance from the stroma, which is the
primary factor in the premenstrual regression of the ischemic phase. This is a prelude to
extravasation and shedding of tissue. Incidentally, secretion is extruded and glands collapse. There is further regression throughout the phase of menstruation. More than the
basal zone (coarse stipple) survives menstruation. During repair, thickening of the endometrium is associated with increase in ground substance in the stroma and growth in the
glands. (From G. W. Bartelmez, 1957, Am. J. Obst. & Gynec, 74, 931-955, 1957, with
some modification of description.)
 
 
 
flow, and is associated with leukocytosis in
the endometrium. (4) The portion of the
coiled arteries located adjacent to the muscularis constricts 4 to 24 hours before the
onset of the flow. This vasoconstriction persists throughout the menstrual period except when individual coiled arteries relax
and blood circulates through them for a few
minutes. Markee postulated that the immediate cause of menstruation under these
conditions was the injurious effect of anoxemia upon the tissues of the endometrium
l)rought about by mechanical compression
and constriction of the coiled arteries.
Therefore, the coiled arteries and their modifications become the central feature upon
which the theory is based.
 
Although this offers an explanation for
many of the facts, it falls short in that now
it is known that menstruation can occur in
the absence of coiled arteries. Kaiser (1947)
showed that no spiral arteries are present in
 
 
 
the endometrium of three species of South
American monkeys known to menstruate.
He also found that the coiled vessels of the
endometrium could be destroyed almost
completely by giving large doses of estrogen
and yet bleeding followed estrogen withdrawal.
 
Several experimental conditions under
which the coiled vessels of the endometrium
are destroyed have been mentioned in the
present discussion and in each instance
bleeding invariably followed withdrawal of
the supporting stimulus. The extremely
atrophic endometrium present at the conclusion of a prolonged treatment with progesterone (Fig. 9.8) will bleed when the
injections are stopped, and if estrogen injections are started immediately thereafter
the endometrium that develops is normal
with the exception of the absence of coiled
arteries; even so, it also will bleed when
the treatment is stopped. Even a more
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
58c
 
 
 
drastic destruction of endometrial structures occurs when both estrogen and progesterone are given for several months. Not
only are the coiled arteries destroyed but
also the glands and the luminal epithelium.
All that remains is a modified stroma penetrated by a few small blood and lymph vessels and scattered glandular rudiments along
the myometrium (Fig. 9.13). Yet, in spite
of this, bleeding follows discontinuance of
the treatment.
 
These observations prove conclusively
that the spiral arteries of the endometrium
do not hold the solution to the menstrual
process. However, the descriptive account
by Markee of the events that take place in
the endometrium during the cycle remains
one of the major contributions to our knowledge of the primate endometrium. Phelps
(1946) also made a very careful study of the
vascular changes in intraocular endometrial
transplants in ovariectomized monkeys receiving estrogen and progesterone, and concluded that the primary function of the
coiled arteries is concerned with vascularization of the implantation site of a developing embryo.
 
There also is reason for doul^ting that
ischemia is a determining factor in the
menstrual process. That constriction of the
endometrial vessels does occur is well established, but that tissue destruction and bleeding are consequences of prolonged anoxemia
may be questioned. The endometrium
around the internal cervical os as seen in
incised exteriorized uteri (Fig. 9.7) contains
very few coiled arteries and does not take
part in the periodic blushing and blanching
of the fundus, but instead remains blood-red
even during menstruation. Also, certain
tongues of endometrium in a uterine fistula
may become crowded by their neighbors to
an extent of being partly or completely deprived of blood, yet they do not bleed even
though their unfavorable situation leads to
deterioration within a few days.
 
Emmel, Worthington and Allen (1941)
attempted to induce menstruation in monkeys by operative ischemia. Circulation to
the fundus of the uterus was interrupted by
means of a tourniquet for periods of 1 to 8V4
hours, and in two instances for 19 hours.
This procedure did not precijiitate uterine
 
 
 
bleeding nor did it hasten the onset of an
expected bleeding following estrogen withdrawal. In fact, when the uterus was deprived of blood for periods longer than 3
hours impairment of the bleeding response
to estrogen withdrawal was observed, and
19 hours of ischemia caused atrophy of the
uterus without bleeding.
 
It also has been reported that a toxic substance formed in the endometrium is responsible for menstruation. This menstrual
toxin is supposed to be present in the endometrium just previous to and during menstruation, and to be a substance resembling
or identical with necrosin, a material found
in pleural exudate following an inflammatory reaction (Smith and Smith, 1951).
Zondek (1953) reports that menstrual blood,
when obtained under relatively sterile conditions, is no more toxic to experimental
animals than sterile tissue extracts. He also
found that death of animals given injections
of menstrual blood was due to bacteremia,
an effect that could be prevented by giving
antibiotics. Nor was he able to demonstrate
a toxic substance in the premenstrual or
menstrual endometrium. It might be mentioned in this connection that endometrial
tissue destroyed by experimental ischemia
in the experiments by Emmel, Worthington
and Allen (1941), obviously did not influence menstruation nor did involuting endometrial tissue in uterine fistulae (p. 564).
Therefore, the presence of a specific toxin
that may induce menstruation has not been
conclusively demonstrated.
 
Regardless of the specific cause of menstruation, the evidence shows that it can
occur in the absence of coiled arteries, endometrial glands, or surface mucosa, and is
unrelated to the thickness of the endometrium. This statement is based on conditions that have been experimentally induced
in the monkey and they strongly indicate
that menstruation, whatever the cause, is a
stromal phenomenon. This view seems to be
in agreement with the observations reported
by Bartelmez in his elegant studies of the
morphology of the endometrium of both
monkeys and the human being. He emphasizes changes taking place in the connective
tissue elements of the stroma and points out
that much less tissue is lost at menstruation
 
 
 
586
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
than i.< commonly thought (Bartehnez,
1957). The reduction in thickness is clue primariiy to loss of ground substance from the
stroma, and conversely, the outstanding
feature of repair is the increase in stromal
ground substance (Fig. 9.23). ^Mitoses are
rarely seen in the stroma during repair and
arc not abundant enough in any phase according to Bartelmez to account for the observed increase in thickness of the endometrium. Our present knowledge indicates that
an explanation of menstruation may be
found in the metabolic effects induced in the
stromal connective tissue of the endometrium by a sudden withdrawal of a supporting hormonal stimulus.
 
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19, 1-44.
 
Allen. E. 1928. Further experiments with an
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Allen, E., Diddle, A. W., Burford, T. H., .and Elder, J. H. 1936. Analyses of urine of the
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Allen, E., Pr.\tt, J. P., Xewell, Q. U., .and Bl.and,
L. J. 1930. Human tubal ova ; related early
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B.ACHMAN, C, CoLLip, J. B., .\ND Selye, H. 1935.
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B.artel.mez, G. W. 1933. Histologic studies on
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B.artel.mez, G. W. 1937. ^Menstruation. Plnsiol.
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B.ARTELMEZ, G. W. 1951. Cyclic changes in the
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B.ARTELMEz, G. W. 1957. The pha.scs of the menstrual cycle and their interpretation in terms
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BRY.AN.S, F. E. 1951. Progesterone of the lilood
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BrxTo.N, C. L. 1940. Pregnanediol determina
 
 
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Crossex, R. J. 1953. Diseases of Women. St.
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DoRFMAN, R. I. 1956. Metabolism of androgens,
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DoRFMAN, R. I., AND VAN W.AGENEN, G. 1941. The
 
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Duncan, P. A., Allen. E., and Ha.milton. J. B.
1941. The action of testosterone proprionate
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Eckstein, P. 1950. The induction of progesterone withdrawal bleeding in spayed monkeys. J.
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EcK.STEiN, P., AND ZucKERMAN, S. 1956. In Marshall's Physiology of Reproducliori. A. S.
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EmMEL, V. M., WORTHINGTON, R. V., AND AlLEN. E.
 
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Engle. E. T. 1937. Problems of experimental
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Engle, E. T., .and S.mith, P. E. 1935. Some uterine effects obtained in female monkeys during
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ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
587
 
 
 
reference to tlio r('i\ ix uteri. Auat. Rec, 6,
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Encle, E. T., Smith, P. E., and Shelesnyak, M. C.
1935. The role of estrin and progestin in experimental menstruation. Am. J. Obst. & Gynec. 29, 787-797.
 
Engle, E. T., and Smith, P. E. 1938. The endometrium of the monkey and est rone-progesterone balance. Am. J. Anat., 63, 349-365.
 
Engle, E. T., and Smith, P. E. 1939. Certain actions of testosterone on the endometrium of
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Fish, W. R., Young, W. C, and Dorfman, R. I.
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Fluhmann, C. F. 1954. Comparative studies of
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Forbes, T. R., Hooker, C. W., and Pfeiffer, C. A.
1950. Plasma progesterone levels and the
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GiLLMAN, J. 1937a. The cyclical changes in the
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GiLLMAN, J. 1938. Experimental studies on the
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Haman, J. O. 1942. The length of the menstrual
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Hamblen, E. C., Cuyler, W. K., Powell, N. B.,
Ashley, C, and B.aptist, M. 1939. Some
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Hamilton, C. E. 1949. Observations on the cervi
 
 
cal mucosa of the Rhesus monkey. Contr. EnibryoL, Carnegie Inst. Washington, 33, 81-101.
 
H.artman, C. G. 1929. Three types of uterine
bleeding in the monkey and the homology of
menstruation (Abstr.). Anat. Rec, 42, 19.
 
Hartman, C. G. 1932. Studies in the reproduction of the monkey, Macacus (Pithecus) rhe.S-//.S, with special reference to menstruation and
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H.ARTMAN, C. G. 1934. Some attempts to influence the menstrual cvcle in the monkev.
Am. J. Obst. & Gynec, 27, 564-570.
 
Hartman, C. G. 1937. Menstruation inhibiting
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H.ARTMAN, C. G. 1944. Regeneration of the monkey uterus after surgical removal of the endometrium and accidental endometriosis. Western J. Surg. Obst. & Gynec, 52, 87-102.
 
Hartman, C. G., .and Speert, H. 1941. Action of
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H.ARTMAN, C. G., GeSCHICKTER, G. F., AND SpEERT, H.
 
1941. Effects of continuous estrogen administration in verv large doses. Anat. Rec, Suppl.
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Hellman, L. M., Rosenthal, A. H., Kistner, R.
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Hertig, a. T., and Rock, J. 1944. On the development of the early human ovum, with special
reference to the trophoblast of the previllous
stage ; a description of 7 normal and 5 pathologic human ova. Am. J. Obst. & Gvnec, 47,
149-184.
 
Heuser, C. H., and Streeter, G. L. 1941. Development of the macaque embryo. Contr. Embryol., Carnegie Inst. Washington, 29, 17-55.
 
Hisaw, F. L. 1935. The physiology of menstruation in Macacus rhesus monkevs. Am. J. Obst.
& Gynec, 29, 638-659.
 
HiSAW% F. L. 1942. The interaction of the ovarian hormones in experimental menstruation.
Endocrinology, 30, 301-308.
 
HiSAW, F. L. 1943. Androgens and experimental
menstruation in the monkey (Macaca viulatta). Endocrinology, 33, 39-47.
 
HisAW, F. L. 1950. Factors influencing endometrial growth in monkeys (Macaca mulatta). In
A Symposium on Steroid Hormones, E. S.
Gordon, Ed., pp. 259-276. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
 
Hisaw, F. L. 1959. Endocrine adaptations of the
mammalian estrous cycle and gestation. In Columbia University Symposium on Comparative
Endocrinology, pp. 533-552.
 
Hisaw, F. L., Creep, R. O., and Fevold, H. L.
1937. Effects of progesterone on the female
genital tract after castration atrophy. Proc
Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 36, 840-842."
 
His.\w, F. L.. AND Creep, R. O. 1938. The inhibition of uterine bleeding with estradiol and
 
 
 
588
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
progesterone and associated endometrial modifications. Endocrinology, 23, 1-14.
His.\w, F. L., .^ND His.wv, F. L., Jr. 1958. Spontaneous carcinoma of the cervix uteii in a
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HiSAW, F. L., .4ND Lendrum, F. C. 1936. Squamous metaplasia in the cervical glands of the
monkey following oestrin administration. Endocrinology, 20, 228-229.
HiSAW, F. L., Meyer, R. K., axd Fevold, H. L.
1930. Production of a premenstrual endometrium in castrated monkeys by ovarian hormones. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 27,
400-403.
HiTSCHMANN, F., AND Adler, L. 1907. Die Lehre
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GynJik., 60, 63-86.
Kaiser, I. H. 1947. Absence of coiled arterioles
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Kaufmann, C, Westphal, U., and Zander, J. 1951.
Untersuchungen liber die biologische Bedeutang der Ausscheidungsprodukte des Gelbkcirperhormons. Arch. Gynak., 179, 247-299.
Knaus, H. 1950. Die Physiologie der Zeugung
 
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Krohn, p. L. 1951. The induction of menstrual
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Krohn, P. L. 1955. The induction of cyclic uterine bleeding in normal and spayed rhesus monkeys by progesterone. J. Endocrinol., 12, 6985.
Krohn, P. L., and Zuckerman, S. 1937. Water
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J. Physiol., 88, 369-387.
Latz, L. J., and Reiner, E. 1942. Further studies
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Am. J. Obst. & Gynec, 43, 74-79.
Lendrum, F. C., .and Hisavv^ F. L. 1936. Cytology
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Lopez Columbo de Allende, I., and Orias, O. 1950.
Cytology of the Human Vagina. New York:
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M.arkee, J. E. 1940. Menstruation in intraocular endometi'ial tr;msplants in the I'hesus monkey. Contr. Embrvol., Carnegie Inst. Washington, 28, 219-308.
Markee, J. E. 1946. Morphologic and endocrine
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Gynecology, Meigs and Sturgis, Eds. Vol. II,
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Markee, J. E., and Berg, B. 1944. Cyclic fluctuations in blood estrogen as a possible cause of
menstruation. Stanford Med. Bull., 2, 55-60.
Markee, J. E., D.wis, J. H., and Hinsf.y, J. C.
1936. Uterine bleeding in spinal iii()nk(>vs.
Anat. Rec, 64, 231-245.
 
 
 
Mazer, C, and Israel, S. L. 1951. Diagnosis and
Treatment of Menstrual Disorders and Sterility. New York: Paul B. Hoeber, Inc.
 
Meyer, R. 1911. Uber Corpus luteum-Bildung
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Nissen, H. W., and Yerkes, R. M. 1943. Reproduction in the chimpanzee: report on 49
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Novak, E., and Te Linde, R. W. 1924. Endometrium of menstruating uterus. J. A. M. A., 83,
900-906.
 
OvERHOLSER, M. D., AND Allen, E. 1933. Ovaiiau
hormone and traumatic stimulation of monkey's cervix to a condition resembling early
cancer. Proc Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 30,
1322-1326.
 
OvERHOLSER, M. D., AND Allen, E. 1935. Atypical growth induced in cervical epithelium of
monkey by prolonged injections of ovarian
hormone combined with chronic trauma. Surg.
Gynec. & Obst., 60, 129-136.
 
OvERHOLSER, M.D.,. AND Nelson, W. 0. 1936. Migration of nuclei in uterine epithelium. A
monkey following prolonged estrin injections.
Proc Soc Exper. Biol. & Med., 34, 839-841.
 
P.APANicoL.Aou, G. N., Traut, H. F., and M.archetti,
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Parkes, a. S., and Zuckerm.an, S. 1931. The
menstrual cycle of the Primates. II. Some
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J. Anat., 65, 272-276.
 
Phelps, D. 1946. Endometrial vascular reactions and the mechanism of nidation. Am. J.
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Phelps, D. H. 1947. The factor of previous
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Clin. Endocrinol., 7, 611-623.
 
Rakoff, a. E. 1946. Studies on high dosage progesterone therapy of amenorrhea. Am. J. Obst.
& Gynec, 51, 480-491.
 
Rock, J., and Hertig, A. 1942. Some aspects of
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Gynec, 44, 973-983.
RossM.AN, I. 1940. The decidual reaction in the
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Seeg.ar, E. G. 1940. The histologic effect of progesterone on hyperplastic endometria. Am. J.
Obst. & Gynec, 39, 469-476.
S.mith, O. W., and S.mith, G. V. 1951. Endocrinology and related phenomena of the human
menstrual cvcle. Recent Progr. Hormone Res.,
7, 209-253.
 
So.MMKKVILLK, I. V ., AND MaRRIAN, G. F. 1950.
 
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Stieve, H. 1926. Di(> regelmassigen Verliinderungen der Muskulatur und des Bindegewebs in
 
 
 
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
 
 
 
589
 
 
 
der meuschlichen Gebarmutter in ihier Abhangigkeit von der Follikelreife und der Aiisbildung eines gelben Korpers, nebst Beschreibung eines menschlichen Eies im Zustand der
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Gynak., 66, 1698-1708.
 
Stieve, H. 1943. Weitere Tatsachen zur Kliirung
der Frage: Wann wird das Ei aus dem Eierstock ausgestossen? Zentralbl. Gvnak., 67, 5877.
 
Stieve, H. 1944. Paracyclische Ovulationen. Zentralbl. Gynak., 68, 257-272.
 
Sturgis, S. H. 1942. Method for obtaining uterine fluid from the monkey : effect of pilocarpine, atropine, physiologic salt solution and
adrenalin. Endocrinology, 31, 664-672.
 
VAN Dyke, H. B., and Ch'en, G. 1936. Observations on biochemistry of genital tract of female
macacjue particularly during menstrual cycle.
Am. J. Anat., 58, 473-499.
 
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pregnancy in the monkey. Yale J. Biol. &
Med., 17, 745-760.
 
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in the human men.^trual cvcle. Endocrinologv,
21,711-721.
 
Werner, A. A., and Collier, W. D. 1933. The
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the placentation of the macaque {Macaca
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the formation of the definitive placenta. Contr.
Embryol., Carnegie Inst. Washington, 27, 166.
 
Young, W. C, and Yerkes, R. M. 1943. Factors
influencing the reproductive cycle in the chimpanzee; the period of adolescent sterility and
related problems. Endocrinology, 33, 121-154.
 
Z.ARRow, M. X., Hisaw, F. L., and Bryans, F. 1950.
Conversion of desoxycosterone acetate to progesterone in vivo. Endocrinology, 46, 403-404.
 
Zarrow, M. X., Shoger, R. L., and Lazo-Wasem, E.
A. 1954. The rate of disappearance of exogenous progesterone from the blood. J. Clin.
Endocrinol., 14, 645-652.
 
 
 
Zondek, B. 1953. Does menstrual blood contain
a specific toxin? Am. J. Obst. & Gvnec, 65,
1065-1068.
 
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bleeding. Am. J. Obst. & Gynec, 68, 310-314.
 
Zondek. B., and Rozin, S. 1938. Production of
uterine haemorrhage in the normal cycle and
hi amenorrhoea through progesterone. J. Obst.
& Gynaec. Brit. Emp., 45, 918-931.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1930. The menstrual cycle of the
Primates. I. General nature and homology.
Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1930, 691-754.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1935. The menstrual cycles in the
Primates. VIII. The estrin-vvithdrawal theory
of menstruation. IX. The effect of estrin on
the denervated sexual skin. Proc. Rov. Soc,
London, ser. B., 118, 13-33.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1936a. Inhibition and induction of
uterine bleeding bv means of estrone. Lancet,
2, 9-13.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1936b. The interrelation of estrone
and progestin in the menstrual cvcle. J. PhvsioL, 86, 31-33.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1937a. The duration and phases
of the menstrual cycle in Primates. Proc. Zool.
Soc, London, ser. A., 1937, 315-329.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1937b. The menstrual cycle of
the Primates. X. The oestrone threshold of
the uterus of the rhesus monkey. XL The part
played by oestrogenic hormone in the menstrual cycle. Proc. Roy. Soc, London, ser. B.,
123,441-471.
 
ZucKER.MAN, S. 1937c Effects of prolonged oestrin-stimulation on the cervix uteri. Lancet, 1,
435-437.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1937d. Further observations on
endocrine interaction in the menstrual cvcle. J.
Physiol., 89, 49-51.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1937e. The duration and phases
of the menstrual cycle in Primates. Proc. Zool.
Soc London, ser. A., 1937, 315-329.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1939. The effect of sex hormones,
cortin, and vasopressin on water-retention in
the reproductive organs of monkeys. J. Endocrinol., 1, 147-155.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1941. Periodic uterine bleeding
in spayed rhesus monkeys injected daily with
constant threshold dose of oestrone. J. Endocrinol., 2, 263-267.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1949. The menstrual cvcle. Lancet, 2, 176.
 
Zuckerman, S. 1951. The hormonal basis of uterine bleeding. Acta endocrinol., 7, 378-388.
 
Zuckerman, S., and P.arkes, A. S. 1932. The
menstrual cycle of the primates. V. The cycle
of the baboon. Proc Zool. Soc. London, 1932,
139-191.
 
Zuckerman, S., van W.agenen, G., and Gardiner, R.
H. 1938. The sexual skin of the rhesus monkey. Proc Zool. Soc, London, ser. A., 108,
385-401.
 
 
 
10
 
 
 
THE MAMMARY GLAND
AND LACTATION
 
A. T. Cowie and S. J. FoUeij
 
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN DAIRYING, SHINFIELD,
READING, ENGLAND
 
 
 
I. Introduction
 
I. Introduction 590
 
II. Development of the Mammary
 
Gland 591
 
A. Histogenesis 591
 
B. Normal Postnatal Development . 593
 
1. Methods of assessing mammary
 
development 593
 
2. Mammary development in the
 
nonpregnant female 594
 
3. Mammary growth in the male . . 595
 
4. Mammary development during
 
pregnancy 596
 
5. Mammary involution 598
 
C. Experimental Analysis of Hormonal
 
Influences 598
 
1. Ovarian hormones in the animal
 
with intact pituitary 598
 
2. Anterior pituitary hormones. . . 601
 
3. Metabolic hormones (corticoids,
 
insulin, and thyroid hormones) 604
III. Endocrine Influences in Milk Secretion 606
 
A. Anterior Pituitary Hormones 606
 
1. Initiation of secretion (laeto
genesis) 606
 
2. Maintenance of milk secretion —
 
galactopoiesis 609
 
3. Suckling stimulus and the main
tenance of lactation 611
 
B. Hormones of the Adrenal Corte.x . . 612
 
C. Ovarian Hormones 613
 
D. Thyroid Hormones 617
 
E. Parathyroid Hormone 618
 
F. Insulin 619
 
IV. Removal of Milk from the Mammary
 
Glands: Physiology of Suckling
AND Milking 619
 
A. Milk-Ejection Reflex 619
 
B. Role of the Neurohypophysis 621
 
C. Milk-Ejection Hormone 622
 
D. Effector Contractile Mechanism of
 
the Mammary Gland 623
 
E. Inhibition of Milk Ejection 624
 
 
 
F. Neural Pathways of the Milk-Ejec
tion Reflex 625
 
G. Mechanism of Suckling 626
 
V. Relation between the Reflexes
 
Concerned in the Maintenance of
Milk Secretion and Milk Ejection 627
VI. Pharmacologic Blockade of the Reflexes Concerned in the Maintenance OF Milk Secretion and
 
Milk E.tection 630
 
VII. Conclusion 632
 
VIII. References 632
 
This account of the hormonal control of
the mammary gland is in no way intended
as an exhaustive treatment of mammary
gland physiology, but rather an attempted
synthesis of current knowledge which it is
hoped will be of interest as an exposition of
the authors' conception of the present status
of the subject. Since the publication of the
second edition of this book, the emphasis
in the field under review has tended to shift
towards the development of quantitative
techniques for assessing the degree of mammary development, towards attempts at a
])enetration into the interactions of hormones with the biochemical mechanisms of
the mammary epithelial cells, and towards
an increasing preoccupation with the interplay of nervous and endocrine influences
in certain phases of lactation. The reader's
acquaintance with the classical foundations
of the subject as described in the second
edition of this book (Turner, 1939) and in
other subsequent reviews (Follcy, 1940;
Petersen, 1944, 1948; Folley and Malpress,
1948a, b; Mayer and Klein. 1948, 1949;
Follev, 1952a, ]9r)6; Dabelow. 1957) will
 
 
 
590
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAXD AND LACTATION
 
 
 
591
 
 
 
therefore be assumed and used as a point
of departure for the present account which
can most profitably be concerned mainly
with developments which have occurred
since the last edition was published. Reference will freciuently be made to these reviews in which authority will be found
for the many ex cathedra statements that
will be made, but original sources will be
cited wherever appropriate.^
 
As an aid to logical treatment of the subject the scheme of classification proposed
by Cowie, Folley, Cross, Harris, Jacobsohn
and Richardson (1951) will be followed in
this chapter. Besides introducing a system of
terminology in respect of the physiology
of suckling or milking, these writers have
put forward a classification scheme which
is an extension of one previously proposed
by one of the present authors (Folley,
1947). This scheme considers the phenomenon of lactation as divisible into a number
of phases as follows:
 
[ [Milk synthesis
 
I Milk secretion ■! Passage of milk from
I I the alveolar cells
 
Lactation<J [Passive withdrawal of
 
ij milk
 
JThe milk-ejection re[ Hex
 
 
 
Milk removal
 
 
 
I
 
As is logical and customary, discussion of
lactation itself will be preceded by consideration of mammary development.
 
II. Development of the Mammary
Gland
 
A. HISTOGENESIS
 
References to the earlier work on the
histogenesis of the mammary gland in various species will be found in Turner ( 1939,
 
^ Within the last 10 years there have been
several symposia devoted to the problems of the
physiology of lactation. The proceedings of these
symposia have been published: Mecanisme physiologie de la secretion lactee. Strasbourg, 1950,
Colloqvies Internationaux du Centre National de
la Recherche Scientificiue. XXXII, 1951, Paris;
Svmposium sur la physiologie de la lactation,
Montreal, 1953, Rev. Canad. Biol., 13, No. 4. 1954;
.Symposium sur la physiologie de la lactation,
Brussels, 1956, Ann. endocrinol. 17, 519; A Discussion on the Physiology and Biochemistry of Lactation. London. 1958, Proc. Roy. Soc, .ser. B, 149,
301.
 
 
 
1952,) and Folley (1952a). There have also
been studies on the opossum (Plagge, 1942) ,
the mouse and certain wild rodents (Raynaud, 1949b), the rhesus monkey (Speert,
1948), and man (Williams and Stewart,
1945; Tholen, 1949; Hughes, 1950).
 
A question which in the last decade has
been receiving attention is whether the prenatal differentiation and development of the
mammary primordium is hormonally controlled. According to Balinsky (1950a, b),
the mitotic index of the mammary bud in
the embryo of the mouse and rabbit is lower
than that of the surrounding epidermis and
he concludes that differentiation of the bud
is due not to cellular proliferation (growth)
but to a process of aggregation ("morphogenetic movement") of epidermal cells. This
author also reports that for some time after
its formation, the mammary bud is cjuiescent as regards growth, thus exhibiting
negative allometry compared with the whole
embryo, until the sprouting of the primary
duct initiates a phase of positive allometry.
The cjuestion is, what is the stimulus responsible for the onset of this allometric
phase? Is the growth and ramification of the
duct primordium, like that of the adult duct
system, due to the action of estrogen emanating from the fetal gonad or from the
mother?
 
Hardy (1950) has shown that dift'erentiation and growth of the mammary bud of
the mouse could proceed in explants from
the ventral body wall of the embryo, cultured in vitro, even when no primordia
were present at the time of explantation
(10-day embryo). Primary and then secondary mammary ducts and a streak canal
differentiated and a developmental stage
similar to that in the 7-day-old mouse could
be reached. Balinsky (1950b) was also able
to observe the formation and growth of
mammary buds in approximately their normal locations in a minority of cases in which
body-wall explants of 10-day mouse embryos were cultivated in vitro. Discounting
the rather remote possibility that the effects
were due to minute amounts of sex hormones
present in the culture media, these observations indicate that hormonal influences are
not necessary for the prenatal stages of
mammary develo]iment, and in accord with
 
 
 
592
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
this Balinsky ( 1950b j found that addition
of estrogens or mouse pituitary extract to
the culture medium had no effect on the
growth of the mammary rudiment in vitro.
 
On the other hand, extensive studies by
Raynaud (1947c, 1949b) of the sex difference in the histogenesis of the mammary
gland in the mouse, first described by Turner and Gomez (1933), indicate that the
mammary rudiment is sensitive to the influence of exogenous gonadal steroids during
the prenatal stages. The mammary bud in
the strain of mouse studied by Raynaud
shows no sex differences in development until the 15th to 16th day at which time the
genital tract, hitherto indifferent, begins to
differentiate. Coincident with this the mammary bud in the male becomes surrounded
by a condensation of special mesenchymal
cells the action of which constricts the bud
at its junction with the epidermis from
which it ultimately becomes completely
detached (Fig. 10.1). The inguinal glands
seem particularly susceptible to this influence because they exhibit this effect
earlier than the thoracic glands and in some
strains the second inguinal bud in the male
tends to disappear completely. Sex differences in the prenatal development of the
mammary rudiment in certain species of
wild mouse were also described by Raynaud
(1949b).
 
The fact that, after x-ray desti'uction of
the gonad in the 13-day male mouse embryo,
the mammary bud remains attached to the
epidermis and the duct primordia ramify
in a manner similar to the primordia in the
female shows that this phenomenon of detachment of the mammary bud is due to the
action of the fetal testis (Raynaud and
Frilley, 1947, 1949). That the masculinizing action of the fetal testis seems to be
due to the hormonal secretion of a substance having the same effect as testosterone
is suggested by the fact that injection of testosterone into the pregnant mother causes
the mammary buds in the female embryo to
undergo the male type of development (Fig.
10.1). Here again the inguinal glands seem
most sensitive because sufficiently high
doses in many cases cause complete disappearance of the primordia of the second
inguinal glands (Raynaud, 1947a. 1949a).
 
 
 
On the other hand, destruction of the fetal
gonad in the female has no effect on the
development of the mammary bud (Raynaud and Frilley, 1947, 1949), yet the lattW
is not completely indifferent to the action
of estrogen because high doses of estrogen
administered to the mother, or lower doses
injected early into the embryo itself inhibit
the growth of the mammary bud (Raynaud.
1947b, 1952; Raynaud and Raynaud, 1956,
1957), an effect reminiscent of the well
known action of excessive doses of estrogen
on the adult mammary duct system (for
reference see Folley, 1952a) . In pouch young
of the opossum, on the other hand, Plagge
(1942) found that estrogen treatment stimulated growth of the mammary duct primordia. Similarly in the fetal male mouse
low doses of estrogen stimulate growth
of the mammary bud (Raynaud, 1947d),
but this may be an indirect effect ascribable to estrogen's antagonizing the inhibitory action of the fetal testis.
 
The problem of the histogenesis of the
teat has also come under experimental attack. Raynaud and Frilley (1949) showed
that the formation of the ''epithelial hood,"
the circular invagination of the epidermis
surrounding the mammary bud which constitutes the teat anlage in the mouse, is not
hormonally determined since its appearance
was not prevented by the irradiation of the
fetal ovary at the 13th day of life. In the
male mouse the epithelial hood does not
normally appear and the male is born without teats. This is undoubtedly due to the
action of the fetal testis inasmuch as the
teat anlagen develop in the male embryos
whose testes are irradiated at 13 days (Raynaud and Frilley, 1949).
 
The foregoing observations jioint to an
ahormonal type of development for the teat
and mammary bud in the female fetus, at
least in the mouse, although the mammary
bud is specifically susceptible to the action
of excess exogenous estrogen which can inliibit its development without affecting that
of other skin gland ])rimordia. The mammary hud is a'so sus('ei)tible to the action
of anch'ogen which in the normal male fetus
not only dii-ects its development along charact(M-istic lines, but also suppresses the formation of the teat.
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
593
 
 
 
 
 
PwokcTiL del
 
 
 
Fig. 101. Sex difference in the development of the mammaiy bud of the fetal mouse and
effect of androgen on the histogenesis of the female mammary bud. A. First inguinal gland
of female fetus (15 days, 17 hours). B. First inguinal gland of male fetus (15 days, 17 hours).
C. Second inguinal gland of female fetus (15 days, 16 hours) from a mother receiving testosterone propionate. D. First inguinal gland of female fetus from the same litter as that in C.
(From A. Ravnaud, Ann. endocrinol., 8, 248-253, 1947.)
 
 
 
For further information on the morphogenesis of the mammary ghmd, the reader
is referred to the recent detailed accounts
by Dabelow (1957) and Raynaud (1960).
 
B. NORM.\L POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT
 
1. Methods of Assessing Mammary Development
 
In the last two decades the increasing
availability of the ovarian hormones in pure
form and the prospect of the large scale
practical application of fundamental knowledge of the hormonal control of the mammary gland to the artificial stimulation of
udder growth and lactation in the cow, have
together effected a demand for greater accuracy in studying and assessing the degree
of mammary development. Various quantitative and objective procedures have now
been evolved which allow results of developmental studies to be subjected to statistical
investigation. These methods have been re
 
 
viewed recently (Folley, 1956) and we need
but mention them briefly.
 
In those species in which, save in late
pregnancy, the mammae are more or less
flat sheets of tissue, the classical wholemount preparations have been the basis for
several quantitative studies. From such
preparations the area covered by the duct
systems can be measured by suitable means
(e.g., as in our studies on the rat mammary
gland; Cowie and Folley, 1947d), thus providing an accurate measure of duct extension. Such measurements, however, give no
information on the morphologic changes
within this area and so a semiquantitative
scoring system to assess the degree of duct
complexity has been used in conjunction
with the measurements of area (see Cowie
and Folley, 1947d) . More reliable and objective techniciues for measuring duct complexity were later developed in our laboratory by
Silver (1953a) and Flux (1954a). Species
such as the guinea pig in which the gland,
 
 
 
594
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
even when immature, is three-dimensional
demand other methods. For such cases a precise but rather tedious method has been
described by Benson, Cowie, Cox and Goldzveig (1957) which involves the determination of the volume of glandular tissue from
area measurements of serial sections of the
gland in conjunction with semiquantitative
scoring procedures for assessing the morphologic characteristics of the tissue.
 
Particularly applicable to the lactating
gland is the procedure developed by Richardson (see Cowie, Folley, Malpress and
Richardson, 1952; Richardson, 1953) for assessing the total internal surface area of the
mammary alveoli. It is of interest to note
in passing that this technique is based on
that developed by Short (1950) for measuring the surface area of the alveoli in the
lung, the similarity in the geometry of the
two organs allowing ready transference of
the method from one to the other.
 
At present these quantitative procedures
have the disadvantage of being slow and
time consuming, and it seems likely that
their further development will involve the
use of electronic scanning methods to speed
up the examination of the tissues. Of recent
introduction are some biochemical procedures for assessing changes in mammary
development. The desoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA) content of any particular type of
cell is said to be remarkably constant (see
Vendrely, 1955, for review) and the amount
of DNA in a tissue has been used as a reference standard directly related to the number
of cells present in a tissue and to provide an
estimate of the number of cells formed during the developmental phases of a gland or
tissue (see Leslie, 1955, for review). Studies
on DNA changes which occur in the mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation
have been made in the rat by Kirkham and
Turner (1953), Grecnbaum and Slater
(1957a), Griffith and Turner (1957), and
Shimizu (1957). It should be noted, however, that some authorities have doubts as
to the constancy under all conditions of the
DNA content of a cell (see Brachet, 1957)
and results obtained by this technique
should be interpreted with some caution
(see also Griffith and Turner, 1957). Other
chemical methods for assessing mammary
development include (a) the determination
 
 
 
of the iron content of the gland, based on
the observation that iron retention occurs in
the epithelium of the mammary glands of
mice (Rawlinson and Pierce, 1950) ; (b)
whole-mount autoradiographs using P^(Lundahl, Meites and Wolterink, 1950) ;
and (c) determination of the total content
of alkaline phosphatase in the mammary
gland (Huggins and Mainzer, 1957, 1958).
 
In view of the relative rapidity of the biochemical methods it seems likely that they
will be used increasingly in the future.
 
A technique of clinical interest allowing
the qualitative assessment of changes in
mammary structure in the breast of pregnant and lactating women is the radiographic method described by Ingleby, Moore
and Gershon-Cohen (1957).
 
To those seeking information of the microscopic anatomy of the human mammary
gland we would recommend the excellent
and beautifully illustrated review by Dabelow (1957), and new facts on the cytologic changes occurring during milk secretion will be found in the electron microscopic
study of the rat mammary gland by Bargmann and Knoop (1959), and of the mouse
mammary gland by Hollmann (1959).
 
Having briefly outlined the various quantitative methods of assessing mammary development we will now consider recent
studies on normal mammary growth.
 
2. Mammary Development in the X on pregnant Female
 
It has been the general belief that until
puberty the mammary ducts show little
growth, but more precise studies in which
the rate of increase in mammary gland area
has been related to the increase in body size
have now shown that in the monkey, rat,
and mouse a phase of ra])id duct growth is
initiated before puberty.
 
The first use of this procrdure, relative
gi'owth analysis (for terminology see Huxley and Teissier, 1936), for the quantitative
investigation of mammary duct growth was
made by Folley, Guthkelch and Zuckerman
(1939), who showed that over a wide range
of body weights, the breast in the nonpregnant female rhesus monkey grows faster
than the body as a whole. Subsequently,
more detailed studies of the dynamics of
mammary growth using relative growth
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAXD AND LACTATION
 
 
 
595
 
 
 
olO.
 
 
 
rCMALC RATS
 
ACt$ : i - lOO DAYS
 
 
 
C 22 NO DAY
 
 
 
 
LOC„ CBOOY WtlCHT C>
 
 
 
Fig. 10.2. Relative mammary gland growth in the female hooded Norway
Cowie. J. Endocrinol.. 6, 145-157, 1949.)
 
 
 
(From A.T.
 
 
 
analysis were made in the rat by Cowie
(1949) and Silver (1953a, b) and in the
mouse by Flux (1954a, b), and their results
will now be summarized. In the rat the
total mammary area increased isometrically
with the body surface (a = 1.1 as compared
with the theoretic value of 1.0) until the
21st to 23rd day when a phase of allometry
(a = 3.0) set in. The onset of the allometric
phase could be prevented by ovariectomy on
the 22nd day (see Fig. 10.2). Since estrous
cycles do not begin until the 35th to 42nd
day in this strain of rat, it is clear that the
rapid extension of the mammary ducts began well before puberty. In the immature
male rat the increase of mammary area on
body surface was slightly but significantly
allometric; this was not altered by castration at the 22nd day. Earlier ovariectomy,
i.e., when the pups were 10 days old, was
followed by a phase of slightly allometric
growth of the mammary glands in the fe
 
 
males (a = 1.5). With regard to the female
mouse (CHI strain) a i)hase of marked allometry in mammary duct growth set in
about the 24th day (a = 5.2) which could
also be prevented by prior ovariectomy.
 
It is clear that the presence of the ovary
is essential for the change from isometry to
allometry, but the nature of the mechanisms
governing the change is still uncertain (for
further discussion, see Folley, 1956).
 
3. Mammary Growth in the Male
 
The testes have apparently little effect on
mammary duct extension in the rat inasmuch as the gland in the male grows isometrically or nearly so and its specific
growth rate is unaffected by castration. Castration at 21 days, however, does prevent
for a time development of the lobules of alveoli, first described by Turner and Schultze
(1931 ) , which are characteristic of the mammary gland in the male rat. Eventually.
 
 
 
596
 
 
 
PHY,SI(3L0GY OF GONADS
 
 
 
however, some alveoli do develop in the
mammae of immaturely castrated male rats
(Cowie and Folley, 1947d; Cowie, 1949;
Ahren and Etienne, 1957) and it has been
])Ostulated that these arise from the enhanced production by the adrenal cortex of
mammogenic steroids (androgens or progesterone) due to the hormone imbalance
brought about by gonadectomy (see Folley,
1956 L
 
In a recent study, Ahren and Etienne
(1957) have shown that the ducts and alveoli in the mammary gland of the male rat
are remarkable in that their epithelial lining
is unusually thick, being composed of several layers of cells. It had been previously
noted by van Wagenen and Folley (1939)
and Folley, Guthkelch and Zuckerman
(1939) that testosterone caused a thickening
of the mammary duct epithelium in the
monkey and sometimes papillomatous outgrowths of epithelium into the lumen of the
duct. It would thus seem that, although the
hormone of the testis is capable of eliciting
alveolar development, these alveoli and
ducts differ from those occurring in the female in the nature of their epithelium. It
w^as further observed by Ahren and Etienne
(1957) that in the castrated male rat the
alveoli, which eventually developed, had a
simple epithelial lining somewhat similar to
that seen in the normal female rat, suggesting that, if the adrenals are responsible, the
mammogenic steroid is more likely to be
progesterone than an androgen.
 
A study of considerable clinical interest is
that of Pfaltz (1949) on the developmental
changes in the mammary gland in the
human male. The greatest development
reached was at the 20th year; by the 40th
year there occurred an atrophy first of the
l)arenchyma and later of the connective
tissue. In the second half of the fifth decade
there was renewed growth of the parenchyma and connective tissues. The hormonal background of these changes and the
possible relationship with prostatic hyjiertrophy are discussed by Pfaltz. (Further
details of the microscopic anatomy of the
mammary gland of the human male may be
found in the studies by Graumann, 1952,
1953, and Dabclow, 1957.)
 
 
 
4- Mammary Development during Pregnancy
 
It has been customary to divide mammary changes during pregnancy into two
phases, a phase of growth and a secretory
phase. In the former there occurs hyperplasia of the mammary parenchyma
whereas, in the latter, the continued increase
in gland size is due to cell hypertrophy and
the distension of the alveoli with secretion
(see Folley, 1952a j . Although it was realized
that these two phases merged gradually, recent studies have confirmed earh^ reports
{e.g., those of Cole, 1933; Jeffers, 1935) that
a wave of cell division occurs in the mammary gland towards the end of parturition
or at the beginning of lactation. Al'tman
(1945) described a doubling in number of
cells per alveolus, in the mammary gland
of the cow at parturition, but the statistical
significance of his findings is difficult to
assess. More recently, how^ever, Greenbaum
and Slater (1957a) found that the DNA
content of the rat mammary gland doubled
between the end of pregnancy and the 3rd
day of lactation, a finding which they interpret as resulting in the main from hyperplasia of the gland cells. Likewise in the
mouse mammary gland, Lewin (1957) observed between parturition and the 4th day
of lactation a great increase both in the
DNA content of the mammary gland and
in the total cell count. Studies on the factors
controlling this wave of cell division are
awaited with interest. Also associated with
the onset of copious milk secretion is a considerable increase in cell volume and coincident ally the mitochondria elongate and may
increase in diameter (Howe, Richardson and
Birbeck, 1956). Cross, Goodwin and Silver
(1958) have followed the histologic changes
in the mammary glands of the sow, by
means of a biopsy technique, at the end of
pregnancy, during parturition, and at weaning. At the end of pregnancy there was a
])i'()gr('ssi\-c' distension of the alveoli, the
existing hyaline eosinoi)hilic secretion within
the alveoli was gradually replaced by a basophilic material, and fat globules appeared.
At i)arturition the alveoli were contracted
and their walls appeared folded (Fig. 10.3).
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
597
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.3. Sections of biopsy specimens from the mammary gland of a sow before and
din-ing parturition. A. Six days before parturition: the mammary alveoh are small and contain a nongranular eosinophilic secretion. B. Two days before parturition: alveoli have increased in size and fat globules are conspicuous. C. Fifteen hours before parturition: alveoli
are now distended with secretion which consists of an outer zone of eosinophilic material
and fat globules, and a central zone of basophilic granular secretion. D. During parturition:
alveoli contracted with folded epithelium and sparse secretion. (From B. A. Cross, R. F. W.
Goodwm and L A. Silver, J. Endocrinol., 17, 63-74, 1958.)
 
 
 
598
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
5. Mam /nary Involution
 
The involutionary changes which occur in
the mammary gland after weaning in various species were described in the previous
edition of this book (Turner, 1939) and in a
later review by Folley (1952a). Since that
time, a few further studies have appeared.
 
There is evidence that the course of the
histologic changes in the regressing mammary gland may differ according to whether
the young are weaned after lactation has
reached its peak and is declining, or whether
they are removed soon after parturition,
when the effects of engorgement with milk
seem to be more marked (see, for example,
Williams, 1942, for the mouse). In rats
whose young were weaned soon after parturition Silver (1956) was able to re-establish lactation provided suckling was resumed
within 4 or 5 days; after that time irreversible changes in the capillary blood supply to the alveoli had set in. A further point
arises from a study on the cow by Mosimann
(1949) which indicates that the course of
the regressive changes in a gland which has
undergone one lactation only may differ
from those seen in glands from muciparous
animals. Oshima and Goto (1955) have used
quantitative histometric methods in a study
of the involuting rat mammary gland ; the
values which they obtained for the percentage parenchyma 7 to 10 days after removal of the young agree quite well with
tiiose reported by Benson and Folley
( 1957b) for rats weaned at the 4th day and
killed 9 days later.
 
The biochemical changes occurring in
mammary tissue during involution arc of
some interest and have been studied in our
laboratory by McNaught (1956, 1957). She
studied mammary slices taken from rats
whose young were removed at the 10th day
and also slices from suckled glands, the escajie of milk from which was prevented by
ligation of the galactophores, the other
glands in the same animals remaining intact
and serving as controls. Her results, some of
whichare summarized in Figure 10.4, suggest that functional changes which may be
taken as indicative of involution (decrease
in oxygen up-take, respiratory quotient
(R.Q.), and glucose up-take; increase in
lactic acid prcxUiction ) are seen as early as
 
 
 
8 to 12 hours after weaning. Continued
suckling without removal of milk retards
the onset of these changes, but only for some
hours. Injections of oxytocin into the rats
after weaning (see page 607) did not retard
these biochemical changes. Essentially simihii' results were independently reported by
Ota and Yokoyama (1958) and Mizuno and
Chikamune (i958).
 
C. EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF HORMONAL
INFLUENCES
 
1. Ovarian Hortnones in the Animal with
Intact Pituitary
 
We shall see later (page 602) that the
mammogenic effects of the ovarian hormones are largely dependent on the integrity
of the a'nterior pituitary and thus to analyze accurately the role of hormones in mammary development it is necessary to use hypophysectomized animals. Information of
considerable academic and practical importance has been obtained, however, from
studies in the animal with intact pituitary
and these we shall now consider.
 
Early studies involving hormone administration pointed to the conclusion that estrogens were in general resi)onsible for the
growth of the mammary (hicts, whereas progesterone was necessary for complete lobulealveolar growth (see reviews, l)y Turner,
1939; Folley and Malpress, 1948a; Folley,
1952a). The foundation for i^liis general
statement is now more sure, for as a result
of experimental studies over the last 10
years, what seemed to be exceptions to this
generalization have been shown to be otherwise. In some species (mouse, rat, guinea
\)ig, and monkey) it is true that progesterone alone, if given in sufficiently large doses,
will evoke duct and alveolar development in
the ovariectomized animal, but this is probably a pharmacologic rather than a physiologic effect. There are great differences in
the response of the mammary ducts to estrogen and on this basis it has become usual to
divide species into three broad categories
(see FoUey, 1956). It is, however, necessary
to add the warning that in the estrogentre.'ited spayed animal progesterone from the
a(h'eiial eoiiex may synergize with the exogenous estrogen (see Folley, 1940; Trentin
and 1'ui'iier, 1947; Hohn, 1957) and it mav
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
599
 
 
 
O2 Uptake
 
 
 
G\
 
 
 
ucose
 
 
 
uptake
 
 
 
 
Lactic acid
production.
 
 
 
s 12
■Hours
 
Fig. 10.4. Oxygen uptake, respiratory quotient, glucose uptake, and lactic acid production
of mammary gland slices from lactating rats killed at various times after weaning (A — A)
and from rats in which svickling was maintained, but in which the galactophores of certain
 
glands were ligatured (• •) to prevent the escape of milk, the nonligatured glands
 
(O O) acting as controls. (Courtesy of Dr. M. L. McNaught.)
 
 
 
be that the I'eal basis for the categories is
to be found largely in differences in endogenous progesterone production by the adrenal
cortex.
 
The first category comprises those in
which estrogens, in what are believed to be
physiologic doses, evoke primarily and
mainly duct growth; alveoli may appear,
but only if high doses are given and the
administration is prolonged. Examples of
this class are the mouse, rat, rabbit, and cat.
Silver (1953a), using the relative-growth
technique, has obtained information on the
 
 
 
levels of estrogen necessary for normal
mammary duct growth in the nonpregnant
rat. In the young ovariectomized rat, the
normal mammary growth rate was best imitated by injecting 0.1 ;u,g. estradiol dipropionate every second day (from 21 days of
age) and increasing the dose step- wise with
body weight. In the ovariectomized mouse,
Flux (1954a) found it necessary to give
0.055 /jLg. estrone daily to attain mammarv
duct growth comparable with that obser\-( . i
in intact mice.
 
In the second category are those s]:»ecies
 
 
 
(JOO
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OI-' GONADS
 
 
 
in which estrogen in physiologic doses causes
growth of the ducts and the lobule-alveoL^r
system, the classical example being the
guinea pig in which functional mammae can
be developed after gonadectomy in either
sex by estrogen alone. A recent study by
Hohn (1957), however, strongly suggests
that progesterone from the adrenal cortex
participates in the effect. The earlier view,
moreover, that complete mammary growth
can be evoked in the gonadectomized guinea
l)ig by estrogen alone (Turner and Gomez.
1934; Nelson, 1937.) does not find support
in the recent study of Benson, Cowie, Cox
and Goldzveig (1957), who, using both subjective and objective methods of assessing
the degree of mammary development, found
that over a wide dose range of estrone, further development of the mammary gland
was obtained when jirogesterone was also
administered; essentially similar conclusions have been reached by Smith and Richterich (1958).
 
Also in this second category are cattle
and goats in which, however, the male
mammary gland is not equipotential with
that of the female. The early studies on
these species have been reviewed at length
by FoUey and Malpress (1948a) and Folley (1952a, 1956). Briefly it may be said
that these studies clearly showed that estrogen alone induced extensive growth of lobule-alveolar tissue of which the functional
capacity was considerable although the milk
yields in general were less than those expected from similar animals after parturition. The response to estrogen treatment
was, moreover, very erratic. It was generally
believed that the deficiencies of this treatment could be made good if progesterone
were also administered, a view supported by
the observations of Mixner and Turner
(1943) that the mammary gland of goats
treated with estrogens, when examined histologically, showed the i)resence of cystic
alv(>oli, an abnormality which tended to
disappear when jirogestcrone was also administered.
 
When progesterone became more readily
available, an extensive study of the role of
estrogen and progesterone in mammary development in the goat was carried out
(Cowie, Folley, ^lalpress and Richai'dson.
 
 
 
1952; Benson, Cowie, Cox, Flux and Folley,
1955). The mammary tissue was examined
histologically and the procedure devised by
Richardson (see page 594) used to estimate
the area and "porosity" of the alveolar epithelium. The udders grown in immaturely
ovariectomized virgin goats by combined
treatment with estrogens and progesterone
in various proportions and at different absolute dose levels were compared with udders resulting from treatment with estrogen
alone. As in the earlier observations of Mixner and Turner (1943) , histologic abnormalities were noted, the more widespread being
a marked deficiency of total epithelial surface, associated with the presence of cystic
alveoli, in the udders of the estrogen-treated
animals. The addition of progesterone prevented the appearance of many of these abnormalities and increased the surface area
of the secretory epithelium. JMoreover, when
estrogen and progesterone were given in a
suitable ratio and absolute level the milk
yields obtained were remarkably uniform
as between different animals and the glandular tissue was virtually free from abnormalities.
 
Studies in the cow have been less extensive, but there is evidence that both estrogen
and progesterone are necessary for complete
normal mammary development (Sykes and
Wrenn, 1950, 1951; Reineke, INIeites, Cairy
and Huffman, 1952; Flux and Folley, cited
by Folley, 1956; Meites, 1960).
 
The case for the inclusion of the monkey
in the present category has been strengthened by the excellent monograph of Speert
( 1948) who has had access to more extensive
material than many of the earlier workers
whose results are reviewed by him (see also
Folley, 1952a). The sum total of available
evidence now justifies the conclusion that
estrogen alone will cause virtually complete
growth of the duct and lobule-alveolar systems of the monkey breast. Extensive lobulealveolar development in the monkey breast
in response to estrogen is shown in Figure
10.5. The synergistic effect of estrogen and
jirogesterone on the monkey breast has not
yet been adequately studied, but from available evidence it does not seem to be very
dramatic. If it is permissible to argue from
pi'iinates to man. it seems jiossible that coidd
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
601
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.5. Wliole mounts of breast of an ovariectomized immature female rhesus monkey
before (left) and after (right) e.strogen treatment. (From H. Speert, Contr. Embrvol.,
Carnegie Inst. Washington, 32, 9-65, 1948.)
 
 
 
the necessary experiments be done the
human breast would show a considerable
growth response to estrogen alone.
 
Finally, in the third category are those
species in which estrogen in physiologic
doses causes little or no mammary growth.
The bitch and probably the ferret seem to
belong to this class (see Folley, 1956).
 
There has been considerable discussion
in the past regarding the ratio of progesterone to estrogen optimal for mammary
growth. Only recently, however, has this
question been fully investigated in any species. Benson, Cowie, Cox and Goldzveig
(1957) have shown that in the guinea pig
the absolute quantities of progesterone and
estrogen are the crucial factors in controlling
mammary growth; altering the dose levels
but maintaining the ratio gave entirely different growth responses. In view of the
varying ability of the different estrogens to
stimulate mammary duct growth (Reece,
1950) it is essential in discussing ratios to
take into consideration the nature of the
estrogen used, a fact not always recognized
in the past.
 
2. Anterior Pituitary Hormones
 
Soon after the discovery by Strieker and
Grueter (1928, 1929) of the lactogenic effects of anterior iiituitarv extracts, it was
 
 
 
shown that anterior i)ituitary extracts had a
mammogenic effect in the ovariectomized
animal and that the ovarian steroids had
little or no mammogenic effect in hypophysectomized animals. C. W. Turner and his
colleagues postulated that mammogenic activity of the anterior pituitary was due to
specific factors which they termed "mammogens"; other workers, in particular
W. R. Lyons, believed the mammogenic effect was due to prolactin. The theory of specific mammogens has been fully reviewed in
the past (Trentin and Turner, 1948; Folley
and Malpress, 1948a) and we do not propose
to discuss it further for there is now little
evidence to support it. Damm and Turner
( 1958) , while recently seeking new evidence
for the existence of a specific pituitary mammogen, concur in the view expressed by
Folley and Malpress (1948a) that final
proof of the existence of a specific mammogen will depend on the development of
l)etter assay techniques and the characterization or isolation of the active principle.
 
The mammogenic effects of prolactin were
observed in the rabbit by Lyons (1942)
who injected small quantities of prolactin
directly into the galactophores of the suitably prepared mammary gland. IV'Iilk secretion occurred but Lyons also noted that the
l)rolactin caused active growth of the alveo
 
 
602
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF CIOXADS
 
 
 
lar epithelium. Recently, Mizuno, lida and
Naito (1955) and Mizuno and Naito (19561
have confirmed Lyons' observations on the
mammogenic effect of intracluct injections
of prolactin in the rabbit both by histologic
and biochemical means (DNA estimations)
and there seems little doubt that the prolactin is capable of exerting a direct effect
on the growth of the mammary parenchyma,
at least in the rabbit whose pituitary is intact.
 
In the last 18 years much information on
the role of the anterior pituitary in mammary growth has been obtained by Lyons
and his colleagues in studies on hypophysectomized, hypophysectomized-ovariectomized, and hypophysectomized-ovariectomized-adrenalectomized (triply operated)
rats of the Long-Evans strain. In 1943
Lyons showed that in the hypophysectomized-ovariectomized rat, estrogen + progesterone + prolactin induced lobulealveolar development, but the degree of
development was less than that obtained
in the ovariectomized rat with intact pituitary receiving estrogen and progesterone.
When supplies of purified anterior-pituitary hormones became available the experiments were extended (Lyons, Li and
Johnson, 1952) and it was shown that if
somatotrophin (STH) was added to the
hormone combination of estrogen -f progesterone + prolactin, the degree of lobulealveolar development obtained in the hypophysectomized-ovariectomized rat was
much enhanced. The omission of prolactin
from the hormonal tetrad prevented lobulealveolar development from occurring. In
the hypophysectomized-ovariectomized-adrenalectomized rat the above hormonal tetrad could also evoke lobule-alveolar development, provided the animals were given
saline to drink (Lyons, Li, Cole and Johnson, 1953). In yet more recent experiments
Lyons, Li and Johnson (1958) observed that
somatotrophin has a direct stimulatory effect on duct growth, but in the hypophysectomized-ovariectomized rat, the presence of
estrogen is also necessary to evoke normal
duct development (Fig. 10.6a, b, c) ; Likewise, in the triply operated rat, STH plus
estrogen is mammogenic, but the presence of
a corticoid is r('([ui]'ed to o])tain full duct de
 
 
velopment (Fig. 10.6r/). Lyons and his colleagues were able to build up the mammary
glands of triply operated rats from the state
of bare regressed ducts to full prolactational
lobule-alveolar development by giving estrogen + STH + corticoids for a period of
10 days to obtain duct proliferation followed by a further treatment (for 10 to 20
days) with estrone + progesterone -I- STH
-I- prolactin + corticoid to induce lobulealveolar development. Alilk secretion could
then be induced by a third course of treatment lasting about 6 days in which only
prolactin and corticoids were given (Fig.
10. 6e, /). Essentially similar results have
been obtained in studies with the hooded
Norway rat (Cowie and Lyons, 1959).
 
Studies on mammogenesis in the hypophysectomized mouse have revealed some
differences in the response of the mammary
gland of this species in comparison with
that of the rat and indications of strain
differences within the species. The mammary gland of the hypophysectomized male
weanling mouse of the Strong A2G strain
shows no response to the ovarian steroids
alone, to prolactin, or to STH alone, but it
responds with vigorous duct proliferation
to combinations of estrogen + progesterone
+ prolactin, or of estrogen 4- progesterone
+ STH (Hadfield, 1957; Hadfield and
Young, 1958). In the hypophysectomized
male mouse of the CHI strain slight duct
growth occurs in response to estrogen +
jirogesterone and this is much enhanced
when STH is also given; the further addition of prolactin then results in alveolar
development (Flux, 1958). Extensive studies
in triply operated mice of the C3H 'HeCrgl
strain have been reported by Nandi (1958a,
b). In this strain some duct growth was observed in triply operated animals in response to steroids alone (estrogen -I- progesterone + corticoids), but normal duct
develojmient was believed to be due to the
action of estrogen + STH + corticoids, a
conclusion in agreement with Lyons' observations in the rat. Extensive lobuleahcohii' development could be induced by
a number of hormone coml)inations, one
of the most effective being estrogen + progesterone + corticoids + prolactin + STH,
milk secretion occurring when the ovarian
 
 
 
MAMMARY C5LAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
603
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.6. Typical areas of whole mounts of the abdominal mammary gland of rat.s after
the following treatments: A. Untreated rat on day 31, 14 days after hypophysectomy. The
gland has regressed to a bare duct system. B. Rat hypophysectomized and ovariectomized on
day 30 and injected daily with 2 mg. somatotrophin (STH) for 7 days. Note the presence
of end clubs, r. Rat treated as in B but which received, in addition to the STH, 1 ^g. estrone.
Note profuse eiid-rhil' ] iroliferatiou. D. Rat li.\|M)]ili\s(>ctomized on day 30. ovariectomized
and adri'nali^ctoinized on day 60, and injected daily from days 60 to 69 with 1 mg. STH +
0.1 mg. DCA + 1 fig. estrone. Note again the profuse number of end buds indicative of
duct proliferation. E. Same treatment as in D followed by 10 days treatment with 5 mg.
prolactin + 2 mg. STH + 1 /xg. estrone + 2 mg. progesterone + 0.1 mg. DCA + 0.05 mg.
prednisolone acetate. Note excellent lobule-alveolar growth. F. Same treatment as in D
followed by 20 days treatment with 5 mg. prolactin + 2 mg. STH + 1 fig. estrone + 2 mg.
progesterone + 0.1 mg. DCA + 0.05 mg. prednisolone acetate; thereafter given 0.1 mg. prolactin locally over this gland and 0.1 mg. DCA + 0.1 mg. prednisolone acetate systemically for
6 days. Note fully developed lobules with ah'eoli filled with milk. (All glands at the same
magnification.) (From W. R. Lyons. C. H. Li and R. E. Johnson, Recent Progr. Hormone
Res., 14, 219-254, 1958.)
 
 
 
604
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
steroids were withdrawn, while the })rohictin, STH, and Cortisol were continued. A
further interesting observation made by
Nandi is that in the C3H/HeCrgl mouse
STH can replace prolactin in the stimulation of all phases of mammary development
and in the induction of milk secretion; enhanced effects were obtained, however, when
prolactin and STH were given together.
Nandi also considers that progesterone
plays a greater role in duct development in
the mouse than in the rat.
 
The above experiments clearly indicate
that both in the triply operated rat and
mouse, it is possible to build up the mammary gland to the full prolactational state
by injecting the known ovarian, adrenal
cortical, and anterior pituitary hormones.
There would thus seem to be no necessity
to postulate the existence of other unidentified pituitary mammogens. It must be
recognized, however, that in normal pregnancy the placenta may be an important
source of mammogenic hormones. The placenta of the rat contains a substance or substances possessing luteotrophic, mammogenic, lactogenic, and crop-sac stimulating
properties, but it is uncertain whether this
material is identical with pituitary prolactin
(Averill, Ray and Lyons, 1950; Canivenc,
1952; Canivenc and Mayer, 1953; Ray,
Averill, Lyons and Johnson, 1955). There
is also some evidence of the presence of a
somatotrophin-like principle in rat placenta
(Ray, Averill, Lyons and Johnson, 19551.
 
3. Metabolic Hormones {Corticoids, Insulin,
and Thyroid Hormones)
 
We have already noted that Lyons and
his colleagues were able to obtain full duct
development in the triply operated rat only
when corticoids were given. Early studies
of the role of the adrenals in mammary development have given conflicting and uncertain results (see review by Folley,
1952a). Recent studies have not entirely
clarified the position. Flux (1954b) tested
a number of 11 -oxygenated corticoids, and
found that not only were they devoid of
mammogenic activity in the ovariectomized
virgin mouse, but that they inhibited the
gi'owth-promoting effects of estrogen on the
mammary ducts, whereas 11-desoxycorticosterone acted synergistically with estro
 
 
gen in promoting duct growth. In subsequent
studies it was shown that injections of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) into intact
female mice did not influence mammary
growth (Flux and ]\lunford, 1957), but
that Cortisol acetate in low doses (12.5 /^g.
l)er day) stimulated mammary development in ovariectomized and in ovariectomized estrone-treated mice, whereas at
higher levels (25 and 50 ftg. per day) it was
without effect (Munford, 1957). In the virgin rat, on the other hand, glucocorticoids
are said to stimulate mammary growth and
to induce milk secretion (Selye, 1954; Johnson and Meites, 1955). Some light on these
conflicting results has been shed by the
studies of Ahren and Jacobsohn (1957)
who investigated the effects of cortisone on
the mammary glands of ovariectomized
and of ovariectomized-hypophysectomized
rats, both in the presence and absence of
exogenous ovarian hormones. In the hypophysectomized animals, cortisone promoted
enlargement and proliferation of the epithelial cells lining the duct walls, but normal growth and differentiation did not occur, nor did the addition of estrogen and
progesterone appreciably alter these effects ;
in rats with intact pituitaries, however,
cortisone stimulated secretion but not
mammary growth, whereas the addition of
estrogen and progesterone promoted both
growth and al)undant secretion. Ahren and
Jacobsohn concluded that "the effect elicited by cortisone in the mammary gland
should be analysed with due regard to the
endocrine state of the animal both as to its
effects on the structures of the mammary
gland and to the consequences resulting
from an eventual upset of the general metabolic equilibrium." They consider that in
circumstances optimal for mammary gland
growth and maintenance of homeostasis
the predominant actions of cortisone are enhancement of alveolar growth and stimulation of secretion, whereas under conditions
ill which the metabolic actions of cortisone
are not efficiently counteracted, gland
growth is either inhibited or an abnormal
development of certain iiianimaiy cells
may be e^■()ked.
 
That the general metabolic milieu may
indeed profoundly influence the response
of the iiuuiimarv gland to hormones has
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
605
 
 
 
been emiiha.-^ized by the recent experiments
of Jacobsohn and her colleagues. Following
on the work of Salter and Best (1953) who
showed that hypophysectomized rats could
be made to resume body growth by the injections of long-acting insulin, Jacobsohn
and her colleagues (Ahren and Jacobsohn,
1956; Ahren and Etienne, 1958; Ahren,
1959) found that treatment with estrogen
and progesterone would stimulate considerable mammary duct growth in hypophysectomized-gonadectomized rats when given
with suitable doses of long-acting insulin
(Fig. 10.7). This growth-supporting effect
of insulin could be nullified if cortisone was
also administered (Ahren and Jacobsohn,
1957) but could be enhanced by giving thyroxine (Jacobsohn, 1959).
 
The thyroid would thus appear to be another endocrine gland whose hormones affect
 
 
 
mammary growth intlirectly by altering the
metabolic environment. Studies in this field,
reviewed by Folley (1952a, 1956), indicate
that in the rat some degree of hypothyroidism enhances alveolar development wdiereas
in the mouse, hypothyroidism seems to
inhibit mammary development. Chen, Johnson, Lyons, Li and Cole (1955) have shown
that mammary growth can be induced in
hypophysectomized - adrenalectomized-thyroidectomized rats by giving estrone, progesterone, prolactin, STH, and Cortisol, no
replacement of the thyroid hormones being
necessary.
 
These investigations on the effect of the
metabolic environment on mammary development seem to ])e opening up new avenues
of approach to the advancement of our
understanding of the mechanisms of mammary growth and we would recommend.
 
 
 
 
 
0-5 cm.
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.7. Whole mount preparation of .second thoracic mammary gland of : ^. Ovariectomized rats injected with estrone and progesterone. B. Hypophysectomized-ovariectomized
rat injected with estrone and progesterone. C. Hypophysectomizcd-o\ariectomized rat. D.
Hypophysectomized-ovariectomized rat injected with estrone, progesterone, and insulin.
(From K. Ahren and D. Jacobsohn, Acta physiol. scandinav., 37, 190-203, 1956.)
 
 
 
GOG
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
to those seeking further information about
this important new fiekl, the recent review
by Jacobsohn (19581.
 
III. Endocrine Influences in Milk
Secretion
 
A. ANTERIOR PITUITARY HORMONES
 
1. Initiation of Secretion iLactogenesis)
 
The early experiments leading to the
view that the anterior pituitary was not
only necessary for the initiation of milk
secretion, but in fact i)rovided a positive
lactogenic stimulus, are now well known
and the reader is referred to the reviews by
Folley (1952a, 1956) and Lyons (1958) for
further particulars. That pituitary prolactin
can evoke milk secretion in the suitably
de\-eloped mammary gland of the rabbit
with intact pituitary has been amply confirmed, and the original experiments of
Lyons (1942) involving the intraduct injection of prolactin have been successfully
repeated by Meites and Turner (1947) and
 
 
 
 
Fk;. 10.8. Liictation.'il lespon.scs in pseudoincgnant rabbit to different doses of prolactin injeclcd
intraductallv. (Fiom T. R. Bradley and P. M.
Clarke, J. Endo.ninol., 14, 28-36, 1956.)
 
 
 
Bradley and Clarke (1956) (Fig. 10.8).
However, endogenous pituitary hormones
may have participated in the response in
such experiments and in the last 20 years
there has been considerable discussion as to
whether prolactin should be regarded as
the lactogenic hormone or as a component
of a lactogenic complex. This whole question
has been fully discussed in recent years (see
Folley, 1952a, 1956) and it now seems
reasonably certain that lactogenesis is a
response to the co-operative action of more
than one anterior pituitary hormone, that
is, to a lactogenic hormone complex of which
prolactin is an important component, as
first suggested by Folley and Young (1941 ) .
The recent reports by Nandi (1958a, b)
that STH -I- Cortisol can induce milk secretion in triply operated mice with suitably
developed glands is further strong evidence
against regarding prolactin as the lactogenic
hormone.
 
Secretory activity is evident in the mammary gland during the second half of pregnancy, but abundant milk secretion does
not set in until parturition or shortly thereafter. The nature of the mechanism controlling the initiation of abundant secretion has
been the subject of speculation for many
years. The earlier theories w^ere discussed
l)y Turner ( 1939 ) in the second edition of
this book, and included the theory put
forward by Nelson with reference to the
guinea pig, that the high levels of blood
estrogen in late pregnancy suppressed the
secretion or release of prolactin from the
pituitary and had also a direct inhibitory
cttcct on the mammary parenchyma, the
fall in the levels of estrogen occurring at
parturition then allowing the anterior pituitary to exert its full lactogenic effect. This
concept proved inadequate to exjilain observations in other species and it was later
extended by Folley and Malpress (1948b)
to embrace the concept of two thresholds
for oi:)posing influences of estrogen upon
jiituitary lactogenic function, a lower
threshold for stimulation and a higher one
for inhibition. Subsequent observations on
the inhibitory role of progesterone, in the
pix'sence of estrogen, on milk secretion, however, necessitated further modification of
the theorv. Before discussing these modifica
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
607
 
 
 
tions it is convenient to refer to the ingenious theory put forward by Meites and
Turner (1942a, b; 1948) which was based on
their extensive investigation of the prolactin content of the pituitary in various
physiologic and experimental states. According to Meites and Turner, estrogen
elicits the secretion of prolactin from the
anterior pituitary thereby causing lactogenesis, whereas progesterone is an inhibitory agent, operative in pregnancy, inhibiting or over-riding the lactogenic action of
estrogen. The induction of lactation was
thus ascribed to a fall in the body level
of progesterone relative to that of estrogen
heheved to occur at the time of parturition.
Subsequent studies in the rabbit by jVIeites
and Sgouris (1953, 1954) revealed that
combinations of estrogen and progesterone
could inhibit, at the mammary gland level,
the lactogenic effects of exogenous prolactin.
This effect was, however, relative and by increasing the prolactin or decreasing the steroids, lactogenesis ensued. Inasmuch as the
theory of Meites and Turner did not take
into account the eventuality that estrogen
and progesterone act at the level of the mammary gland, Meites ( 1954) modified the con('ei)t, postulating that milk secretion was
held in check during pregnancy first by the
combined effect of estrogen and progesterone which make the mammary gland refractory to prolactin and, secondly, by a
low rate of prolactin secretion. The role of
progesterone in over-riding the stimulatory
effect of estrogen on the pituitary he now
considered to be of only minor importance.
Meites also explained the continuance of
lactation in pregnant animals by postulating that the initial level of prolactin was
sufficiently high as a result of the suckling
stimulus to overcome the inhibitory action
of the ovarian hormones on the mammary
gland. One of us (Folley, 1954, 1956) put
forward a tentative theory, combining various features of previous hypotheses, which
seemed capable of harmonizing most of
the known facts regarding the initiation of
milk secretion. In this it was emphasized
that measurements of the prolactin content
of the pituitary were not necessarily indicative of the rate of prolactin release (a recent
study bv Grosvenor and Turner (1958c)
 
 
 
lends further support to this contention)
and were best considered as largely irrelevant; low circulating levels of estrogen
activate the lactogenic function of the anterior pituitary whereas higher levels tend
to inhibit lactation even in the absence of
the ovary; lactogenic doses of estrogen
may be deprived of their lactogenic action
by suitable doses of progesterone, the combination then acting as a potent inhibitor
of lactation, this being the influence operating in pregnancy; at parturition the relative fall in the progesterone to estrogen ratio
removes the inhibition which is replaced by
the positive lactogenic effect of estrogen
acting unopposed.
 
It was observed by Gaines in 1915 that
although a colostral secretion accumulated
in the mammary gland during pregnancy,
the initiation of copious secretion was associated with functioning of the contractile
mechanisms in the udder responsible for
milk ejection; later Petersen (1944) also
suggested that the suckling or milking stimulus might be partly responsible for the
onset of lactation. Recent studies have provided evidence that this may well be so,
and these will be considered later when discussing the role of the suckling and milking
stimulus in the maintenance of milk secretion (see page 611).
 
During the past decade a fair amount of
information has been obtained about the
biochemical changes which occur in mammary tissue near the time of parturition,
and which are almost certainly related to
lactogenesis. The earlier work has been reviewed in some detail by one of us (Folley,
1956) and need only be referred to briefly
here.
 
Folley and French (1949), studying rat
mammary gland slices incubated in media
containing glucose, showed that — QOo increased from a value of about 1.3 in late
pregnancy to a value of about 4.4 at day
1 of lactation, and thereafter increased
still further. At the same time the R.Q.
which was below unity (approximately
0.83) at the end of pregnancy, increased to
unity soon after parturition, and by day
8 had reached a value of 1.62 at approximately which level it remained for the rest
of the lactation period. In accord with the
 
 
 
G08
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
increased respiratory activity of the tissue
about the time of parturition in the rat
mammary gland, Moore and Nelson (1952)
reported increases in the content of certain
respiratory enzymes, succinic oxidase and
cytochrome oxidase, in the guinea pig mammary gland at about this time. Greenbaum
and Slater (1957b) made similar observations about mammary gland succinic oxidase in the rat. Recent work is beginning to
throw light on the metabolic pathways involved in this increase in respiratory activity. Thus McLean (1958a) has adduced
evidence indicating an increase in the activity of the pentose phosphate pathway
in the rat mammary gland at about the time
of parturition. Mammary gland slices taken
from rats at various stages of the lactation
cycle were incubated in media containing
either glucose 1-C^^ or glucose 6-C^-^, and
the amount of radioactivity appearing in
the respiratory CO2 was determined. The
results given in Figure 10.9 show that although the recovery of C^^'Oo from C-6 was
relatively unaffected by the initiation of lactation, the C^^Oo originating from C-1 began a striking increase at the time of
parturition (see also Glock, McLean and
Whitehead, 1956, and Glock and McLean,
1958, from which Figure 10.9 was taken).
 
 
 
pregnancy
 
 
 
in\'oliition
 
 
 
 
Imc;. 1().<», The relative amounts of C'Oi; formed
fioin iiiilucosc 1-C'^ and glucose 6-C" by rat niani
maiy gland slices. O O, C'^Oi formed from
 
glucose 1-C^'. • • . C^'Oi! formed from glucose
 
6-C". (From G. E. Glock and P. McLean, Proc.
Roy. Soc, London, ser. B, 149, 354-362, 1958.)
 
 
 
Despite the well known pitfalls which surround the interpretation of C-1: C-6 quotients in experiments such as these, it seems
clear that lactation is associated with an
increase in the metabolism of glucose by
the pentose phosphate cycle, whereas the
proportion going by the Embden-Meyerhof
jmthway would appear to be relatively unaffected. These conclusions are supported by
the fact that the levels in rat mammary
tissue of two enzymes concerned in this
pathway of glucose breakdown, glucose
6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, show very striking increases at the time of parturition
(Glock and McLean, 1954; McLean, 1958a).
Other enzymes concerned in glucose breakdown whose activities in mammary tissue
begin to increase at parturition are hexokinase and phosphoglucose isomerase (]\IcLean, 1958a). In connection with the glucose metabolism of rat mammary tissue it
may be noted that addition of insulin to
the incubation medium markedly increases
the — QOo and R.Q. of rat mammary slices
metabolizing glucose or glucose plus acetate
(see page 619), and that this tissue only
becomes sensitive to insulin just after parturition (Balmain and Folley, 1951). It
is interesting to speculate which of the two
above-mentioned pathways of glucose
breakdown in mammary tissue resjjonds to
the action of insulin. According to Abraham,
Cady and Chaikoff (1957) addition of insulin in vitro increased the production by
lactating rat mammary slices of C^'^Oo from
glucose l-C^'*, but not from glucose 6-C^'*,
which might indicate that insulin stimulates
preferentially the pentose phosphate pathway. Against this, insulin increased the incorporation of both these carbon atoms
(and also the 3:4 carbon atoms of glucose)
into fatty acids of the slices to about the
same extent. McLean (1959) believes that
the stimulatory effect of insulin on the
pentose jihosphate pathway in the lactating
rat mammary gland is secondary to its
stimulating effect on lipogenesis. The latter
l)rocess generates the oxidized form of tril)hosphopyridine nucleotide (TPN) which is
needed for the first two steps of the pentose
phosphate cycle.
 
The inci-casc in the R.Q. of mammary
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAXD AND LACTATION
 
 
 
009
 
 
 
tissue beginning at parturition observed
by Folley and French (1949) was interi:)reted as indicating that this tissue assumes
the power of effecting net fatty acid synthesis from ghicose at this time. Much subsequent evidence confirming this idea has
been reviewed by Folley (1956). It only
rt'mains to add that Ringler, Becker and
Nelson (1954), Lauryssens, Peelers and
Donck (1956), and Read and Moore (1958)
ha^-e shown that the amount of coenzyme
A in mammary tissue undergoes an increase
at parturition. Moreover, the recent findings
of McLean (1958b), who showed that the
levels of pyridine nucleotides in the mammary gland of the rat begin to increase
at parturition, reaching a high level by the
end of lactation, may be significant in this
connection. McLean found that although
the increase in the tissue levels of diphosl^hopyridine nucleotide was almost entirely
due to an increase in the oxidized form
(DPN), in the case of TPN it was the reduced form (TPNH) which increased. The
latter might well be used for reductive syntheses such as lipogenesis.
 
The rate of synthesis of milk constituents
other than fat must also begin to increase at
parturition, and Greenbaum and Greenwood
(1954) showed that an increase in the levels
of glutamic aspartic transaminase and of
glutamic dehydrogenase in rat mammary
tissue occurs at this time. The authors believe these enzymes are concerned in the
provision of substrates for the synthesis of
milk protein. It is significant in connection
with milk protein synthesis that the mammary gland ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the
rat undergoes a marked rise at parturition
(Greenbaum and Slater, 1957a).
 
The above - mentioned biochemical
changes in mammary tissue which occur at
al)out the time of parturition are almost
certainly closely related to the effect on this
tissue of members of the anterior pituitary
lactogenic complex, and particularly prolactin. Attempts have been made to elicit
the characteristic respiratory changes, described above, in mammary slices in vitro
by addition of prolactin and adrenal glucocorticoids to the incubation medium (see
Folley, 1956). So far, however, definitive results luive not been obtained and it is doubt
 
 
ful whether any biochemical changes in
lactating mammary gland slices in vitro
have been demonstrated which could with
certainty be ascribed to the action of prolactin (in this connection see also Bradley
and Mitchell. 1957).
 
2. Maintenance of Milk Secretion — Galactopoiesis
 
It is well known that the removal of the
pituitary of a lactating animal will end
milk secretion (for references see Folley,
1952a). The cessation of milk secretion has
been generally ascribed to the loss of the
anterior lobe, but when the importance of
the neurohypophysis in milk ejection became established (see page 621), it was
clear that in the hypophysectomized animal
it was necessary to distinguish between a
failure in milk secretion and a failure in
milk ejection, since either would lead to
failure of lactation. It has now been shown
in the rat that adequate oxytocin therapy
ensuring the occurrence of milk ejection
after hypophysectomy will not restore lactation (Cowie, 1957) and it may thus be
concluded that the integrity of the anterior
lobe is essential for the maintenance of
milk secretion. The effect of hypophysectomy on milk secretion is dramatic, because in the rat, milk secretion virtually
ceases within a day of the operation and
biochemical changes in the metabolic activity of the mammary tissue can be detected within 4 to 8 hours (Bradley and
Cowie, 1956). It is of interest to note that
these metabolic changes are similar to those
observed during mammary involution (see
page 598).
 
Since the second edition of this book,
there have been surprisingly few studies on
replacement therapy in hypophysectomized
lactating animals. In such studies we would
stress the need for rigorous methods of
assessing the efficacy of treatment. In the
past the presence of milk in the gland as
revealed by macroscopic or microscopic
examination has been regarded as an indication of successful replacement. This,
however, gives no measure of the degree of
maintenance of lactation and some measure
of the daily milk yield of such animals
should be obtained (see also Cowie, 1957).
 
 
 
GIO
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
It is abo now obvious that oxytocin may
have to be injected to ensure milk ejection;
under certain circumstances, however, the
neurohypophyseal tissue remaining after
the removal of the posterior lol^e may be
capable of releasing oxytocin and permitting milk ejection (see Benson and Cowie,
1956; Bintarningsih, Lyons, Johnson and Li.
1957, 1958).
 
The earliest report on the maintenance
of lactation after hypophysectomy is that of
Gomez (1939, 1940), who found that hypophysectomized lactating rats could rear
their litters if given anterior-pituitary extract, adrenal cortical extracts, glucose, and
posterior pituitary extract. These experiments are difficult to assess because they are
reported only in abstract, but the use of posterior pituitary extract at a time when the
role of oxytocin in milk ejection was not
generally recognized is worthy of note. Recently, slight maintenance of milk secretion
in hypophysectomized rats has been obtained with prolactin alone, and greater
maintenance when adrenocorticotrophic
hormone ( ACTH I or STH was administered
with prolactin (Cowie, 1957). Similar
studies were reported by Bintarningsih,
Lyons, Johnson and Li (1957, 1958) (see
also Lvons, Li and Johnson, 1958) in which
 
 
 
I «
 
c
 
-^ 4
 
-0
 
I 1
 
 
 
£
 
 
 
Z -6
 
 
 
z
 
 
 
J
 
 
 
E
 
 
 
:^ 2 ^^,
 
 
 
TV
 
2 ^
 
 
 
Fig. 10.10. Effect on the luilk yield of the cow
of injected hormones of the anterior pituitary.
(From the results of P. M. Cotes, J. A. Crichton,
S. J. Folley and F. G. Young, Nature, London.
164, 992-993, 1919.)
 
 
 
considerable maintenance of milk secretion
was obtained in hypophysectomized rats
with prolactin and certain corticoids. Of
related interest is the observation by Elias
(1957) that Cortisol and prolactin can induce secretory activity in explants of mouse
mammary gland growing on a synthetic
medium. (Tissue culture techniques have
been little exploited in mammary studies
and further developments in this field may
be expected.)
 
The evidence to date suggests that, in the
rat, prolactin is an essential component of
the hormone complex involved in the maintenance of lactation with ACTH and STH
also participating, but further studies are
recjuired to determine the most favorable
balance of these factors.
 
Preliminary studies on the maintenance of
lactation in the goat after hypophysectomy
suggest that both prolactin and STH are important in the initiation and maintenance of
milk secretioii (Cowie and Tindal, 1960).
Our knowledge of the process in other species is derived from studies on the effect
of exogenous anterior pituitary hormones
on established lactation in intact animals—
galactopoietic effects (for reference see
Folley, 1952a, 1956). In the cow, considerable increase in milk yield can be obtained
by injecting STH (Cotes, Crichton, Folley
and Young, 1949), whereas prolactin has
a negligible galactopoietic effect (Fig. 10.10;
for discussion see also Folley, 1955). Recently the precise relationship between the
dose of STH (ox) and the lactational response in the cow was established in our laboratory by Hutton (1957) who observed a
highly significant linear relationship between log doses of STH (single injection)
and the increase in milk yield obtained (Fig.
10.11 ) ; increases in fat yield relative to the
yield of nonfatty solids also occurred. In the
lactating rat, on the other hand, STH has
no galactopoietic effect (Meites, 1957b;
Cowie, Cox and Naito, 1957), whereas prolactin has (Johnson and Meites, 1958). Such
studies must be interpreted with caution as
endogenous pituitary hormones were present ; nevertheless, it seems reasonable to
conclude that STH is likely to be an impoi'tant factor in the maintenance of lactation in the row.
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
611
 
 
 
mq qro\Om hormone (onthmeTTc scale)
 
 
 
fa-25 12-5 25-0 50-0
 
 
 
100-0
 
 
 
200-0
 
 
 
S-«^0
 
 
 
 
'Zoo-o
 
 
 
Fig. 10. IL Effect of graded doses of growth hormone on milk yield of row. Upper curve,
doses plotted on arithmetic scale. Lower curve, doses plotted on logarithmic scale. (From
J. B. Hutton, J. Endocrinol., 16, 115-125, 1957.)
 
 
 
C)ther hormones of the anterior pituitary
in all probability influence milk secretion
through their target glands and these will
be dealt with later.
 
3. Suckling Stimulus and the Maintenance
of Lactation
 
It has been long believed that regular
milking is an important factor in maintaining lactation and that if milk is allowed
to accumulate in the gland, as occurs at
weaning, atrophy of the alveolar epithelium
and glandular involution occur. Evidence
in support of this concept was obtained in
studies showing that ligature or occlusion of
 
 
 
the main ducts of some of the mammae of a
lactating animal resulted in atrophy of the
glands concerned although the other glands
were suckled normally (Kuramitsu and
Loeb, 1921; Hammond and Marshall, 1925;
Fauvet, 1941a). Studies by Selye and his
colleagues, however, revealed that such
occluded glands did not atrophy as quickly
as did glands of animals in which the suckling stimulus was no longer maintained
(Selye, 1934; Selye, Collip and Thomson,
1934) and it was postulated that the suckling stimulus evoked from the anterior
pituitary the secretion of prolactin which
maintained the secretory activity of the
gland. This theory has been widely accepted
 
 
 
012
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
although it has been suggested that a complex of hormones rather than prolactin alone
is released (Folley, 1947). Williams (1945)
showed that prolactin could in fact maintain the integrity of the mammary gland in
the unsuckled mouse thus mimicking the
effects of the suckhng stimulus; other supporting evidence has been reviewed by
Folley (1952a). Recent studies in goats,
however, have shown that milk secretion
may continue more or less at the normal
level after complete denervation of the udder (Tverskoi, 1958; Denamur and Martinet, 1959a, b, 1960) and it may be that in
some species the suckling or milking stimulus is loss important in the maintenance of
milk secretion.
 
Milk secretion is essentially a continuous
process whereas the suckling or milking
stimulus is intermittent ; indeed the milking
stimulus may be of remarkably brief duration (in the cow about 10 minutes in all per
24 hours) and it is therefore likely that the
stimulus triggers off the release of sufficient
galactopoietic complex to maintain mammary function for some hours. Grosvenor
and Turner (1957b) reported that suckling
causes a rapid drop in the prolactin content
of the pituitary in the rat, and that the
prenursing level of prolactin in the pituitary
is not fully regained some 9 hours later.
It is difficult, however, to relate pituitary
levels of prolactin to the rate of its secretion into the circulation and, although these
observations are interesting, further advances are unlikely until a method of assay
for blood prolactin becomes available and
the "half-life" of prolactin in circulation is
known.
 
The experiments of Gregoire (1947) on
the maintenance of involution of the thymus
during nursing suggests that the suckling
stimulus releases ACTH which, as we have
seen, is galactopoietic in the rat; thus, so far
as the rat is concerned, there would appear
to be good evidence that the suckling stimulus releases at least two known important
components of the galactopoietic complex.
 
The milking and suckling stimulus is also
responsible for eliciting the milk-ejection
reflex and the relation between the two reflexes will be discussed later in this chapter
(sec ])age 619 1.
 
 
 
B. HORMONES OF THE ADRENAL CORTEX
 
Adrenalectomy results in a marked inhibition of milk secretion and the early experiments in this field were reviewed by
Turner in 1939. Since then, however, purified adrenal steroids have become available
enabling further analysis to be made of the
role of the adrenal cortex in lactation.
 
Gaunt, Eversole and Kendall (1942) considered that in the rat the defect in milk
secretion after adrenalectomy could be repaired by the administration of the adrenal
steroids most closely concerned with carbohydrate metabolism, whereas we came to
the somewhat opposing view that the defect
was best remedied by those hormones
primarily concerned with electrolyte metabolism (Folley and Cowie, 1944; Cowie and
Folley, 1947b, c). The reasons for these
differing observations are not yet entirely
clear. Virtually complete restoration of
milk secretion was subsequently obtained
in our strain of rat by the combined administration of desoxycorticosterone acetate
(DCA) and cortisone, or with the halogenated steroids, 9a-chlorocortisol and 9afluorocortisol (Cowie, 1952; Cowie and
Tindal, 1955; Cowie and Tindal, unpublished; see also Table 10.1). It would therefore seem that both glucocorticoid and
mineralocorticoid activity was necessary to
maintain the intensity of milk secretion at
its normal level. The interesting observation
was made by Flux (1955» and later confirmed by Cowie and Tindal (unpublished)
that the ovaries contribute to the maintenance of lactation after adrenalectomy, a
contribution which could be simulated in the
adrenalectomized-ovariectomized rat by the
administration of 3 mg. progesterone daily.
The differences in the size of the ovarian
contribution may partly accoimt for the apparent differences in various strains of rat of
the relative importance of mineralo- and
glucocorticoids in sustaining milk secretion
after adrenalectomy. The only other species
in which the maintenance of lactation after
adrenalectomy has been studied is the goat
in which, as in the rat, lactation can be
maintained with cortisone and desoxycorticosterone, the latter being apparently the
more critical steroid (Cowie and Tindal.
1958; Figs. 10.12a, b).
 
 
 
MAMM.\RY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
613
 
 
 
There have been several studies on the
effects of corticoids and adrenocortieotrophin on lactation in the intact animal.
ACTH and the corticoids depress lactation
in the intact cow (Fig. 10.10) (Cotes, Crichton, Folley and Young, 1949; Flux, Folley
and Rowland, 1954; Shaw, Chung and
Bunding, 1955; Shaw, 1955), whereas in the
rat ACTH and cortisone have been reported
as exhibiting galactopoietic effects (Meites,
private communication; Johnson and
Meites, 1958). With larger doses of cortisone, however, an inhibition of milk secretion in the rat has been reported (MercierParot, 1955).
 
The main function of the cortical steroids
in lactation is still uncertain. They may act
in a "supporting" or "permissive" manner
(see Ingle, 1954), maintaining the alveolar
cells in a state responsive to the galacto])oictic complex, or they may act by maintaining the necessary levels of milk precursors in the blood.
 
Biochemical studies are, however, Ix'ginning to add to our information on the role
of the corticoids in lactation. In the rat,
adrenalectomy prevents the increase in liver
and mammary gland arginase which occurs
during normal lactation and it has been
suggested that this depression of arginase
activity interferes with deamination of
amino acids, and thereby inhibits any increase in gluconeogenesis from protein and
thus starves the mammary gland of nonnitrogenous milk precursors (Folley and
Greenbaum, 1947, 1948). As there is little
arginase in the mammary gland of other
species {e.g., rabbit, cow, goat, sheep), this
mechanism may not have general validity
(for further discussion see Folley, 1956).
Other biochemical studies have suggested
that the steroids of the adrenal cortex may
be concerned in mammary lipogenesis, but
the results so far have been conflicting and
no firm conclusions can as yet be drawn
(see Folley, 1956).
 
C. OVARIAN HORMONES
 
There is no evidence that ovariectomy has
any deleterious effect on lactation (Kuramitsu and Loeb, 1921; de Jongh, 1932; Folley and Kon, 1938; Flux, 1955); neither
is there evidence for the belief, once
 
 
 
TABLE 10.1
 
Replacement therapy in lactating rats
 
adrenalectomized on the fourth
 
day of lactation
 
(From A. T. Cowie and S. J. Folley,
 
J. Endocrinol., 5, 9-13, 1947.)
 
 
 
Treatment
 
 
Number of
Litters
 
 
Number
 
of Pups
 
per
 
Litter
 
 
Litter-growth
 
Index*
gm. + S.E.
 
 
Control
 
Adrenalectomy
 
Adrenalectomy + cortisone + DC A (tablet
implantsf)
 
 
8
 
9
 
7
 
 
8
8
8
 
 
15.6 + 0.5
 
7.5 ± 0.6
14.9 ± 0.6
 
 
 
(Above results from Cowie, 1952)
 
 
 
Control
 
 
6
 
 
8
 
 
14.5 ± 0.8
 
 
Adrenalectomy
 
 
6
 
 
8
 
 
6.2 ± 0.4
 
 
Adrenalectomy + chloro
 
5
 
 
8
 
 
13.1 ± 0.5
 
 
cortisol (100 Mg per
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
day)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Above results from Cowie and Tindal, 1955)
 
 
 
Control
 
 
8
 
 
12
 
 
17.7 ± 0.8
 
 
Adrenalectomy
 
 
8
 
 
12
 
 
7.5 ± 0.5
 
 
Adrenalectomy + ovari
 
5
 
 
12
 
 
3.6 ± 0.5
 
 
ectomy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Adrenalectomy + ovari
 
7
 
 
12
 
 
14.5 ± 0.7
 
 
ectomy + fiuorocorti
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
sol (200 Mg per day)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Above results from Cowie and Tindal,
unpublished)
 
* The litter-growth index is defined as the mean
daily gain in weight per litter over the 5-day period from the 6th to the 11th days.
 
t 2 X 11 mg. tablets cortisone giving mean daily
absorption of 850 ^ig., and 1 X 50 mg. tablet DCA
giving mean daily absorption of 360 ng.
 
widely held, that ovariectomy increases
and prolongs lactation in the nonpregnant
cow (see Richter, 1936).
 
Although the integrity of the ovary is
not essential for the maintenance of lactation, there can be no doubt that ovarian
hormones, in certain circumstances, profoundly influence milk secretion. Estrogens
have long been regarded as possessing the
power to inhibit lactation, a concept on
which Nelson based his theory of the mechanism of lactation initiation (see page 606 1 .
Some workers, however, have expressed
doubts that the effect is primarily on milk
secretion, and have suggested that in ex
 
 
614
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
periments on laboratory animals the apparent failure in milk secretion could be a
secondary effect due to either a toxic action
of the estrogen causing an anorexia in the
mother, interference with milk ejection, or
disturbance of maternal behavior or to toxic
effects on the young, whose growth rate
serves as a measure of lactational performance, through estrogens being excreted in
milk. The evidence to date shows that in
 
 
 
the intact rat estrogens even in very low
doses inhibit milk secretion, their action
depending on the presence of the ovary ; the
ovarian factor concerned appears to be progesterone, estrogen and progesterone acting
locally on the mammary gland and rendering it refractory to the lactogenic complex. In the ovariectomized rat much larger
doses of estrogen are necessary to inhibit
lactation, and the evidence is not entirely
 
 
 
Body
 
 
 
Goat 478
 
 
 
weight ^^L
:.) 45 L
 
Plasma Na
(m-equiv./l.) ^^^^
 
Plasma K
(m-equiv./l
 
Milk K 40 (m-equiv./l.) 30
 
 
 
Milk Na ,
 
(m-equiv./l.)
 
 
 
Solids-notfat (%)
 
Yield of
solids-notfat (g)
Fat (%)
 
 
 
Milk yield
(kg)
 
 
 
Goat died-*
 
5 15 25 4 14 24
Mgr. Apr.
 
 
 
Fig. 10.12i4. Effect of replaconi(>nt therapy with (losoxycoiticostcM-oiu
c-ortisone aoetate (CA) on milk yield, milk composition, and concent
 
 
 
(DCA) and
tion of Na and K
in milk and blood plasma of the goat after adrenalectomy. Duration of replacement therapy
(pellet implantation) indicated by horizontal lines; the names of steroids and their mean
daily absorption rates are given adjacent to the lines. Note in Figure 12.4 the considerable
maintenance of milk vield with DCA alone. See also Figure 12/?. (From A. T. Cowic and
J. S. Tindal. J. Endocrinol., 16, 403-414, 1958.)
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
6L
 
 
 
Goat 515
 
 
 
Body 5Q _
weight —
 
(kg) 40
150
Plasma Na ^ ^.
/ /I \ ^40 —
 
(m-equiv./l) —
 
130
 
 
 
Plasma K
(m-equiv./l)
 
 
 
Milk K
(m-equiv./l.)
 
 
 
Milk Na
(m-equiv./l.)
 
Solids-not- ^ H
 
fat {%) 7 U
 
Yield of 200
solids-not- —
 
fat (g) 100
Fat (- ^
 
 
 
Fat yield
 
 
 
Milk yield
(kg)
 
 
 
 
13 23 2 12 22 2 12 22
Oct. Nov Dec.
 
Fig. 12B.
 
 
 
11 21 31 10 20
 
Jan. Feb
 
 
 
conclusive that there is a true inhibition of
milk secretion (see Cowie, 1960). In the
cow estrogen in sufficient doses depresses
milk yield, but its mode of action has not
been fully elucidated. In women, estrogens
are used clinically to suppress unwanted
lactation, but as the suckling stimulus is
also removed about the same time, the role
of the estrogen is difficult to assess (see
Meites and Turner, 1942a).
 
 
 
It has been well established that progesterone by itself has no effect on milk secretion (see Folley, 1952a), save in the adrenalectomized animal (see page 612), and
so it would appear that the physiologic
inhibition of lactation is effected Ijy estrogen
and progesterone acting synergistically as
first demonstrated by Fauvet (1941b) and
confirmed by others including Masson
(1948), Walker and Matthews (1949),
 
 
 
GIG
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
Cowie, FoUey, Malpress and Richarcl.son
(1952J,, and Meites and Sgouris (1954).
There is clear evidence that the estrogenprogesterone combination acts at least
partly on the mammary parenchyma (Desclin, 1952; Meites and Sgouris, 1953) but
the mechanism of the action is unknown.
The hormonal interplay and complex endocrine interactions in the process of lactation
inhibition with estrogen has recently been
discussed at length by von Berswordt-Wallrabe (1958).
 
Lactogenic effects of estrogens have already been mentioned; these have been
demonstrated most strikingly in cows and
goats, in which milk secretion has been induced in udders being developed by exogenous estrogen. These experiments have
been reviewed in some detail by Folley and
Malpress (1948b) and Folley (1956).^ It is
generally assumed that estrogens act by
 
 
 
stimulating the production of lactogenic and
galactopoietic factors by the anterior
pituitary. In experiments on the ovariectomized goat we have shown (Cowie,
Folley, Malpress and Richardson, 1952;
Benson, Cowie, Cox, Flux and Folley, 1955)
that it is possible to select a daily dose of
estrogen which will induce mammary
growth but relatively little secretion in the
sense that the udder does not become tense
and distended as will happen when a lower
dose of estrogen is given — an observation we
may quote in support of the "double-threshold" theory of estrogen action. The lactogenic effect of the lower dose of estrogen
could be abolished, however, by administering progesterone simultaneously with the
estrogen (Fig. 10.13), an observation in
accord with those of other workers on the
rabbit and rat (see above).
 
In 1936 one of us (Folley, 1936) reported
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.13. Photographs of goat uddois dovelopcd by daily injections of hoxoostiol (HX)
with and without progesterone (PG). The hibels indicate the daily dose in mg. of each
substance. (Results from A. T. Cowie, S. J. Folley, F. H. Malpre.ss and K. C. Ricliardson,
J. Endocrinol., 8, 64-88, 1952.)
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
GK
 
 
 
that certain dose levels of estrogen in the
lactating cow produced long-lasting changes
in milk composition characterized by increases in the percentages of fat and nonfatty solids. This was regarded as an example of galactopoiesis and was termed the
"enrichment" effect. The effect, however, w^as
somewhat erratic and it has recently been
re-investigated by Hiitton (1958) who confirmed and extended the earlier observations.
Hutton found that galactopoietic responses
(Figs. 10.14 and 10.15) were obtained only
within a restricted dose range, the limits
of which were affected by the stage of pregnancy and the breed of the cow. Hutton
further concluded that in the normal cow
changes in milk composition and yield associated with advancing pregnancy were
probably determined by the progressive rise
of blood estrogen levels.
 
D. THYROID HORMONES
 
Studies on the effect of removal of the
thyroids on milk secretion have been reviewed by one of us (Folley, 1952a) ; the
evidence strongly suggests that the thyroid
glands are not essential for milk secretion,
but in their absence the intensity and duration of lactation is reduced. Histologic and
cytologic studies of the thyroid of the lactating cat suggest that there is a considerable outpouring of the thyroid secretion in
the early stages of lactation (Racadot,
1957), and Grosvenor and Turner (1958b)
have reported that the thyroid secretion
rate is higher in lactating than in nonlactating rats.
 
Since the last edition of this l)ook, a great
volume of experimental results has been
published on the use of thyroid-active materials for increasing the milk yield of cows.
These experiments have been extensively
reviewed by Blaxter (1952) and Meites
(1960) and we need here only touch on the
salient points.
 
In the early studies i^reparations of dried
thyroid gland were fed to cows or injections
of DL-thyroxine were given, but the use on
a large scale of thyroid-active materials
for increasing the milk yield of cows only
became feasible when it was shown that
certain iodinated proteins exhibited thyroidlike activitv when given in the feed. Al
 
 
9-9
97
 
o 9-3
^ 9-1
 
 
 
8-9
 
 
 
•'' Guernsey
 
 
 
Shorthorn
 
 
 
8-5
 
 
 
•^U^ri
 
I L
 
 
 
20 40 60 80 100
 
Oestradiol monobenzoite (mg)
 
Fig. 10.14. Effect of graded doses of estradiol
benzoate on percentage of nonfatty solids in milk
from cows of three breeds. (From J. B. Hutton,
J. Endocrinol., 17, 121-133, 1958.)
 
Oestradiol monobenzoate (mg) (arith. scale)
 
10 20 30 40 50
 
 
 
 
6-25 12-5 250 500
 
Oestradiol monobenzoate (mg) (log scale)
 
Fig. 10.15. Effect of graded doses of estradiol
benzoate on fat content of cows' milk. Upper curve,
doses plotted on arithmetic scale. Lower curve,
doses plotted on logarithmic scale. (From J. B.
Hutton, J. Endocrinol., 17, 121-133, 1958.)
 
though these materials were readily made
and were economical for large-scale use, they
possessed several disadvantages. Their activity was difficult to assay and standardize,
they were frequently unpalatable, and their
administration entailed a considerable intake of iodine which could be undesirable.
Nevertheless, a large number of experiments
were carried out all over the world with
this type of material. In 1949, however, a
new and improved method for the synthesis
of L-thyroxine was developed (Chalmers,
Dickson, Elks and Hems, 1949) and thyroxine became available in large quantities.
It was then shown jjy Bailey, Bartlett and
Folley (1949) that this material was ealac
 
 
618
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
,
 
 
 
 
 
 
/" \^
 
 
Cont-rol.
 
 
 
 
A<' / " "^ - ^*
 
 
— • DO m§.
 
 
 
 
.^''\ / V- -' v;.
 
 
100 m|.
 
 
 
 
^..^-Av / V
 
 
150mg.
 
 
 
 
^^^4?^^/ . V
 
 
 
 
 
 
,.-•*.. \ vv / .^-r \ \
 
 
• — •• tva --^-^ y \ \ \
 
 
•••\-'^\ \ x- ^ .. \ ^
 
 
\. *-^ '• •■*— . \ \
 
 
*■*•—., \ \ \ \
 
 
 
 
.... -.... "•N-:w<r:Viy: y^
 
 
Sl-art of hrcAhnc.ih \\ y' i'
 
 
hrc iXhuciil' \\ //
 
 
\v/y
 
 
\ V /
 
 
\ /
 
 
\ /
 
 
\/
 
 
V
 
 
 
10
 
 
 
50
 
 
 
50
 
 
 
Dau5
 
 
 
Fig. 10.16. Effect of L-thyroxine given in the feed on the milk yield of groups of cows
(the indicated dose levels were fed daily). (From G. L. Bailey, S. Bartlett and S. J. Folley,
Nature, London, 163, 800. 1949.)
 
 
 
topoietic when ]ed to lactating cows in daily
doses of about 100 mg. (Fig. 10.16). It had,
moreover, none of the drawbacks of the
iodinated proteins, its purity could be
checked chemically, it was odorless and
tasteless. AVith the introduction of synthetic thyroxine, iodinated proteins have
become obsolete as galactopoietic agents.
 
The more recently isolated 3:5:3-triiodo-L-thyronine, reported to be 5 to 7
times more active than thyroxine in various
biologic tests in small animals and also in
man, has little or no effect on the milk yield
when fed to cows, but is somewhat more
active than thyroxine in promoting galactopoiesis when administered subcutaneously,
which suggests that the material is inactivated in the gut, probably in the rumen
f Bartlett, Burt, Folley and Rowland, 1954).
 
The extensive experiments on galactopoiesis in dairy cattle with thyroxine and
thyroid-active substances have made it
possible to reach reasonably firm conclusions as to the practical value of the procedure. There is great variability in the
response to treatment; in general a better
response is ol)taincd during the decline of
lactation than at the peak and end of lactation. The use of thyroid-active substances
 
 
 
in animals undergoing their first, second,
or third lactation is of doubtful benefit because the boost in yield is largely cancelled
out by a shortening of the lactation period. Short-term administration at suitable
times can result in considerable galactopoiesis, but this is frequently followed by marked
falls in yield when the administration of
thyroid-active material ends. The administration of thyroid-active materials to
dairy cows, if carried out with due care,
has no ill effects on the health and reproductive abilities of the cows (see Leech
and Bailey, 1953) , but because of the rather
small net gain in yield (about 3 per cent)
the practical application of the procedure
seems to be limited.
 
The mode of action of thyroxine and
thyroid-active substances on milk secretion
is uncertain. It is tmlikely that it is a
specific effect on the alveolar cells; rather
is it probably related to the effects of
the thyroid hormone on the general metabolic rate.
 
E. PARATHYROm HORMONE
 
The early studies on the influence of the
parathyroid glands on milk secretion indicated, as might be expected from their
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
()19
 
 
 
role in calcium metabolism, that the parathyroids were important in the maintenance
of secretion (see review by Folley, 1952a).
Indeed in the rat, we demonstrated that
the severe impairment of milk secretion previously observed in "thyroidectomized" rats
was due not to the removal of the thyroids,
but to the simultaneous ablation of the
l)arathyroids (Cowie and Folley, 1945).
This observation has since been confirmed
and extended by Munson and his colleagues
(Munson, 1955) who demonstrated an influence on the calcium-concentrating mechanism of the mammary glands. Within 24
hours of parathyroidectomy the concentration of calcium in the milk of the lactating
rat was increased markedly despite a
greatly depressed level of calcium in the
serum; there was also a decrease in water
content of the milk, but this did not entirely
account for the increase in calcium content
since the calcium content expressed as mg.
per gm. milk solids was significantly higher
after parathyroidectomy (Toverud and
Munson, 1956). Further studies in this field
are awaited with interest.
 
F. INSULIN
 
Early experiments (see review by Folley,
1952a) indicated that the endocrine pancreas might influence mammary function in
two ways; indirectly by way of the general
intermediary metabolism by which the supply of milk precursors may be regulated,
and directly through its role in the carbohydrate metabolism of the mammary gland
itself.
 
Most recent studies have been concerned
with the effect of insulin on mammary tissue in vitro. Mammary gland slices from
lactating rats actively synthesize fat from
small molecules, glucose, and glucose plus
acetate, but not from acetate alone (Folley
and French, 1950). The addition of insulin
to the incubation medium very markedly
increases the R.Q. (see Table 10.2) and
glucose uptake of the tissue slices and experiments with isotopes show that the rate
of fat synthesis is increased (Balmain, Folley and Glascock, 1952). Mammary gland
slices from lactating sheep, on the other
hand, can utilize acetate alone but not glucose alone for fat synthesis (Folley and
French, 1950) and sheep tissue is not re
 
 
TABLE 10.2
 
Effect of different substrates and of insulin on the
 
respiratory quotient (R.Q.) of lactating mammary
 
gland slices from various species
 
(From S. J. Follev and M. L. McNaught, Brit.
 
M. BulL, 14, 207-211, 1958.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Respiratory
Quotients
 
 
Anlrml
 
 
Substrate
 
 
 
 
 
 
Without
insulin
 
 
With
insulin
 
 
Mouse
 
 
Glucose
 
 
1.90
 
 
2.14
 
 
 
 
Glucose + acetate
 
 
1.46
 
 
2.14
 
 
Rat
 
 
Glucose
 
 
1.57
 
 
1.80
 
 
 
 
Acetate
 
 
0.82
 
 
 
 
 
 
Glucose + acetate
 
 
1.53
 
 
2.03
 
 
Guinea pig
 
 
Glucose
 
 
1.17
 
 
 
 
Rabbit
 
 
Glucose
 
 
1.30
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
Acetate
 
 
0.92
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Glucose -t- acetate
 
 
1.24
 
 
1.67
 
 
Sheep
 
 
Glucose
Acetate
 
 
0.88
1.09
 
 
1.09
 
 
 
 
Glucose + acetate
 
 
1.52
 
 
1.50
 
 
Goat
 
 
Glucose
 
 
0.86
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Acetate
 
 
1.17
 
 
 
 
Cow
 
Glucose
 
 
0.84
 
 
_
 
 
 
 
Acetate
 
 
1.12
 
 
 
 
 
sponsive to insulin in vitro. This clear-cut
species difference is interesting and underlines the need for further study. It is of
passing interest to note that the response
in vitro of rat mammary tissue to insulin
has been made the basis of a highly specific
in vitro bio-assay for insulin (Fig. 10.17)
(Balmain, Cox, Folley and McNaught,
1954; McNaught, 1958)!
 
Further references and discussion on the
role of insulin in mammary function and
lipogenesis will be found in the reviews by
Folley (1956), and Folley and McNaught
(1958, 1960).
 
IV. Removal of Milk from the
 
Mammary Glands: Physiology
 
of Suckling and Milking
 
A. MILK-EJECTION REFLEX
 
Since the second edition of this book,
there have been major advances in our
knowledge of the physiology of milk removal. In the mammary gland the greater
 
 
 
620
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
22
 
 
rs 2-5//g/ml.
 
 
20
 
 
yT
 
 
■~^
 
 
yO
 
 
i 18
 
 
- Cf
 
 
>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-o
 
 
 
 
■;;16
 
 
- i:/^
 
 
c
 
 
 
 
u=
 
 
 
 
«14
 
 
/ J3 as^g/mi.
 
 
8 12
 
 
Z' j^p^ £) 0-Vg/ml.
 
 
— 10
 
 
y rf^ ,-fP
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
3 8
 
 
si r^^ r-f^ y^ Control
 
 
o °
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
M J
 
 
A y^ ^cr ,^y^
 
 
4J
 
 
 
 
z
 
 
Pr( .iif^ jy''^^
 
 
4
 
 
^ M^ ^r^
 
 
2
 
 
L_l 1 1 1 1 \ 1 \ 1 1 \ 1
 
 
 
15 30
 
 
 
60 90 120
 
Time (min)
 
 
 
150
 
 
 
Fig. 10.17. Effect of various concentrations of
insulin on the respiratory metabolism of slices
of rat mammarj' glands. (From J. H. Balmain, C. P.
Cox, S J. Folley and M. L. McNaught, J. Endocrinol., 11, 269-276, 1954.)
 
portion of the milk secreted by the alveohir
cells in the intervals between suckling or
milking remains within the alveoli and the
fine ducts. Only a small portion passes into
the larger ducts and cisterns or sinuses from
which it can be immediately removed by
suckling, milking, or cannulation; its removal requires no maternal participation
and has been termed passive withdrawal
(see Cowie, Folley, Cross, Harris, Jacobsohn and Richardson, 1951, and page 612).
The larger portion of the milk in the alveoli
and fine ducts becomes available only with
the active participation of the mother and
requires the reflex contraction of special cells
(see page 623) surrounding the alveoli in response to the milking or suckling stimulus
to eject the milk from the alveoli and fine
ducts into the cistern and sinuses of the
gland. The occurrence of this reflex has long
been known, although its true nature has
only recently been generally recognized.^
 
-H. K. Waller {Clinical Slujlits un Lnrfallon,
London: Heinemann, 1938), and later one of us
(S. J. Folley, Physiology and Biochemistry of Lactation, London and Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd,
1956) have drawn attention to the fact that the
theme of the "milk-ejection reflex" was the inspiration of a paiming by II Tintoretto entitled "The
Origin of the Milky Way" which hangs in the
 
 
 
111 the past it has been termed the "draught"
in lactating women (see Isbister, 1954) and
the "let-down" of milk in the cow. The
latter term is particularly misleading since
it implies the release of some restraint,
whereas there is, in fact, an active and
forceful expulsion of milk from the alveoli
and we have, therefore, urged that this term
be no longer used in scientific literature and
that it be replaced by the term "milk ejection" (Folley, 1947; Cowie, Folley, Cross,
Harris, Jacobsohn and Richardson, 1951),
a term, incidentally, which was used by
Gaines in 1915 in his classical researches
on the phenomenon (see below j.
 
The true nature of the milk removal process was for many years not recognized,
probably because it was assumed that the
mammary gland could not contain all the
milk obtainable at a milking, and this assumption made it necessary to postulate a
very active secretion of milk during suckling
or milking. Even as late as 1926 two phases
of milk secretion were described in the cow ;
the first phase was one of slow secretion
occurring between milkings, the second
phase was one of very active secretion occurring in response to the milking stimulus
when a volume of milk about equal to that
produced in the first phase was secreted in
a matter of a few minutes (Zietzschmann,
1926). That some physiologic mechanism
 
National Gallery, London. Both authors point out
tliat the picture shows evidence of a considerable
intuiti^■e understanding of the physiologic nature
of the milk-ejection reflex. Thus, it illustrates, first,
that the application of the suckling stimulus causes
a considerable increase in intranianiinai >• jiressure
resulting, in this instance, in a sjnni cii' milk from
the nipples, and second, that ihv Muklmg stimulus
applied to one nipple gives rise to a systemic rather
than a localized effect, for the milk is forcibly
ejected from the suckled and unsuckled breasts
ahke. The same theme was also treatetl by Rubens
in a picture called "The Birth of the Milky Way"
which can be seen in the Prado Museum, Madrid.
This picture differs from Tintoretto's in one important detail, the stream of milk coming only from
one breast.
 
The forcible ejection of milk from the nipple has
doubtless been the subject of many statues. An example known to the authors is the fountain in the
Sfiuare at Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles, California. The center piece of this fountain has a nude
female torso at each of its four corners from whose
nipples spurt streams of water.
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
621
 
 
 
was involved in the discharge of preformed
milk from the mammary gland had, however, been recognized. Schafer (1898) considered that milk discharge was aided by
contraction of plain muscle w^ithin the
gland and pressure on the alveoli produced
by vasodilation.
 
The first full investigation of the physiology of milk removal was that by Gaines
in 1915. Unfortunately, his remarkably accurate observations and perspicacious
conclusions aroused little general interest
and were almost wholly overlooked for
more than quarter of a century. It is now
of interest to recall the more important of
Gaines' observations. First, he made a clear
distinction between milk ejection and milk
secretion — "Milk secretion, in the sense
of the formation of the milk constituents,
is one thing; the ejection of the milk from
the gland after it is formed is quite another
thing. The one is probably continuous; the
other, certainly discontinuous." Secondly,
he concluded that "Nursing, milking and the
insertion of a cannula in the teat, excite a
reflex contraction of the gland musculature
and expression of milk. There is a latent
period of 35 to 65 seconds. . . . Removal of
milk from the gland is dependent on this
reflex, and it may be completely inhibited
l)y anaesthesia. The conduction in the reflex
arc is dependent upon the psychic condition
of the mother." He also observed that the
increased flow of milk following the latent
period after stimulation was associated wath
a steep rise in pressure within the gland
cistern and that the reflex could be conditioned. Thirdly, with reference to the gland
capacity, he reported that "the indication
is that practically the entire quantity of
milk obtained at any one time is present
as such in the udder at the beginning of
milking." Lastl3^ he confirmed earlier observations that injections of posterior pituitary extract caused a flow of milk in the
lactating animal and he postulated that
"pituitrin has a muscular action on the active mammary gland causing a constriction
of the milk ducts and alveoli with a consequent expression of milk. This action
holds, also, on the excised gland in the
absence of any true secretory action." Gaines
regarded the milk-ejection reflex as a
 
 
 
l)urely neural arc although he emphasized
that the effect was "very similar to that
produced by pituitrin." All that is required
to bring these views of milk ejection in line
with present day concepts is to recognize
that the reflex arc is neurohormonal in character, the efferent component of which is
a hormone released from the neurohypophysis. When Gaines was carrying out these
experiments hardly anything was known of
neuro-endocrine relationships and there was
no background of knowledge to lead anyone
to conceive that the effects of the posterior
pituitary extract might represent a physiologic rather than a pharmacologic effect.
In 1930 Turner and Slaughter hinted at
a possible physiologic role of the posterior
pituitary in milk ejection and, as we have
noted (page 610), Gomez (1939) used posterior pituitary extract in replacement therapy given to hypophysectomized lactating
rats. It was not until 1941, however, that
the role of the posterior pituitary in milk
ejection was seriously postulated by Ely
and Petersen (1941) who, having shown in
the cow that milk ejection occurred in the
mammary gland to which all efferent nerve
fibers had been cut, suggested that the reflex
was neurohormonal, the hormonal component being derived from the posterior pituitary, and being, in all likelihood, oxytocin.
The neurohormonal theory of Ely and Petersen and the subsequent work of Petersen and
his colleagues (see reviews by Petersen,
1948; and Harris, 1958), unlike the earlier
work of Gaines, aroused wide interest and its
practical applications permitted rationalization of milking techniques in the cowshed
thereby improving milk yields. Despite the
attractiveness of the concept, however, a
further 10 years were to elapse before unequivocal evidence of the correctness of the
theory was forthcoming and this evidence
we shall now briefly review.
 
B. ROLE OF THE NEUROHYPOPHYSIS
 
The first reliable indication that the
suckling or milking stimulus does in fact
cause an outpouring of neurohypophyseal
hormones were the observations that inhibition of diuresis occurred following the
application of the milking or suckling
stimulus (Cross, 1950; Peeters and Cous
 
 
622
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
sens, 1950; Kalliala and Karvoncn, 1951;
Kalliala, Karvonen and Leppanen, 1952).
It was also shown that electrical stimulation
of the nerve paths to the posterior pituitary
resulted in milk ejection (Cross and Harris,
1950, 1952; Andersson, 1951a, b, c; Popovich, 1958 », and that when lesions were
placed in these tracts the milk-ejection reflex was abolished (Cross and Harris, 1952) .
 
Further evidence was adduced when it
was found that removal of the posterior
pituitary immediately abolished the milkejection reflex in the lactating rat, and that
it was necessary to inject such animals several times a day with oxytocin if their litters
were to be reared (Cowie, quoted by Folley,
1952b). Earlier workers had claimed that
the posterior lolie was not essential for lactation (Smith, 1932; Houssay, 1935), but an
explanation of these discordant conclusions
was provided when it was shown that the
impairment of the reflex after removal of
the posterior lobe is not permanent and that
the reflex re-establishes itself after some
weeks, presumably because the remaining
portions of the neurohypophysis take over
the functions of the posterior lobe (Benson
and Cowie, 1956). That the neurohypophysis participates in milk ejection would now
appear to be beyond question.
 
The discovery of the role of the neurohypophyseal hormones in milk ejection has
provided an explanation of some longstanding clinical observations on what has been
termed the natural "sympathy" between
the uterus and the breasts. Thus the beneficial effects of the suckling stimulus and the
occurrence of the "draught" {i.e., milk ejection) in causing uterine contraction after
parturition were emphasized over a century
ago by both Smith (1844) and Patcrson
(1844). 0})servations have also been made
on the I'cciprocal process of stimuli arising
from the reproductive organs apparently
causing milk ejection. In domestic animals
two such examples were mentioned by Martiny (1871). According to Herodotus, the
Scythians milk their mares thus: "They
take l)lowpipes of bone, very like flutes, and
put them into the genitals of the mares and
blow with their mouths, others milk. And
they say that the I'cason why thoy do so is
this, that when the marc's \-cins ai'c filled
 
 
 
with air, the udder cometh down" (translation by Powell, 1949). Kolbe (1727) described a similar procedure of blowing air
into the vagina used by the Hottentots when
milking cows which were normally suckled
by calves and in which, presumably, milk
ejection did not occur in response to hand
nnlking. A drawing depicting this procedure
from Kolbe's book was recently published in
the Ciba Zeitschrift (No. 84^ 1957) along
with a photograph of African natives still
using the method!-^
 
In 1839, Busch described the occurrence
of milk ejection, the milk actually spurting
from the nipple, in a lactating woman during coitus. A satisfactory explanation of
these curious observations is now forthcoming. Harris (1947) suggested that coitus
might cause the liberation of oxytocin from
the neurohypophysis and, within the next
few years it was demonstrated that stimulation of the reproductive organs evoked milk
ejection in the cow (Hays and VanDemark.
1953) and reports confirmatory of Busch's
long forgotten observations also appeared
(Harris and Pickles, 1953; Campliell and
Petersen, 1953).^
 
C. MILK-EJECTIOX HORMONE
 
There is much circumstantial evidence
to confirm the belief that the milk-ejection
hormone is oxytocin (see Cowie and Policy.
1957). Attemi)ts, however, to demonstrate
oxytocin in the blood after application of
the milking stimulus have given rather inconclusive results. Early claims that the
hormone could be demonstrated in blood are
 
^ A similar drawing, also apparently from Kolbe '.•<
book, has been used in the campaign for clean milk
production! Heineman (1919) discussing sanitary
l^recautions in the cowshed says of the picture
"another picture shows a nude Hottentot milking
a cow while another one is liolding the tail of the
cow to prevent its dropping into the open pail.
This ])icture might well serve as a model to some
modern producers who do not take such precautions
and calmly lift the tail out of the milk with their
hands wlicn it hnjipens to switch into the pail."
 
' W(- h;i\(' hi'cii able to find only one painting
illustrating this plienomenon. It is a picture by a
contemporary French painter, Andre Masson, entitled "Le Viol" and painted in 1939. It illustrates
in Masson 's personal idiom the act of rape and it is
interesting to note that a stream of milk is depicted
as being I'orcibly (\iected from one breast of the
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
623
 
 
 
of doiil)tful validity, because the milk-ejection effect observed may have been due to
5-hydroxytryptamine (see Linzell, 1955),
and more recent attempts to assay the level
of oxytocin in the blood have not been
entirely satisfactory or conclusive. There
seem to be other polypeptide substances in
blood which possess oxytocic activity, although the thiogly collate inactivation test
indicates that these are different from oxytocin (Robertson and Hawker, 1957), and
no marked changes in the blood oxytocic
activity associated with suckling or milking
have been detected (Hawker and Roberts,
1957; Hawker, 1958). However, it would
seem doubtful whether the present assay
techniques are sufficiently sensitive and specific to detect changes in blood oxytocin of
the magnitude likely to be associated with
milking or suckling. In the lactating cow
the intravenous injection of 0.05 to 2.0 I.U.
oxytocin will cause milk ejection (Bilek and
.Tanovsk>% 1956; Donker, 1958), in the goat
0.01 to 1 I.U. (Cowie, cited by Folley,
1952b; Denamur and Martinet, 1953), in
the sow 0.2 to 1.0 I.U. (Braude, 1954; Whittlestone, 1954; Cross, Goodwin and Silver,
1958) in the rabbit 0.05 I.U. (Cross, 1955b) ,
and in the lactating woman 0.01 I.U. (Beller, Krumholz and Zeininger, 1958) . If these
(loses give any indication of the quantity
of endogenous oxytocin released, then the
concentration in the peripheral blood is
likely to be very small ; indeed Cross, Goodwin and Silver (1958) calculated that a
threshold dose (10 mU.) of oxytocin in
the sow w^ould give a plasma concentration
of about 1 (U,U. per ml, and until it can be
shown that the assay techniques are sufficiently sensitive to detect the changes
in oxytocin concentration produced by intravenous injections of "physiologic" doses
of oxytocin, no great reliance can be placed
on the results of assays.
 
Attempts have been made to demonstrate
alterations in the hormone content of the
neural lobe following the suckling or milking stimulus. In the goat and cow no detectable changes have been reported, but in
the smaller species (dog, cat, rat, guinea
pig) decreases have been described (see
Cowie and Folley, 1957). It is likely that in
many species the amount released is small
 
 
 
relative to the total hormone content of the
gland and within the limits of error of the
 
assay.
 
D. EFFECTOR CONTRACTILE MECHANISM OF
THE MAMMARY GLAND
 
In the last 10 years considerable research
has been devoted to a study of the effector
contractile tissue in the mammary gland;
this work has recently been reviewed in
some detail (see Folley, 1956) and only the
salient features need be mentioned here.
 
Although earlier histologists had from
time to time figured myoepithelial or "basket" cells in close association with the mammary alveoli, the morphology and distribution of the cells remained vague until
Richardson (1949) published a detailed and
illuminating description (Fig. 10.18). His
beautiful observations have since been confirmed and supplemented by Linzell (1952)
and Silver (1954). Richardson also disposed
of the oft repeated view that smooth-muscle fibers around the alveoli played an iml)ortant role in milk ejection. From a study
of the general orientation of the myoepithelial cells and the precise relationship between
these cells and the folds in the secretory epithelium from contracted glands, Richardson
considered it reasonable to regard the myoepithelium as the contractile tissue in the
mammary gland which responds to oxytocin
causing contraction of the alveoli and widening of the ducts. The evidence adduced by
Richardson, although good, was nevertheless circumstantial, and it was desirable that
attempts be made to visualize the contraction of the myoepithelial cells in response to
oxj^tocin. In this connection it is of interest
to recall that Gaines (1915) reported that
when a drop of pituitrin was placed on the
cut surface of the mammary gland from a
lactating guinea pig, minute white dots appeared within a few seconds beneath the
pituitrin and slowly swelled to tiny milky
rivulets streaming beautifully through the
clear liquid. Much later the local effects of
posterior pituitary extract on the mammary
gland were studied by Zaks (1951) in the
living mouse, when it was reported that it
caused contraction of the alveoli and expansion of the ducts. These observations
were considerablv extended bv Linzell
 
 
 
624
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.18. Surface view of contracted alveoli (of goat) showing myoepithelial cells.
(Courtesy of K. C. Richardson.)
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.19. Recording of pressure changes witliin
a galactophore of a forcibly restrained lactating
rabbit. The litter was allowed to suckle the noncannulated mammary glands but obtained only
8 gm. milk, there being only a slight rise in the
milk pressure probably associated with a slight
contraction of the myoepithelium in response to
mechanical stimulation. When 5 mU. oxytocin were
injected (5P) there was a rapid milk ejection
response which could be inhibited by injecting 1
yug. adrenaline (lA) just before the oxytocin. After
a few minutes 5 mU. oxytocin were again effective
and the litter obtained 44 gm. milk when they were
allowed to suckle. A more complete milk ejection
respon.so was obtained with 50 mU. oxytocin (50P)
and the young obtained a further 59 gm. milk.
Anesthesia did not enhance the milk-ejection response to 50 mU. oxytocin. During emotional inhibition of milk ejection the mammary gland thus
remains responsive to oxytocin. (From B. A. Cross,
J. Endocrinol., 12, 29-37, 1955.)
 
 
 
(19ooi who studied the local effects of
liighly purified oxytocin and vasopressin
and a number of other drugs on the mammnry gland, and confirmed that oxytocin
and vasopressin produced alveolar contraction and widening of the ducts. Although in
these experiments the myoepithelial cells
themselves could not be visualized, nevertheless the effects observed leave little
doubt that the effector mechanism was the
niyoei)ithelium.
 
The myoepithelium is responsive to stimuli other than those arising from the presence of neurohypophyseal hormones in the
blood inasmuch as partial milk ejection
may occur in response to local mechanical
stimulation of the mammary gland (Cross,
1954; Yokoyama, 1956; see also Fig. 10.191.
These observations may explain the recent
reports by Tverskoi (1958) and Denamuiand Martinet (1959a, b) that milk yields
can be maintained in goats in the absence of
the milk-ejection reflex.
 
E. INHIBITION OF MILK EJECTION
 
(laines (1915) stressed that the conduction in the milk-ejection reflex pathway was
dei)endent on the psychic condition of the
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
625
 
 
 
mother. Many years later Ely and Petersen
(1941) confirmed this and, having shown
that injections of adrenaline blocked the
milk-ejection reflex, postulated that the increased blood level of adrenaline in emotionally disturbed cows interfered with the
action of oxytocin. In the last few years, the
nature of the inhibitory mechanisms has
been more fully investigated. Braude and
Mitchell (1952) showed in the sow that
adrenaline exerts at least part of its inhibitory effect at the level of the mammary
gland and that, whereas the injection of
adrenaline before the injection of oxytocin
blocked milk ejection, less inhibition occurred if both were given together. Cross
(1953, 1955a) confirmed these observations
in the rabbit and demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the posterior hypothalamus (sympathetic centers) inhibited the
milk-ejection response to injected oxytocin,
an effect which was abolished after adrenalectomy. Cross concluded from his experiments that any central stimulation causing
sympathetico-adrenal activity inhibits the
milk-ejection response and that the effect
appears to depend on a constriction of the
mammary blood vessels resulting from the
release of adrenaline and excitation of the
sympathetic fibers to the mammary glands.
Whereas such a mechanism could account
for the emotional disturbance of the reflex.
Cross was careful to point out that there
was no direct proof that this was so and he
later demonstrated (Cross, 1955b) that in
rabbits in which emotional inhibition of
milk ejection was present, milk ejection
could be effected by the injection of oxytocin (Fig. 10.19). In such cases there was
clearly no peripheral inhibitory effect of
milk ejection. Cross concluded that the main
factor in emotional disturbance of the milkejection reflex is a partial or complete inhibition of oxytocin release from the posterior pituitary gland. At present nothing is
known of the nature of this central inhibitory mechanism.^
 
^ A curious form of the suckling stimulus is illustrated in carvings which siumount the main door
of the church of Sainte Croix in Bordeaux. The
carvings illustrate penances prescribed for wrong
doers who have committed one of the seven deadly
sins. The penance for indulgence in the sin of luxiu y
is the application to the breasts of serpents or toads.
 
 
 
Inhibition of the milk ejection reflex may
also occur when the mammary gland becomes engorged with secretion to such an
extent that the capillary circulation is so reduced that oxytocin can no longer reach the
myoepithelium (Cross and Silver, 1956;
Cross, Goodwin and Silver, 1958).
 
F. NEURAL PATHWAYS OF THE
MILK-EJECTION REFLEX
 
Interpretation of some of the earlier
studies on neural pathways is difficult because investigators did not realize that, although the milk ejection reflex normally
occurs in response to the suckling stimulus,
it can become conditioned and can then occur in response to visual or auditory stimuli
associated with the act of nursing. In such
cases an apparent lack of effect on milk
ejection of section of nerves or nerve tracts
would not necessarily imply that the nerves
normally carrying the stimuli arising from
the suckling had not been cut. Studies on
the effects of hemisection of the spinal cord
in a few goats led Tsakhaev (1953) to the
conclusion that the apparent pathway used
by the milk-ejection stimulus was uncrossed. More recently pathways within the
spinal cord have been investigated by Eayrs
and Baddeley (1956) who found inter alia
that lactation in the rat was inhibited by
lesions to the lateral funiculi, and by section
of the dorsal roots of nerves supplying the
segments in which the suckled nipples were
situated. With few exceptions hemisection
of the spinal cord abolished lactation when
the only nipples available for suckling
were on the same side as the lesion, but not
when the contralateral nipples were available. It was concluded that the pathway
used by the suckling stimulus enters the
central nervous system by the dorsal routes
and ascends the cord deep in the lateral
funiculus of the same side. Inasmuch as in
these experiments lactation was assessed
from the growth curve of the pups, it is not
always clear whether the failure of lactation
was due to a cessation of milk secretion or to
loss of the milk-ejection reflex. It was noted,
however, that injections of oxytocin in some
 
It may be questioned whether this unusual form of
the suckling stimulus would not inhibit rather than
evoke the milk-ejection reflex.
 
 
 
626
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
cases restored lactation for up to 2 days
after it had ceased as a result of lesions of
the cord which would suggest a primary
interference with milk ejection. In the goat,
Andersson (1951b) considered that stimuli may reach the hypothalamus by way of
the medial lemniscus in the medulla, but
little definite information is available concerning the pathways used by the stimuli
to reach the hypothalamus and there is here
scope for further investigations. (For further discussion see review by Cross, 1960.)
From the hyopthalamus there is little doubt
that the route to the posterior lobe is by
way of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract
which receives nerve fibers from the cells in
the hypothalamic nuclei, and in the main
from the paraventricular and supra-optic
nuclei. It was generally assumed that the
posterior lobe hormones were secreted in
the posterior lobe from the pituicytes in response to stimuli passing down the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract. In the last decade, however, much evidence has come to
light which suggests that the so-called posterior lobe hormones are in fact elaborated
in the cells of the hypothalamic nuclei and
are then transported down the axones as a
neurosecretion and stored in the posterior
lobe (see Scharrer and Scharrer, 1954).
 
Before leaving the neural pathways of the
milk-ejection reflex, brief reference must be
made to the recent discovery by Soviet physiologists that there is also a purely nervous
reflex (segmental in nature) involved in the
ejection of milk. It is said that within a few
seconds of the application of the milking
stimulus, reflex contraction of the smooth
muscle in the mammary ducts occurs, causing a flow of milk from the ducts into the
cistern. This reflex contraction of the smooth
muscle is also believed to occur in response
to stimuli arising within the gland between
milkings thus aiding the redistribution of
milk in the udder. This purely nervous reflex
is stated to occur some 30 to 60 seconds before the reflex ejection of milk from the alveoli by oxytocin (for further details sec
review by Baryshnikov, 1957). The conditioned reflexes associated with suckling and
milking have been the subject of numerous
investigations l)y Grachev (see Grachev,
 
 
 
1953, 1958) ; these and other Russian researches into the motor apparatus of the udder have been fully reviewed by Zaks
(1958).
 
G. MECHANISM OF SUCKLING
 
In the past, various theories have been
put forward as to how the suckling obtains
milk from its mother's mammary gland. In
the human infant some considered that the
lips formed an airtight seal around the nipple and areola thus allowing the child to
suck, whereas others believed that compression of the lacteal sinuses between the gums
aided the expulsion of the milk (see Ardran,
Kemp and Lind, 1958a, b for review) . In the
calf the act of suckling was studied by
Krzywanek and Briiggemann (1930) who
described how the base of the teat was
pinched off between upper and lower jaws
and the teat compressed from its base towards its tip by a stripping action of the
tongue. Smith and Petersen (1945) on the
other hand, concluded that the calf wrapped
its tongue round the teat and obtained milk
by suction.
 
Much misunderstanding about the nature
of the act of suckling has arisen because the
occurrence of milk ejection was overlooked
or its significance was not appreciated. As a
result, the idea became prevalent that success or failure in obtaining milk could be
reckoned solely in terms of the power behind
the baby's suction. This erroneous concept
was vigorously attacked by Waller (1938),
who pointed out that once the "draught"
had occurred the milk at times flowed so
freely from the breast that the baby had to
break off and turn its head to avoid choking.
A similar observation had been made by Sir
Astley Cooper in 1840 who in describing the
"draught" in nursing women wrote, "If the
nipple be not immediately caught by the
child, the milk escapes from it, and the child
when it receives the nipple is almost choked
l)y the rapid and abundant flow of the fluid;
if it lets go its hold, the milk spurts into the
infant's eyes." An even earlier comment was
made by Soranus, a writer on paediatrics in
the cai'ly half of the second century A.D.,
that it was unwise to allow the infant to fall
asleep at the breast since the milk some
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
627
 
 
 
times flowed without suckling and the infant
choked. It must thus be emphasized that
once milk ejection has occurred the milk in
the gland cisterns or sinuses is under considerable pressure and the suckling has
merely to overcome the resistance of the
sphincters in the nipple or teat to obtain the
milk.
 
Recently the use of cineradiograjihy has
allowed a more accurate analysis of the
mechanism of suckling. Studies by Ardran,
Kemp and Lind (1958b) have shown that
the human infant sucks the nipple to the
back of the mouth and forms a "teat" from
the mother's breast; when the jaw is raised
this teat is compressed between the upper
gum and the tip of the tongue resting on
the lower gum, the tongue is then applied
to the lower surface of the "teat" from before backwards pressing it against the hard
palate. Suction may assist the flow of milk
so expressed from the nipple, but is only of
secondary importance. Studies by Ardran,
Cowie and Kemp (1957, 1958) in the goat
have extended these observations, because
it was possible in this species to follow the
withdrawal, from the udder, of milk made
radiopaque with barium sulfate. As with
the infant, the neck of the teat was obliterated between the tongue and the palate of
the kid and the contents of the teat sinus
were displaced into the mouth cavity by a
suitable movement of the tongue; while
the first mouthful w^as being displaced into
the pharynx, the jaw and tongue were lowered to allow the refilling of the teat sinus.
The normal method of obtaining milk is,
therefore, for the suckling to occlude the
neck of the teat and then to expel the contents of the teat sinus by exerting positive
pressure on the teat (120 mm. Hg in the
goat), so forcing the contents through the
teat canal or nipple orifices into the mouth
cavity, a process which may be aided by
negative pressure created at the tip of the
teat. Human infants, goat kids, and calves
can obtain milk through rubber teats by
suction alone provided the orifice is large
enough (see Krzywanek and Briiggemann,
1930; Martyugin, 1944; Ardran, Kemp and
Lind, 1958a) , but this procedure occurs only
w^hen the structure of the rubber teat is such
that the suckling is unable to ol)literate the
 
 
 
neck of the teat and cannot, therefore, strip
the contents of the teat by positive pressure.
 
V. Relation between the Reflexes Concerned in the Maintenance of Milk
Secretion and Milk Ejection
 
We have seen that the suckling or milking stimulus is responsible for initiating the
reflex concerned wath the maintenance of
milk secretion and also the milk-ejection reflex; the question now arises as to what extent their arcs share common paths. It
would seem logical to assume that a common
path to the hypothalamus exists and parts
of this, as we have seen, have been partially
elucidated. Although the hypothalamo-hypophyseal nerve tracts provide an obvious
link between hypothalamus and the posterior lobe, the connections between the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary are still
a matter of some controversy. The possible
avenues of communication to the anterior
lobe are neural and vascular and these may
be subdivided into central and peripheral
neural connections and into portal and systemic vascular connections. The various experimental findings relating to these routes
have recently been critically discussed by
Sayers, Redgate and Royce (1958), and by
Greep and Everett in their chapters in this
book, and it is clear that at present no definite conclusions can be reached concerning
their relative importance. So far as the specific question of maintenance of milk secretion is concerned, the experiments of Harris
and Jacobsohn (1952), which showed that
pituitary grafts maintained lactation when
implanted adjacent to the median eminence
in hypophysectomized rats, were consistent
with the existence of a hormonal transmitter, passing by w^ay of the hypophyseal portal system. On the other hand, transplantation studies by Desclin (1950, 1956) and
Everett ( 1954, 1956) have revealed that in
the rat the anterior lobe can spontaneously
secrete prolactin in situations remote from
the median eminence, and Donovan and van
der Werff ten Bosch (1957) have reported
that milk secretion continued in rabbits in
wiiich the pituitary portal vessels had been
completely destroyed, although there was,
however, an inferred change in milk composition. Evidence has recentlv been obtained
 
 
 
628
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
which has confirmed that pituitary tissue
grafted under the kidney capsule in rats apparently secretes prolactin and will give
slight maintenance of milk secretion in hypophysectomized animals, this maintenance
being considerably enhanced if ACTH or
STH is also administered (Cowie, Tindal
and Benson, 1960). It would thus seem
that the cells of the anterior lobe have
the ability when isolated from the hypophyseal portal system to secrete prolactin,
but the experiments cited above allow no
conclusions to be drawn regarding the route
by which the galactopoietic function of the
pituitary is normally controlled.
 
Recent reports that bilateral cervical
sympathectomy in the lactating goat causes
a fall in the milk yield suggest that the galactopoietic functions of the anterior lobe
may be influenced by the sympathetic nervous system (Tsakhaev, 1959; Tverskoy,
1960) . Declines in milk yield also occur after
section of the pituitary stalk in the goat, but
it is not clear in such cases whether the effects are due to the interruption of nervous
or vascular pathways within the stalk
(Tsakhaev, 1959; Tverskoy, 1960). In these
studies on stalk section the cut ends of the
pituitary stalk were not separated by a plastic plate, so some restoration of the hyl^ophyseal portal system may have occurred.
Further experiments on the effects of section of the pituitary stalk on lactation in
which restoration of the hypophyseal portal
is prevented by the insertion of a plate are
being conducted in our laboratory and also
in the Soviet Union. Another possible mode
of communication between hypothalamus
and anterior pituitary has been investigated
by Benson and Folley (1956, 1957a, b) who
have suggested that the oxytocin released
from the neurohypophysis in response to the
suckling stimulus may directly act on the
cells of the anterior lobe and stimulate the
release of the galactopoietic complex. The
careful anatomic researches of Landsmeer
(1951), Daniel and Prichard (1956, 1957,
1958) and Jewell (1956) have demonstrated
in several species the existence of direct
vascular connections from the neurohylK)physis to the anterior lobe so that the
neurohypophyseal hormones liberated into
the blood stream would in fact be carried
 
 
 
direct to the anterior pituitary cells in very
high concentrations. Clearly such a concept
would provide a simple explanation of how
the hormonal integration, coordination, and
maintenance of mammary function is
achieved. It has already been noted (see
page 607) that a connection between milk
ejection and the onset of copious lactation
has been suggested. There is considerable
evidence that oxytocin is liberated during
parturition in sufficient quantities to cause
contraction of the alveoli and milk ejection
(see Harris, 1955; Cross, 1958; Cross, Goodwin and Silver, 1958) ; if, therefore, oxytocin
can release the lactogenic and galatopoietic
complexes from the anterior pituitary, a
simple explanation of the mechanism triggering off the onset of copious milk secretion, before the application of the milking
stimulus, is available.
 
We must now consider what experimental
evidence there is to support this rather attractive theory. First, Benson and Folley
(1956, 1957a, b) demonstrated that regular
injections of oxytocin can retard mammary
regression after weaning in a similar fashion to injections of prolactin (see page
610), and they have shown that the presence of the pituitary is essential for oxytocin
to elicit this effect. Synthetic oxytocin
proved equally effective, thus discounting
the possibility of a contaminant in natural
oxytocin being concerned (Fig. 10.20) . These
experiments have so far only been carried
out in rats, but they strongly suggest that
oxytocin can elicit the secretion of prolactin.
In agreement with this concept are several
observations that regular injections of oxytocin have galactopoietic effects in lactating
cows and that oxytocin has luteotrophic effects in rats (see review by Benson, Cowie
and Tindal, 1958) . There is, moreover, some
evidence that the suckling stimulus may
cause the release of vasopressin or the antidiuretic hormone (ADH) from the neurohypoi)hysis (see page 621), and it has been
shown that ADH or some material closely
associated with it may cause the secretion of
ACTH from the anterior lobe (see review
by Benson, Cowie and Tindal, 1958) ; so
there are some grounds for supposing that
the hormones of the posterior lobe evoke
the secretion of several components of the
 
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.20. Sections from abdominal mammary gland of rats from wliuli Ur- pups were
removed on the fourth day of lactation and which received thereafter for 9 daj^s: A. LO
I.U. synthetic oxytocin three times daily. B. Saline daily. Note the maintenance of gland
structure in A. (Courtesy of Dr. G. K. Benson.)
 
 
 
galactopoietic complex from the anterior
lobe. It was hoped to gain further evidence
on this point by studies on hypophysectomized rats bearing pituitary homografts
under the kidney capsule (see Benson,
Cowie, Folley and Tindal, 1959) . As already
noted, such grafts secrete prolactin and will
give a slight maintenance of milk secretion,
but these grafts will not maintain normal
milk secretion even when such animals are
injected with oxytocin and ADH (Cowie,
Tindal and Benson, 1960). It must, therefore, be assumed that if these posterior
pituitary hormones are responsible for the
release of the galactopoietic complex, some
other hypothalamic factor is also necessary
to maintain the anterior lobe in a responsive
condition. Everett (1956) suggested that
the hypothalamus by way of its neurovascular connections with the anterior lobe,
normally exerts a partial inhibitory effect on
prolactin secretion. It may thus be that
when the anterior lobe is removed from
hypothalamic influence, the synthetic activities of its cells are centered on prolactin
 
 
 
production to the detriment of the other
components of the galactopoietic complex,
so that these are no longer available for release in response to neurohypophyseal hormones. There is need, however, for experimentation in other species.
 
The theory that the release of the galactopoietic complex is effected by the hormones of the posterior lobe secreted in response to the suckling stimulus is attractive
in that it appears to afford a simple explanation of the hormonal integration of mammary function, but it must be pointed out
that the observations on the maintenance of
mammary structure after weaning by injections of oxytocin do not prove that prolactin
or the galactopoietic complex is released in
response to oxytocin under normal conditions of milking or suckling, and more research, particularly in species other than the
rat, is necessary. Grosvenor and Turner
(1958a) injected oxytocin into anesthetized
lactating rats and, on the basis of assays of
the pituitary content of prolactin, considered
that oxytocin caused no significant release of
 
 
 
630
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
prolactin. They had previously shown that
there was an immediate fall in the pituitary
content of prolactin after nursing (Grosvcnor and Turner, 1957b) and therefore
concluded that their findings were contrary
to the hypothesis that oxytocin is a hormonal link in the discharge of prolactin.
This, however, cannot be regarded as conclusive because of the difficulties of relating
pituitary content of a hormone to blood
levels of the hormone and also the difficulty
of determining the physiologic dose of oxytocin, for if the oxytocin is carried directly
from the neurohypophysis into the anterior
lobe, then the concentration in the blood
reaching the anterior lobe may be relatively
great (see also Cowie and Folley, 1957).
 
Other theories of the reflex maintenance
of milk secretion have been put forward. In
1953 Tverskoi, observing that repeated injections of oxytocin were galactopoietic in
the goat, suggested that alveolar contraction
stimulated sensory nerve endings in the
alveolar walls which reflcxly caused the release of prolactin. It is obvious that his
observations could be explained on the basis
of the Benson-Folley theory of direct pituitary stimulation by oxytocin. This possibility was indeed considered by Tverskoi.
but rejected on the grounds that oxytocin
did not affect the prolactin content of the
pituitary (Meites and Turner, 1948). In
1957 Tverskoi found it necessary to revise
his theory, having found that full lactation
could be maintained in the goat after complete and repeated denervation of the udder
provided oxytocin was regularly given to
evoke milk ejection. He then suggested that
alveolar contraction stimulates the synthetic activities of the mammary epithelium
causing an uptake of prolactin from the
blood, the fall in the blood prolactin level
then stimulating the further production of
prolactin by the anterior lobe. Although
these latter observations of Tverskoi might
again be explained on the basis of direct
pituitary stimulation by exogenous oxytocin, more recent studies on goats have
cast doubts on the validity of such an explanation. Tverskoi (1958) and Denannir
and Martinet (1959a, b, 1960) have shown
that lactating goats will continue to lactate,
giving nonnal or onlv niodcratelv reduced
 
 
 
milk yields after section of all nervous connections between the udder and brain (cord
section, radicotomy, bilateral sympathectomy) and without their receiving oxytocin
and in the absence of conditioned milkejection reflexes. It has already been noted
that milk ejection in such animals may result from mechanical stimulation of the
myoepithelial cells by udder massage (see
page 624) , but the release of the galactopoietic complex from the anterior pituitary
would seem in these goats to have been independent of neurohormonal reflex activities. AVhether in such animals the release is
spontaneous or dependent on the level of
hormones in the blood as suggested by
Tverskoi (1957) is a matter for further research.
 
VI. Pharmacologic Blockade of the Reflexes Concerned in the Maintenance
of Milk Secretion and Milk Ejection
 
Various attempts have been made to
investigate the mechanism controlling release of anterior pituitary hormones by the
use of dibenamine, atropine, and other
drugs. In reviewing such experiments, Harris
(1955) concluded that there was no convincing evidence of the participation of
adrenergic, cholinergic, or histaminergic
agents in the control of gonadotrophic and
adrenocorticotrophic hormone release. Recently Grosvenor and Turner (1957a) reported that various ergot alkaloids, dibenamine, and atropine blocked milk ejection
in the rat; the ergot alkaloids doing so
within 10 minutes of administration, the
atropine and dibenamine within 2 to 4 hours.
Inasmuch as milk ejection occurred in response to exogenous oxytocin, it was concluded that these drugs acted centrally, and
the presence of adrenergic and cholinergic
links in the neurohormone arc was postulated to be responsible for the discharge of
oxytocin. Later, on the basis of assays of
jntuitary prolactin after nursing in druginjected lactating rats, it was suggested
that cholinergic and adrenergic links are
iinohcd in the reflex resi)onsible for prolactin release (Grosvenor and Turner,
1958a). Ergot alkaloids, however, administered in our laboratory to lactating rats had
no significant effect on the lactational per
 
 
MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
631
 
 
 
fonnance as judged by the growth of the
litters in comparison with the growth of
litters of pair-fed control rats, showing that
apparent inhibitory effects of the alkaloids
on lactation were due to depressed food intake of the mothers (Tindal, 1956a). Inasmuch as growth of the litter depends on
efficient milk secretion and milk ejection,
Tindal's observations seem to throw doubt
on the importance of the adrenergic link in
these reflexes. On the other hand, IVIeites
(1959) has reported that adrenaline and
acetylcholine can induce or maintain mammary development and milk secretion in
suitably prepared rats, observations which
could be interpreted as supporting the presence of adrenergic and cholinergic links as
postulated by Grosvenor and Turner
(1958a).
 
There have been clinical reports of women developing galactorrhoea after treatment with trancjuilizing drugs {e.g., Sulman
and Winnik, 1956; Marshall and Leiberman, 1956; Piatt and Sears, 19561 and interesting observations have recently ap
 
 
peared on the lactogenic effects of reserpine
in animals. Milk secretion has been initiated
both in virgin rabbits after suitable estrogen
priming and in the pseudopregnant rabbit
by reserpine (Sawyer, 1957; Meites, 1957a).
On the other hand, in our laboratory Tindal
(1956b, 1958) had been unable to detect
any mammogenic or lactogenic effects with
chlorpromazine or reserpine in rabbits
(Dutch breed), rats, or goats, nor did reserpine stimulate the crop-sac when injected
into pigeons. Recently, using New Zealand
White rabbits, Tindal (1960) has induced
milk secretion with reserpine. The reason
for these contradictory results is not entirely
clear, although breed differences in the response would appear to exist in the rabbit.
In our laboratory, Benson (1958) has shown
that reserpine is strikingly active in retarding mammary involution in the lactating rat after weaning, the effect being of
such a magnitude as has so far only been
equalled by a combination of prolactin and
STH (Fig. 10.21). It has been tentatively
suggested that the tranquilizing drugs may
 
 
 
^^:f/
 
 
 
mm\"^>m.-Wi
 
 
 
 
 
 
■w^
 
 
.•^^:j^-^ f4kr 1"
 
 
 
 
Fig. 10.2L Sections from the abdominal mammary gland of rats from whichthe pujis were
removed on the fourth day of lactation and which received thereafter for 9 days: A 100 fj.g.
reserpine daily. B. Sahne dailJ^ Note the retardation of involution effected by reserpine.
(Courtesy of Dr. G. K. Benson.)
 
 
 
632
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
remove .some hypothalamic restraining
mechanism on the release of jn'olactin and
probably of other anterior-pituitary hormones (Sulman and Winnik, 1956; Benson,
Cowie and Tindal, 1958), an effect which,
if confirmed, may throw light on the behavior of pituitary transplants in sites remote from the median eminence.
 
VII. Conclusion
 
Any reader familiar with the chajiter on
the mammary gland in the previous edition
of this book cannot fail to note the main
directions in which the subject has advanced
in the intervening two decades. These reflect, as they are bound to do, the road taken
by the science of endocrinology itself, a road
leading to greater biochemical understanding on the one hand and to ever closer rapprochement with neurophysiology on the
other.
 
The mammary gland offers unique opportunities of studying the biochemical mechanisms of hormone action because it is an
organ with quite exceptional synthetic capabilities, an organ which is perhaps the most
comprehensive hormone target in the mammalian body. Biochemists are entering this
promising field in increasing numbers and
we may expect to reap the fruits of their
labors in the future.
 
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MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
039
 
 
 
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PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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MAMMARY GLAND AND LACTATION
 
 
 
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642
 
 
 
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11
 
 
 
SOME PROBLEMS OF THE METABOLISM AND
 
MECHANISM OF ACTION OF STEROID
 
SEX HORMONES
 
Claude A. Villee, Ph.D.
 
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY,
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
 
 
 
I. Introduction 643
 
II. The Biosynthesis op Steroids 643
 
A. Cholesterol 644
 
B. Progesterone 644
 
C. Androgens 645
 
D. Estrogens 647
 
E. Biosynthesis of Other Steroids 647
 
F. Interconversions of Steroids 647
 
G. Catabolism of Steroids (548
 
H. Transport, Conjugation, and Excretion 650
 
III. Effects of Sex Hormones on Inter
mediary Metabolism 650
 
A. Estrogens 652
 
B. Androgens 659
 
C. Progesterone 660
 
IV. References 661
 
I. Intro<luction
 
The chemical structure of the sex hormones, their isohition from biologic materials, and many of their chemical properties were fully described in the previous
edition of Sex and Internal Secretions (W.
M. Allen, 1939; Doisy, 1939; Koch, 1939).
The major steroid sex hormones were isolated and identified 20 to 30 years ago.
Estrone, in fact, was crystallized from pregnancy urine by Doisy, Veler and Thayer
(1929) before the true structure of the steroid nucleus was known. The isolation, identification, and chemical synthesis of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone were
accomplished during the 1930's. Additional
substances with androgenic, estrogenic, or
progestational activity have subsequently
been isolated from urine or from tissues but
these are probably metabolites of the major
 
 
 
sex steroids. The steroids are now routinely
synthesized from cholesterol or from plant
sterols. It would be possible to carry out
the total synthesis of steroids from simple
precursors but this is not commercially
practicable.
 
The two decades since the previous edition have been marked by major advances
in our understanding of the intermediary
metabolism of steroids — the synthesis of
cholesterol from two-carbon units, the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone and
progesterone, and the derivation of corticoids, androgens, and estrogens from progesterone. These advances were made possible
by the development of vastly improved
methods for the isolation and identification
of steroids: chromatography on paper or
columns, counter-current distribution, labeling with radioactive or heavy isotopes,
infrared spectroscopy, and so on. There have
been concomitant increases in the information regarding the sites and mechanisms of
action of these biologically important substances and the means by which they stimulate or inhibit the growth and activity of
particular tissues of the body. The following
discussion will attempt to present a general
picture of these two fields and not an exhaustive citation of the tremendous body of
relevant literature.
 
II. The Biosynthesis of Steroids
 
When the steroid hormones were first discovered it was generally believed that each
 
 
 
643
 
 
 
644
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
endocrine gland made its characteristic
steroid by some unique biosynthetic mechanism, one that was independent of those in
other glands. However, there is now abundant evidence that the biosynthetic paths
in the several steroid-secreting glands have
many features which are similar or identical.
 
It is now well established that progesterone is not simply a female sex hormone
produced by the corpus luteum, but a common precursor of adrenal glucocorticoids
such as Cortisol and adrenal mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone, androgens, and
estrogens. The adrenal cortex, ovary, testis,
and placenta have in common many enzymes for the biosynthesis of steroids. Androgenic tumors of the human ovary, for example, have been shown to produce
testosterone and its metabolites. The transplantation of an ovary into a castrate male
mouse will result in the maintenance of the
male secondary sex characters, which suggests that the normal ovary can also synthesize androgens.
 
A. CHOLESTEROL
 
The early work of Bloch (1951), Rilling,
Tchen and Bloch (1958), and of Popjak
(1950) showed that labeled acetate is converted to labeled cholesterol. The pattern of
the labeling present in the cholesterol synthesized from acetate-1-C^^ or acetate-2-C^''
as precursor led to speculations as to how
the steroid nucleus is assembled. Further
work (Langdon and Bloch, 1953) revealed
that squalene and certain branched-chain,
unsaturated fatty acids are intermediates
in this synthesis. The current hypothesis,
which is supported by a wealth of experimental evidence, states that two moles of
acetyl coenzyme A condense to form acetoacetyl coenzyme A, which condenses with a
third molecule of acetyl coenzyme A to form
yS-hydroxy-^-methyl glutaric acyl coenzyme
A (Fig. 11.1). The coenzyme A group is
removed and the hydroxymethyl glutaric
acid is reduced to mevalonic acid. Mevalonic
acid, 3-hydroxy-3-methylpentano-5-lactone,
is metabolized to a 5-carbon isoprenoid
compound and three moles of these condense
to form a 1 5-carbon hydrocarbon. The headto-head condensation of two molecules of
this 15-carbon compound yields the 30
 
 
carbon equalene. This is metabolized, by
way of lanosterol and the loss of three
methyl groups, to cholesterol, which seems
to be the common precursor of all of the
steroid hormones (Tchen and Bloch, 1955;
Clayton and Bloch, 1956).
 
The question of whether cholesterol is
an obligate intermediate in the synthesis of
steroid hormones has not been definitely
answered. There is clear evidence that cholesterol is converted to steroids without first
being degraded to small units and subsequently reassembled. Werbin and LeRoy
(1954) administered cholesterol labeled
with both carbon-14 and tritium (H^) to
human subjects and isolated from their
urine tetrahydrocortisone, tetrahydrocortisol, androsterone, etiocholanolone and 11ketoetiocholanolone. These substances,
known to be metabolites of steroid hormones, were labeled with both C^^ and H^
and the labeled atoms were present in the
ratio expected if they were derived directly
from cholesterol. Experiments by Dorfman
and his colleagues (Caspi, Rosenfeld and
Dorfman, 1956) also provide evidence for
the synthesis of steroids via cholesterol.
Cortisol and 11-desoxycortisol were isolated
from calf adrenals perfused with acetate-1C^^ and from a patient with an adrenal tumor to whom acetate- 1-C^^ had been administered. It is known that cholesterol
synthesized from acetate-l-C^'* is labeled in
carbon 20 but not in carbon 21. The Cortisol
and 11-desoxycortisol also proved to be labeled in carbon 20 but not in carbon 21.
This evidence does not, of course, exclude
biosynthetic paths for the steroids other
than one by way of cholesterol, but it does
suggest that cholesterol is at least an important precursor of them. Direct evidence
that cholesterol is synthesized from squalene
in man is provided by the experiments of
Eidinoff, Knoll, Marano, Kvamme, Rosenfeld and Hcllman (1958), who prepared tritiated squalene and administered it orally
to human subjects. They found that the
cholesterol of the blood achieved maximal
specific aeti\'ity in 7 to 21 liours.
 
B. PROCiE.STERONE
 
Cholesterol undergoes an oxidative cleavage of its side chain to yield isocaproic
acid and pregnenolone (Fig. 11.2). The lat
 
 
CH3C0-SC0A
 
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
SCoA
 
 
 
645
 
 
 
CH^CO-SCoA
 
 
 
Acetyl CoA
 
 
 
CH3COCH2CO~SCoA
 
 
 
Acetoacetyl CoA
 
 
 
Sesquiterpene
(15C)
 
 
 
COOH
 
► HO— C— CHI ^
 
CO-' SCO A
 
pOH-p methylglutaric acyl Co A
 
 
 
CHg
 
C-CHI
 
CH
II
CHo
 
 
 
Isoprene unit
(5C)
 
 
 
CHO
 
I
 
CHo
I ^
 
HO-C-CH^
1 3
 
CHo
I 2
COOH
 
Mevalonic acid
 
 
 
 
 
 
Squalene Lanosterol Cholesterol
 
(30C) (30C) (27C)
 
Fig. 11.1. Biogenesis of cholesterol.
 
 
 
ter is dehydrogenated in ring A by the
enzyme 3-^-ol dehydrogenase and a spontaneous shift of the double bond from the
A5 , 6 to the A4 , 5 position results in progesterone. Progesterone undergoes successive
hydroxylation reactions, which require molecular oxygen and reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPNH), at carbons 17,
21, and 11. These hydroxylations yield,
in succession, 17-a-hydroxy progesterone,
Reichstein's compound S (ll-desoxy-17-hydroxycorticosterone), and Cortisol (17-a-hydroxvcorticosterone) .
 
 
 
C. ANDROGENS
 
17-a-Hydroxy progesterone is also the immediate precursor of androgens and estrogens. Oxidative cleavage of its side chain
yields A-4-androstenedione, which undergoes reduction to testosterone (Fig. 11.2).
A-4-Androstenedione may be hydroxylated
at carbon 11 to yield ll-/3-hydroxy-A-4androstenedione, which is an androgen isolated from human urine. It has also been
found as a metabolite of certain androgenic
tumors of the adrenal cortex.
 
 
 
04 G
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
CH
 
 
Y^ .
 
 
socaproic C
 
 
=0
 
 
 
 
c=o
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
r^
 
 
 
 
 
 
0^-OH
 
 
^r^
 
 
 
 
 
HO
 
 
HO
 
 
J
 
 
HO
 
 
Cholesterol
 
 
Pregnenolone
 
 
17-Hydr
 
 
oxy
 
Dehydroepi
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
preg
 
 
nenolone
 
 
androsterone
 
 
CH3
 
 
 
 
 
 
CH3
 
 
 
 
f3
 
 
H-C-OH
1
 
 
, f
 
 
c=o
 
1
 
 
 
 
1
 
c=o
 
1
 
 
^ ■
 
 
 
 
-x^V
 
 
t^
 
 
 
 
^XP""°"
 
 
r^^
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
^^<Y
 
 
„ijj
 
 
- \^Xaj
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
JJ
 
 
A -3- Ketopregnene
 
 
Progest
 
 
erone
 
 
17
 
 
-Hydroxy
 
20-oc-ol
 
 
y
 
 
 
 
y
 
 
progesterone
 
 
CH^OH
 
 
X
 
 
CH OH
 
 
/
 
 
 
 
 
 
c=o
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
c=o
 
 
 
 
"
 
 
 
 
Desoxy—
corticosterone
 
 
 
CH2OH
c=o
 
 
 
1 7- Hydroxy desoxycorticosterone
(Reichstein's "S")
 
 
 
 
 
CH^OH
HCO C=0
 
 
 
.JOJ
 
 
 
CH^OH
 
c=o
 
 
 
A -androstenedione
 
 
 
OH
 
 
 
 
 
o ' -- o
 
Corticosterone 18-aldo- 11- desoxy- Cortisol Testosterone
 
corticosterone (Kendall's
 
Cmpd. "F")
 
 
 
HCO C=0
 
 
 
 
19 -Hydroxy- ^■^■
androstenedione
 
 
 
.;^
 
 
 
 
Aldosterone
 
 
 
HO
 
Estradiol
Fig. 11.2. Biosynthetic paths from cholesterol.
 
 
 
 
Estrone
 
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
647
 
 
 
D. ESTROGENS
 
A-4-Androstenedione and testosterone are
precursors of the estrogens. Baggett, Engel,
Savard and Dorfman (1956) demonstrated
the conversion of testosterone to estradiol17/? by slices of human ovary. Ryan (1958)
found that the enzymes to carry out this
conversion are also present in the human
placenta, located in the microsomal fraction
of placental homogenates. Homogenates of
stallion testis convert labeled testosterone
to labeled estradiol and estrone. Slices of
human adrenal cortical carcinoma also have
been shown to convert testosterone to estradiol and estrone, and Nathanson, Engel
and Kelley (1951) found an increased urinary excretion of estradiol, estrone, and estriol following the administration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone to castrate women.
Thus it seems that ovary, testis, placenta,
and adrenal cortex have a similar biosynthetic mechanism for the production of estrogens and androgens. The first step in
the conversion of testosterone or A-4-androstenedione to estrogens is the hydroxylation
at carbon 19, again by an enzymatic process
which requires molecular oxygen and
TPNH. Meyer (1955) first isolated and
characterized 19-hydroxy-A-4-androstene3,17-dione from a perfused calf adrenal.
When this was incubated with dog placenta
it was converted to estrone. The steps in the
conversion of the 19-hydroxy-A-4-androstenedione to estrone appear to be the introduction of a second double bond into ring
A, the elimination of carbon 19 as formaldehyde, and rearrangement to yield a
phenolic ring A. The requirements for the
aromatization of ring A by a microsomal
fraction of human placenta were studied by
Ryan (1958). West, Damast, Sarro and
Pearson (1956) found that the administration of testosterone to castrated, adrenalectomized women resulted in an increased
excretion of estrogen. This suggests that
tissues other than adrenals and gonads, presumably the liver, can carry out this same
series of reactions.
 
E. BIOSYNTHESIS OF OTHER STEROIDS
 
To complete the picture of the interrelations of the biosyntheses of steroids, it
should be noted that other evidence shows
 
 
 
that progesterone is hydroxylated at carbon
21 to yield desoxycorticosterone and this is
subsequently hydroxylated at carbon 11 to
yield corticosterone. Desoxycorticosterone
may undergo hydroxylation at carbon 18
and at carbon 11 to yield aldosterone, the
most potent salt-retaining hormone known
(Fig. 11.2).
 
Dehydroepiandrosterone is an androgen
found in the urine of both men and women.
Its rate of excretion is not decreased on
castration and it seems to be synthesized
only by the adrenal cortex. It has been
postulated that pregnenolone is converted
to 17-hydroxy pregnenolone and that this,
by cleavage of the side chain between carbon 17 and carbon 20, would yield dehydroepiandrosterone.
 
F. INTERCONVERSIONS OF STEROIDS
 
The interconversion of estrone and estradiol has been shown to occur in a number
of human tissues. A diphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked enzyme, estradiol- 17/3 dehydrogenase, which carries out this reaction
has been prepared from human placenta
and its properties have been described by
Langer ancl Engel (1956). The mode of
formation of estriol and its isomer, 16-epiestriol, is as yet unknown.
 
There are three major types of reactions
which occur in the interconversions of the
steroids: dehydrogenation, "hydroxylation,"
and the oxidative cleavage of the side chain.
An example of a dehydrogenation reaction
is the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone by the enzyme 3-/3-ol dehydrogenase,
which requires diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPN) as hydrogen acceptor. This important enzyme, which is involved in the
synthesis of progesterone and hence in the
synthesis of all of the steroid hormones, is
found in the adrenal cortex, ovary, testis,
and placenta. Other dehydrogenation reactions in which DPN is the usual hydrogen
acceptor are the readily reversible conversions of A-4-androstenedione ^ testosterone, estrone ^ estradiol, and progesterone
:;^ A-4-3-ketopregnene-20-a-ol. This latter
substance, and the enzymes producing it
from progesterone, have been found by Zander (1958) in the human corpus luteum and
placenta.
 
The oxidative reactions leading to the
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
introduction of an OH group on the steroid
nucleus are usually called "hydroxylations."
Specific hydroxylases for the introduction
of an OH group at carbons 11, 16, 17, 21, 18,
and 19 have been demonstrated. All of these
require molecular oxygen and a reduced
pyridine nucleotide, usually TPNH. The
ll-/3-hydroxylase of the adrenal cortex has
been shown to be located in the mitochondria (Hayano and Dorfman, 1953) . Experiments with this enzyme system, utilizing
oxygen 18, showed that the oxygen atoms
are derived from gaseous oxygen and not
from the oxygen in the water molecules
(Hayano, Lindberg, Dorfman, Hancock and
Doering, 1955). Thus this hydroxylation reaction also involves the reduction of molecular oxygen.
 
The oxidative cleavage of the side chains
of the steroid molecule appears to involve
similar hydroxylation reactions. The experiments of Solomon, Levitan and Lieberman
(1956) indicate that the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone involves one and
possibly two of these hydroxylation reactions, with the introduction of OH groups
at carbons 20 and 22 before the splitting off
of the isocaproic acid.
 
In summary, this newer knowledge of the
biosynthetic paths of steroids has revealed
that the differences between the several
steroid-secreting glands are largely quantitative rather than qualitative. The testis,
for example, produces progesterone and
estrogens in addition to testosterone. The
change from the secretion of estradiol by
the follicle to the secretion of progesterone
by the corpus luteum can be understood as
a relative loss of activity of an enzyme in
the path between progesterone and estradiol.
If, for example, the enzyme for the 17-hydroxylation of progesterone became inactive
as the follicle cells are changed into the
corpus luteum, progesterone rather than
estradiol would subsequently be produced.
 
Knowledge of these pathways also provides an explanation for certain abnormal
changes in the functioning of the glands.
Bongiovnnni (1953) and Jailer (1953)
showed that the adrenogenital syndrome
results from a loss of an enzyme or enzymes
for the hydroxylation reactions at carbons
21 and 11 of progesterone, which results in
an impairment in the production of Cortisol.
 
 
 
The pituitary, with little or no Cortisol to
inhibit the secretion of adrenocorticotrophic
hormone (ACTH), produces an excess of
this hormone which stimulates the adrenal
to produce more steroids. There is an excretion of the metabolites of progesterone
and 17-hydroxy progesterone, pregnanediol
and pregnanetriol respectively, but some of
the 17-hydroxy progesterone is converted to
androgens and is secreted in increased
amount.
 
G. CATABOLISM OF STEROmS
 
Many of the steroid hormones are known
to act on the pituitary to suppress its secretion of the appropriate trophic hormone,
ACTH, the follicle-stimulating hormone
(FSH), or luteinizing hormone (LH). It
would seem that the maintenance of the
proper feedback mechanism between steroid-secreting gland and pituitary requires
that the steroids be continuously inactivated
and catabolized. The catabolic reactions of
the steroids are in general reductive in nature and involve the reduction of ketonic
groups and the hydrogenation of double
bonds. The reduction of a ketonic group to
an OH group can lead to the production of
two different stereoisomers. If the OH group
projects from the steroid nucleus on the
same side as the angular methyl groups
at carbon 18 and carbon 19, i.e., above the
plane of the four rings, it is said to have
the yS-configuration and is represented by a
heavy line. If the OH projects on the opposite side of the steroid nucleus, below
the plane of the four rings, it is said to
have the a-configuration and is represented
by a dotted line. Although both isomers are
possible, usually one is formed to a much
greater extent than the other.
 
The first catabolic step is usually the
reduction of the A4-3-ketone group of ring
A, usually to 3aOH compounds with the
hydrogen at carbon 5 attached in the /3configuration. The 5/3-configuration represents the CIS configuration of rings A and B.
The elimination of the A4-3-ketone group
greatly decreases the biologic activity of
the steroid and increases somewhat its solubility in water. This reductive process occurs largely in the liver. Progesterone is
converted by reduction of its A4-3-ketone
group to pregnane-3a:20a-diol, and 17-hy
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES 649
 
EXCRETORY PRODUCTS
 
 
 
c=o
 
 
 
 
Progesterone
 
 
 
1 3
 
HCOH
 
 
 
 
HO H
 
Pregnanediol
 
 
 
CH,
 
 
 
 
-OH
 
 
 
17 Hydroxy progesterone
 
 
 
CH,
 
 
 
^ H-C-OH
 
■OH
 
 
 
 
HO H
 
Pregnanetriol
 
 
 
OH
 
 
 
 
 
Testosterone
 
 
 
 
Androsterone
 
 
 
HO
 
 
 
 
/
 
 
 
androstenedione
 
 
 
 
HO H
 
Etiocholanolone
 
 
 
Dehydroepiandrosterone
 
Fk;. 11.3. Excretory products of progesterone and androgen
 
 
 
(Iroxy progesterone is converted to pregnane3a:17a:20a-triol (Fig. 11.3). Testosterone
and dehydrocpiandroesterone are both converted to A4-androstenedione and the reduction of its A4-3-ketone group results in a
mixture of androsterone (3a,5a-configuration) and ctiochohmolone (3a,5/?-configuration ) .
 
 
 
The catabohsm of estradiol is not completely known. Estradiol, estrone, and estriol are found in the urine but they account
for less than half of an administered dose of
labeled estradiol. The /3-isomer, 16-epiestriol, and two other phenolic steroids, 16-ahydroxy estrone and 2-methoxyestrone,
have recently been isolated from normal
 
 
 
650
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
urine and are known to be estrogen metabolites (Marrian and Bauld, 1955).
 
H. TRANSPORT, CONJUGATION, AND EXCRETION
 
Steroids circulate in the blood in part as
free steroids and in part conjugated with
sulfate or glucuronic acid (c/. review by
Roberts and Szego, 1953b j . The steroids are
generally conjugated by the hydroxy 1 group
at carbon 3 with inorganic sulfate or with
glucuronic acid. In addition, either the conjugated or nonconjugated forms may be
bound to certain of the plasma proteins such
as the ^-globulins (Levedahl and Bernstein,
1954) . There is evidence of specific binding
of certain steroids with particular proteins,
e.g., the binding of Cortisol to "transcortin"
(Daughaday, 1956). Between 50 and 80 per
cent of the estrogens in the blood are present closely bound to plasma proteins. A
similar large fraction of the other steroid
hormones is bound to plasma proteins ; presumably this prevents the hormone from being filtered out of the blood as it passes
through the glomerulus of the kidney. The
steroids excreted in the urine are largely in
the conjugated form, as sulfates or glucuronides.
 
The liver plays a prime role in the catabolism of the steroids. It is the major site
of the reductive inactivation of the steroids
and their conjugation with sulfate or glucuronic acid. These conjugated forms are more
water-soluble and the conjugation probably
promotes their excretion in the urine. Rather
large amounts of certain steroids, notably
estrogens, are found in the bile of certain
species. These estrogens are free, not conjugated; the amount of estrogens present
in the bile suggests that this is an important pathway by which they are excreted. It has been suggested that the bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract may
degrade the steroids excreted in the bile and
further that there is an "enterohepatic circulation" of steroids with reabsorption
from the gut, transport in the portal system
to the liver, and further degradation within
the liver cells.
 
III. Effects of Sex Hormones on
Intermediary Metabolism
 
The literature concerning the effects of
hormones on intermediary metabolism is
 
 
 
voluminous and contains a number of contradictions, some of which are real and
some, perhaps, are only apparent contradictions. Evidence that a hormone acts at one
site does not necessarily contradict other
evidence that that hormone may act on a
different metabolic reaction. From the following discussion it should become evident
that there may be more than one site of
action, and more than one mechanism of
action, of any given hormone.
 
The hormones are so different in their
chemical structure, proteins, peptides,
amino acids, and steroids, that it would
seem unlikely, a priori, that they could all
influence the cellular machinery by comparable means. The basic elements of an
enzyme system are the protein enzyme, its
cofactors and activators, and the substrates
and products. A hormone might alter the
over-all rate of an enzyme system by altering the amount or activity of the protein
enzyme, or by altering the availability to
the enzyme system of some cofactor or substrate molecule. Some of the mechanisms
of hormone action which have been proposed are these. (1) The hormone may alter
the rate at which enzyme molecules are
produced de novo by the cell. (2) The hormone may alter the activity of a preformed
enzyme molecule, i.e., it may convert an
inactive form of the enzyme to an active
form. (3) The hormone may alter the permeability of the cell membrane or the
membrane around one of the subcellular
structures within the cell and thus make
substrate or cofactor more readily available
to the enzyme. Or, (4) the hormone may
serve as a coenzyme in the system, that is,
it may be involved in some direct fashion
as a partner in the reaction mediated by the
enzyme. Each of these theories has been
advanced to explain the mode of action of
the sex hormones.
 
The problem of the hormonal control of
metabolism has been investigated at a variety of biologic levels. The earliest experiments were done by injecting a hormone
into an intact animal and subsequently
measuring the amount of certain constituents of the blood, urine, or of some tissue.
There are several difficulties with such experiments. All of the homeostatic mechanisms of the animal operate to keep condi
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
651
 
 
 
tions constant and to minimize the effects
of the injected hormone. In addition, there
is a maze of interactions, some synergistic
and some antagonistic, between the different
hormones both in the endocrine gland and
in the target organs, so that the true effect
of the substance injected may be veiled. Our
growing understanding of the interconversions of the steroid hormones warns us that
an androgen, for example, may be rapidly
converted into an estrogen, and the metabolic effects observed on the administration
of an androgen may, at least in part, result
from the estrogens produced from the injected androgen.
 
To eliminate some of the confusing effects
of these homeostatic mechanisms some investigators remove the liver, kidneys, and
other viscera before injecting the hormone
under investigation. Such eviscerated preparations have been used by Levine and his
colleagues in their investigations of the
mode of action of insulin (c/. Levine and
Goldstein, 1955).
 
Other investigators have incubated slices
of liver, kidney, muscle, endocrine glands,
or other tissues in glass vessels in a chemically defined medium and at constant temperature. Such experiments have the advantage that metabolism can be studied
more directly, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production can be measured
manonietrically, and aliquots of the incubation medium can be withdrawn for chemical
and radiochemical analyses. The amounts of
substrate, cofactors, and hormone present
can be regulated and the interfering effects
of other hormones and of other tissues are
eliminated. Theoretically, working with a
simpler system such as this should lead to
greater insight into the physiologic and
chemical events that occur when a hormone
is added or deleted. The chief disadvantage
of this experimental system is that it is
difficult to prove that the conditions of the
experiment are "physiologic." With tissue
slices there is the possibility that the cut
edges of the cells may introduce a sizeable
artifact. Kipnis and Cori (1957) found that
the rat diaphragm, as it is usually prepared
for experiments in vitro, has an abnormally
large extracellular space and is more permeable to certain pentoses than is the intact
diaphragm.
 
 
 
It has been postulated that a hormone
may influence the metabolism of a particular cell by altering the permeability of the
cell membrane or of the membrane around
one of the subcellular particles. Experiments
with tissue homogenates, in which the cell
membrane has been ruptured and removed,
provide evidence bearing on such theories.
If an identical hormone effect can be obtained in a cell-free system, and if suitable
microscopic controls show that the system is indeed cell-free, the permeability
theory may be ruled out.
 
Ideally the hormone effect should be
studied in a completely defined system,
with a single crystalline enzyme, known
concentration of substrates and cofactors,
and with known concentration of the pure
hormone. Colowick, Cori and Slein (1947)
reported that hexokinase extracted from
diabetic muscle has a lower rate of activity
than hexokinase from normal muscle and
that it could be raised to the normal rate
by the addition of insulin in vitro. The
reality of this effect has been confirmed by
some investigators and denied by others
who were unable to repeat the observations.
Cori has suggested that the decreased rate
of hexokinase activity in the diabetic results from a labile inhibitor substance produced by the pituitary. Krahl and Bornstein
(1954) have evidence that this inhibitor is
a lipoprotein which is readily inactivated
by oxidation.
 
The two hormones whose effects can be
demonstrated reproducibly in an in vitro
system at concentrations in the range which
obtains in the tissues are epinephrine (or
glucagon) and estradiol (and other estrogens) . Epinephrine or glucagon stimulates
the reactivation of liver phosphorylase by
increasing the concentration of adenosine3'-5'-monophosphate (Haynes, Sutherland
and Rail, 1960), and estrogens stimulate an
enzyme system found in endometrium,
placenta, ventral i)rostate of the rat, and
mammary gland. The estrogen-stimulable
enzyme was originally described as a DPNlinked isocitric dehydrogenase, but the estrogen-sensitive enzyme now appears to be
a transhydrogenase which transfers hydrogens from TPN to DPN (Talalay and Williams-x\shman, 1958; Yillee and Hngerman,
1958).
 
 
 
052
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
The various tissues of the body respond in
quite different degrees to the several hormones. This difference in response is especially marked with the sex hormones.
Those tissues which respond dramatically
to the administration of a hormone are
termed the "target organs" of that hormone. Just what, at the cellular level, differentiates a target organ from the other
tissues of the body is not known exactly
but there is evidence that each kind of tissue is characterized by a certain pattern of
enzymes. The pattern of enzymes is established, by means as yet unknown, in the
course of embryonic differentiation. The
enzyme glucose 6-phosphatase, which hydrolyzes glucose 6-phosphate and releases
free glucose and inorganic phosphate, is
present in liver but absent from skeletal
muscle. Even though a given reaction in
two different tissues may be mediated by
what appears to be the same enzyme, the
enzymes may be different and subject to
different degrees of hormonal control. Henion and Sutherland (1957) showed that the
phosphorylase of liver responds to glucagon
but the phosphorylase of heart muscle does
not. Further, the two enzymes are immunologically distinct. An antiserum to purified
liver phosphorylase will not react with heart
phosphorylase to form an inactive antigenantibody precipitate, but it does react in
this manner with liver phosphorylase. Further, perhaps more subtle, differences between comparable enzymes from different
tissues have appeared when lactic dehydrogenases from liver, heart, skeletal muscle,
and other sources were tested for their rates
of reaction with the several analogues of the
pyridine nucleotides now available (Kaplan. Ciotti, Hamolsky and Bicbcr, 1960).
p]xtension of this technique may reveal differences in response to added hormones.
 
In addition to these differences in the response to a hormone of the tissues of a
single animal, there may be differences in
the response of the comparable tissues of
different species to a given dose of hormone.
Estrone, estriol, and other estrogens have
different potencies relative to estradiol in
different species of mammals. There are
slight differences in the amino acid sequences of the insulins and vasopressins
from flifferent species and quite marked
 
 
 
differences in the chemical structure (Li and
Papkoff, 1956) and physiologic activity
(Knobil, Morse, Wolf and Greep, 1958)
of the pituitar}^ growth hormones of cattle
and swine, on the one hand, and of primates, on the other.
 
A. ESTROGENS
 
The amount or activity of certain enzymes in the target organs of estrogens
has been found to vary with the amount of
estrogen present. Examples of this phenomenon are /^-glucuronidase (Odell and
Fishman, 1950) , fibrinolysin (Page, Glendening and Parkinson, 1951), and alkaline
glycerophosphatase (Jones, Wade, and
Goldberg, 1953). Kochakian (1947) reported that the amount of arginase in the
rat kidney increased after the injection of
estrogens. Enzyme activity is increased by
other hormones as well; for example, progesterone has been found to increase the
activity of phosphorylase (Zondek and
Hestrin, 1947) and of adenosine triphosphatase (Jones, Wade, and Goldberg, 1952).
 
In most experiments the amount of enzyme present has been inferred from its
activity, measured chemically or histochemically under conditions in which the
amount of enzyme is rate-limiting. This
does not enable one to distinguish between
an actual increase in the number of molecules of enzyme present in the cell and an
increase in the activity of the enzyme molecules without change in their number. A
few enzymes can be measured by some
other property, such as absorption at a
specific wavelength, by which the actual
amount of enzyme can be estimated (see
review by Knox, Auerbach, and Lin, 1956).
Knox and Auerbach (1955) found that the
activity of the enzyme tryptophan peroxidase-oxidase (TPO) of the liver was
decreased in adrenalectomized animals and
increased by the administration of cortisone. Knox had shown previously that
th(> administration of the substrate of
the enzyme, tryptophan, would lead
to an increase in the activity of the enzyme which was maximal in 6 to 10
hours. Evidence that the increased activity
of enzyme following the administration of
cortisone represents the synthesis of new
protein molecules is supplied by experi
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
653
 
 
 
ments in which it was found that the increase in enzyme activity is inhibited by
ethionine and this inhibition is reversed
by methionine. The amino acid analogue
ethionine is known to inhibit protein synthesis and this inhibition of protein synthesis is overcome by methionine.
 
The injection of estrogen into the immature or castrate rodent produces a striking uptake of water by the uterus followed
by a marked increase in its dry weight
(Astwood, 1938). Holden (1939) postulated that the imbibition of water results
from vasodilatation and from changes in the
permeability of the blood vessels of the
uterus. There is clear evidence (Mueller,
1957) that the subsequent increase in dry
weight is due to an increased rate of synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids. The
sex hormones and other steroids could be
pictured as reacting with the protein or
lipoprotein membrane around the cell or
around some subcellular structure like a
surface-wetting agent and in this way inducing a change in the permeability of the
membrane. This might then increase the
rate of entry of substances and thus alter
the rate of metabolism within the cell.
This theory could hardly account for the
many notable specific relationships between
steroid structure and biologic activity.
Spaziani and Szego (1958) postulated that
estrogens induce the release of histamine in
the uterus and the histamine then alters the
permeability of the blood vessels and produces the imbibition of water secondarily.
 
The uterus of the ovariectomized rat is
remarkably responsive to estrogens and
has been widely used as a test system.
After ovariectomy, the content of ribonucleic acid of the uterus decreases to a
low level and then is rapidly restored after
injection of estradiol (Telfer, 1953). A
single injection of 5 to 10 yu,g. of estradiol
brings about (1) the hyperemia and water
imbibition described previously; (2) an
increased rate of over-all metabolism as
reflected in increased utilization of oxygen
(David, 1931; Khayyal and Scott, 1931;
Kerly, 1937; MacLeod and Reynolds, 1938;
Walaas, Walaas and Loken, 1952a; Roberts
and Szego, 1953a) ; (3) an increased rate
of glycolysis (Kerly, 1937; Carroll, 1942;
Stuermer and Stein, 1952; Walaas, Walaas
 
 
 
and Loken, 1952b; Roberts and Szego,
1953a) ; (4) an increased rate of utilization
of phosphorus (Grauer, Strickler, Wolken
and Cutuly, 1950; Walaas and Walaas,
1950) ; and (5) tissue hypertrophy as reflected in increased dry weight (Astwood,
1938), increased content of ribonucleic acid
and protein (Astwood, 1938; Telfer, 1953;
Mueller, 1957), and finally, after about
72 hours, an increased content of desoxyribonucleic acid (Mueller, 1957).
 
An important series of experiments by
Mueller and his colleagues revealed that
estrogens injected in vivo affect the metabolism of the uterus which can be detected
by subsequent incubation of the uterus in
vitro with labeled substrate molecules.
Mueller (1953) first showed that pretreatment with estradiol increases the rate
of incorporation of glycine-2-C^'* into uterine protein. He then found that estrogen
stimulation increases that rate of incorporation into protein of all other amino acids
tested: alanine, serine, lysine, and tryptophan. The peak of stimulation occurred
about 20 hours after the injection of estradiol. In further studies (Mueller and Herranen, 1956) it was found that estrogen
increases the rate of incorporation of glycine-2-C^^ and formate-2-C^'* into protein,
lipid, and the purine bases, adenine and
guanine, of nucleic acids. A stimulation of
cholesterol synthesis in the mouse uterus
20 hours after administration of estradiol
was shown by Emmelot and Bos (1954).
 
In more detailed studies of the effects of
estrogens on the metabolism of "one-carbon
units" Herranen and Mueller (1956) found
that the incorporation of serine-3-C^'* into
adenine and guanine was stimulated by
pretreatment with estradiol. The incorporation was greatly decreased when unlabeled
formate was added to the reaction mixture
to trap the one-carbon intermediate. In
contrast, the incorporation of C^^02 into
uridine and thymine by the surviving uterine segment was not increased by pretreatment with estradiol in vivo (Mueller,
1957).
 
To delineate further the site of estrogen
effect on one-carbon metabohsm, Herranen
and Mueller (1957) studied the effect of
estrogen pretreatment on serine aldolase,
the enzyme which catalyzes the equilibrium
 
 
 
654
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
between serine and glycine plus an active
one-carbon unit. They found that serine
aldolase activity, measured in homogenates of rat uteri, increased 18 hours after
pretreatment in vivo with estradiol. It
seemed that the estrogen-induced increase
in the activity of this enzyme might explain
at least part of the increased rate of onecarbon metabolism following estrogen injection. They found, however, that incubation of uterine segments in tissue culture
medium (Eagle, 1955) for 18 hours produced a marked increase in both the activity
of serine aldolase and the incorporation of
glycine-2-C^'* into protein. The addition of
estradiol to Eagle's medium did not produce
a greater increase than the control to
which no estradiol was added. Uterine segments taken from rats pretreated with estradiol for 18 hours, with their glycine-incorporating system activated by hormonal
stimulation, showed very little further
stimulation on being incubated in Eagle's
medium for 18 hours. With a shorter period
of i^retreatment with estradiol, greater stimulation occurred on subsequent incubation
in tissue culture fluid. These experiments
suggest that the hormone and the incubation in tissue culture medium are affecting
the same process, one which has a limited
capacity to respond. When comparable experiments were performed with other
labeled amino acids as substrates, similar
results were obtained.
 
Mueller's work gave evidence that a considerable number of enzyme systems in the
uterus are accelerated by the administration
of estradiol — not only the enzymes for the
incorporation of serine, glycine, and formate
into adenine and guanine, but also the enzymes involved in the synthesis of fatty
acids and cholesterol and indejX'ndent enzymes for the activation of amino acids by
the formation of adenosine monoiihosphate
(AMP) derivatives. The initial step in
protein synthesis has been shown to be the
activation of the carboxyl grou]) of the
amino acid with transfer of energy from
ATP, the formation of AMP -"amino
acid, and the release of jiyrophosphate
(Hoagland, Keller and Zamecnick, 1956).
This reversible step was studied with homogenates of uterine tissue, P^--labeled
]n'rni)liosi)liate, and a variety of amino
 
 
 
acids (Mueller, Herranen and Jervell,
1958). Seven of the amino acids tested,
leucine, tryptophan, valine, tryosine, methionine, glycine, and isoleucine, stimulated the
exchange of P^^ between pyrophosphate and
ATP. Pretreatment of the uteri by estradiol
injected in vivo increased the activity
of these three enzymes. The activating
effect of mixtures of these amino acids
was the sum of their individual effects,
from which it was inferred that a specific
enzyme is involved in the activation of
each amino acid. Since estrogen stimulated the exchange reaction with each of
these seven amino acids, Mueller concluded that the hormone must affect the
amount of each of the amino acid-activating enzvmes in the soluble fraction of the
cell.
 
Mueller (1957) postulated that estrogens
increase the rate of many enzyme systems
both by activating preformed enzyme molecules and by increasing the rate of de novo
synthesis of enzyme molecules, possibly by
removing membranous barriers covering the
templates for enzyme synthesis. To explain
why estrogens affect these enzymes in the
target organs, but not comparable enzymes
in other tissues, one would have to assume
that embryonic differentiation results in
the formation of enzymes in different tissues
which, although catalyzing the same reaction, have different properties such as
their responsiveness to hormonal stimulation.
 
As an alternative hypothesis, estrogen
might affect some reaction which provides
a substance required for all of these enzyme reactions. The carboxyl group of
amino acids must be activated by ATP before the amino acid can be incorporated
into proteins; the synthesis of both purines
and pyrimidines requires ATP for the
activation of the carboxyl group of certain
precursors and for several other steps; the
synthesis of cholesterol requires ATP for
the conversion of mevalonic acid to
squalene; and the synthesis of fatty acids
is also an energy-requiring process. Thus if
(>strogens acted in some way to increase the
amount of biologically useful energy, in
the form of ATP or of energy-rich thioesters
such as acetyl coenzyme A, it would increase
the rate of synthesis of all of these compo
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
655
 
 
 
nents of the cell. This would occur, of course,
only if the supply of ATP, rather than the
amount of enzyme, substrate, or some other
cofactor, were the rate-limiting factor in the
synthetic processes.
 
When purified estrogens became available, they were tested for their effects on
tissues in vitro. Estrogens added in vitro increased the utilization of oxygen by the rat
uterus (Khayyal and Scott, 1931) and the
rat pituitary (Victor and Andersen, 1937).
The addition of estradiol- 17^ at a level of
1 fxg. per ml. of incubation medium increased
the rate of utilization of oxygen and of
pyruvic acid by slices of human endometrium and increased the rate at which labeled glucose and pyruvate were oxidized to
C^-^Os (Hagerman and Villee, 1952, 1953a,
1953b) . In experiments with slices of human
placenta similar results were obtained and
it was found that estradiol increased the
rate of conversion of both pyruvate-2-C^'*
and acetate-l-Ci4 to C^^Os (Villee and
Hagerman, 1953) . From this and other evidence it was inferred that the estrogen acted
at some point in the oxidative pathway
common to pyruvate and acetate, i.e., in the
tricarboxylic acid cycle.
 
Homogenates of placenta also respond to
estradiol added in vitro. With citric acid as
substrate, the utilization of citric acid and
oxygen and the production of a-ketoglutaric
acid were increased 50 per cent by the
addition of estradiol to a final concentralion of 1 fjig. per ml. (Villee and Hagerman,
1953). The homogenates were separated by
differential ultracentrifugation into nuclear,
mitochondrial, microsomal, and nonparticulate fractions. The estrogen-stimulable system was shown to be in the nonparticulate
fraction, the material which is not sedimented by centrifugating at 57,000 X g
for 60 minutes (Villee, 1955). Experiments
with citric, as-aconitic, isocitric, oxalosuccinic, and a-ketoglutaric acids as substrates and with fluorocitric and transaconitic acids as inhibitors localized the
estrogen-sensitive system at the oxidation
of isocitric to oxalosuccinic acid, which then
undergoes spontaneous decarboxylation to
a-ketoglutaric acid (Villee and Gordon,
1955). Further investigations using the enzymes of the nonparticulate fraction of
the human placenta revealed that, in ad
 
 
dition to isocitric acid as substrate, only
DPN and a divalent cation such as Mg+ +
or Mn++ were required (Villee, 1955; Gordon and Villee, 1955; Villee and Gordon,
1956). The estrogen-sensitive reaction was
formulated as a DPN-linked isocitric dehydrogenase:
 
Isocitrate + DPN* -^ a-ketoglutarate
 
+ CO2 + DPXH + H*
 
It was found that the effect of the hormone on the enzyme can be measured by
the increased rate of disappearance of citric
acid, the increased rate of appearance of
a-ketoglutaric acid, or by the increased
rate of reduction of DPN, measured spectrophotometrically by the optical density at
340 m/x. As little as 0.001 /xg. estradiol per
ml. (4 X 10~^ m) produced a measurable
increase in the rate of the reaction, and
there was a graded response to increasing
concentrations of estrogen. The dose-response curve is typically sigmoid. This system has been used to assay the estrogen
content of extracts of urine (Gordon and
Villee, 1956) and of tissues (Hagerman,
Wellington and Villee, 1957; Loring and
Villee, 1957).
 
Attempts to isolate and purify the estrogen-sensitive enzyme were not very successful. By a combination of low temperature
alcohol fractionation and elution from calcium phosphate gel a 20-fold purification
was obtained (Hagerman and Villee, 1957).
However, as the enzyme was purified it was
found that an additional cofactor was required. Either uridine triphosphate (UTP)
or ATP added to the system greatly
increased the magnitude of the estrogen effect and, subsequently, adenosine diphosphate (ADP) was recovered from the incubation medium and identified by paper
chromatography (Villee and Hagerman,
1957). Talalay and Williams-Ashman
(1958) confirmed our observations and
showed that the additional cofactor was
triphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPN) which
was required in minute amounts. This finding was confirmed by Villee and Hagerman
(1958) and the estrogen-sensitive enzyme
system of the placenta is now believed to be
a transhydrogenase which catalyzes the
transfer of hydrogen ions and electrons
 
 
 
656
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
fromTPNHtoDPN:
 
TPXH + DPN^ -> DPNH + TPN^
 
The transhydrogenation system can be
coupled to glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase as well as to isocitric dehydrogenase
(Talalay and Williams-Ashman, 1958; Villee and Hagerman, 1958) and presumably
can be coupled to any TPNH-generating
system.
 
If the estrogen-stimulable transhydrogenation reaction were readily reversible, an
enzyme such as lactic dehydrogenase which
requires DPN should be stimulated by
estrogen if supplied with substrate amounts
of TPN, catalytic amounts of DPN, and
a preparation from the placenta containing
the transhydrogenase. Experiments to test
this prediction were made using lactic dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase of
both yeast and liver (Villee, 1958a). It was
not possible to demonstrate an estrogen
stimulation of either enzyme system in
either the forward or the reverse direction.
The stimulation of the lactic dehydrogenase-DPN oxidase system of the rat uterus
by estrogens administered in vivo reported
by Bever, Velardo and Hisaw (1956)
might be explained by the stimulation of
a transhydrogenase, but it has not yet been
possible to demonstrate a coupling of this
transhydrogenase and lactic dehydrogenase.
 
The stimulating effect of a number of
steroids has been tested with a system in
which the transhydrogenation reaction is
coupled to isocitric dehydrogenase (Villee
and Gordon, 1956; Hollander, Nolan and
Hollander, 1958). Estrone, equilin, equilenin, and 6-ketoestradiol have activities
essentially the same as that of estradiol17 j3. Samples of 1 -methyl estrone and 2methoxy-estrone had one-half the activitj''
of estradiol. Estriol is only weakly estrogenic in this system; 33 fig. estriol are less
active than 0.1 fig. estradiol- 17/3 (Villee,
1957a). The activities of estriol and 16epiestriol are similar, whereas 16-oxoestradiol is more active than either, with about
10 per cent as much activitv as csti'adiol17/3.
 
Certain analogues of stilbestrol have been
shown to be anti-estrogens in vivo. When
applied topically to the vagina of the rat,
they prevent the cornification normally in
 
 
duced by the administration of estrogen
(Barany, Morsing, Muller, Stallberg, and
Stenhagen, 1955). One of these, 1,3-di-phydroxyphenylpropane, was found to be
strongly anti-estrogenic in the placental
system in vitro: it prevented the acceleration of the transhydrogenase-isocitric dehydrogenase system normally produced by
estradiol- 17/3 (Villee and Hagerman, 1957).
The inhibitory power declines as the length
of the carbon chain connecting the two
phenolic rings is increased and 1 , 10-di-phydroxyphenyldecane had no inhibitory action. Similar inhibitions of the estradiolsensitive system were observed with stilbestrol, estradiol-17a, and a smaller antiestrogenic effect was found with estriol
(Villee, 1957a). The inhibition induced
by these compounds can be overcome by
adding increased amounts of estradiol-17^.
When stilbestrol is added alone at low concentration, 10~' M, it has a stimulatory effect equal to that of estradiol-17^ (Glass,
Loring, Spencer and Villee, 1961).
 
The quantitative relations between the
amounts of stimulator and inhibitor suggest
that this inhibition is a competitive one. It
was postulated that this phenomenon involves a competition between the steroids
for specific binding sites on the estrogensensitive enzyme (Villee, 1957b; Hagerman
and Villee, 1957). When added alone, estriol
and stilbestrol are estrogenic and increase
the rate of the estrogen-sensitive enzyme.
In the presence of both estradiol and estriol,
the total enzyme activity observed is the
sum of that due to the enzyme combined
with a potent activator, estradiol- 17^, and
that due to the enzyme combined with a
weak activator, estriol. When the concentration of estriol is increased, some of the
estradiol is displaced from the enzyme and
the total activity of the enzyme system is
decreased.
 
Two hypotheses have been proposed for
the mechanism of action of estrogens on the
enzyme system of the placenta. One states
that the estrogen combines with an inactive
form of the enzyme and converts it to an
active form (Hagerman and Villee, 1957).
When this theory was formulated the evidence indicated that the estrogen acted on
a specific DPN-linked isocitric dehydrogenase. The theory is equally applicable if the
 
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
657
 
 
 
estrogen-sensitive enzyme is a transhydrogenase, as the evidence now indicates. The
results of kinetic studies with the coupled
isocitric dehydrogenase-transhydrogenase
system are consistent with this theory
(Gordon and Villee, 1955; Villee, 1957b;
Hagerman and Villee, 1957). Apparent
binding constants for the enzyme-hormone
complex (Gordon and Villee, 1955j and for
enzyme-inhibitor complexes have been calculated (Hagerman and Villee, 1957).
 
The observation that estradiol and estrone, which differ in structure only by a
pair of hydrogen atoms, are equally effective in stimulating the reaction suggested
that the steroid might be acting in some way
as a hydrogen carrier from substrate to
pyridine nucleotide (Gordon and Villee,
1956). Talalay and Williams-Ashman
(1958) suggested that the estrogens act as
coenzymes in the transhydrogenation reaction and postulated that the reactions were:
 
Estrone + TPNH + H*
 
— Estradiol + TPN^
 
Estradiol + DPN+
 
— Estrone + DPNH + H*
 
 
 
Sum : TPNH
 
 
 
H*
 
 
 
- DPN^
— TPN^ + H^
 
 
 
DPNH
 
This formulation implies that the estrogen-sensitive transhydrogenation reaction
is catalyzed by the estradiol-17y3 dehydrogenase characterized by Langer and Engel
(1956). This enzyme was shown by Langer
(1957) to use either DPN or TPN as hydrogen acceptor but it reacts more rapidly
with DPN. Ryan and Engel (1953) showed
that this enzyme is present in rat liver, and
in human adrenal, ileum, and liver. However, no estrogen-stimulable enzyme is
demonstrable in rat or human liver (Villee,
1955). The nonparticulate fraction obtained
by high speed centrifugation of homogenized rabbit liver rapidly converts estradiol
to estrone if DPN is present as hydrogen
acceptor, but does not contain any estrogenstimulable transhydrogenation system.
 
It will not be possible to choose between
these two hypotheses until either the estrogen-sensitive transhydrogenase and the
estradiol dehydrogenase have been separated or there is conclusive proof of their
 
 
 
identity. Talalay, Williams-Ashman and
Hurlock (1958) reported a 100-fold purification of the dehydrogenase without separation of the transhydrogenase activity
and found that both activities were inhibited identically by sulfhydryl inhibitors.
In contrast, Hagerman and Villee (1958)
obtained partial separation of the two activities by the usual techniques of protein
fractionation, and reported that a 50 per
cent inhibition of transhydrogenase is obtained with p-chloromercurisulfonic acid at
a concentration of 10~^ m whereas 10"^ m
p-chloromercurisulfonic acid is required for
a 50 per cent inhibition of the dehydrogenase. The evidence that these two activities are mediated by separate and distinct proteins has been summarized by
Villee, Hagerman and Joel (1960).
 
The transhydrogenase present in the
mitochondrial membranes of heart muscle
was shown by Ball and Cooper (1957) to be
inhibited by 4 X 10"^ m thyroxine. The
estrogen-sensitive transhydrogenase of the
placenta is also inhibited by thyroxine (Villee, 1958b). The degree of inhibition is a
function of the concentration of the thyroxine and the inhibition can be overcome by
increased amounts of estrogen. Suitable control experiments show that thyroxine at
this concentration does not inhibit the glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase or isocitric
dehydrogenase used as TPNH-generating
systems to couple with the transhydrogenase. Triiodothyronine also inhibits the
estrogen-sensitive transhydrogenase but
tyrosine, diiodotyrosine and thyronine do
not. The thyroxine does not seem to be
inhibiting by binding the divalent cation,
Mn + + or ]Mg+ + , required for activity, for
the inhibition is not overcome by increasing
the concentration of the cation 10-fold.
 
In the intact animal estrogens stimulate
the growth of the tissues of certain target
organs. The estrogen-sensitive enzyme has
been shown to be present in many of the
target organs of estrogens: in human endometrium, myometrium, placenta, mammary
gland, and mammary carcinoma, in rat ventral prostate gland and uterus, and in mammotrophic-dependent transplantable tumors
of the rat and mouse pituitary. In contrast,
it is not demonstrable in comparable preparations from liver, heart, lung, brain, or
 
 
 
658
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
kidney. The growth of any tissue involves
the utilization of energy, derived in large
part from the oxidation of substrates, for
the synthesis of new chemical bonds and for
the reduction of substances involved in the
synthesis of compounds such as fatty acids,
cholesterol, purines, and pyrimidines.
 
The physiologic responses to estrogen
action, such as water imbibition and protein
and nucleic acid synthesis, are processes not
directly dependent on the activity of transhydrogenase. However, all of these processes
are endergonic, and one way of increasing
their rate would be to increase the supply of
biologically available energy by speeding
up the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and
the flow of electrons through the electron
transmitter system. Much of the oxidation
of substrates by the cell produces TPNH,
whereas the major fraction of the biologically useful energy of the cell comes from the
oxidation of DPNH in the electron transmitter system of the cytochromes. Hormonal
control of the rat of transfer of hydrogens
from TPN to DPN could, at least in theory,
influence the over-all rate of metabolism in
the cell and secondarily influence the
amount of energy available for synthetic
processes. Direct evidence of this was shown
in our early experiments in which the oxygen consumption of tissue slices of target
organs was increased by the addition of
estradiol (Hagerman and Villee, 1952; Villee and Hagerman, 1953).
 
This theory assumes that the supply of
energy is rate-limiting for synthetic processes in these target tissues and that the
activation of the estrogen-sensitive enzyme
does produce a significant increase in the
supply of energy. The addition of estradiol
in vitro produces a significant increase in
the total amount of isocitric acid dehydrogenated by the placenta (Villee, Loring
and Sarner, 1958) . Slices of endometrium to
which no estradiol was added in vitro
utilized oxygen and metabolized substrates
to carbon dioxide at rates which paralleled
the levels of estradiol in the blood and urine
of the patient from whom the endometrium
was obtained (Hagerman and Villee,
esses in these target tissues and that the
1953b). Estradiol increases the rate of synthesis of ATP by liomogenates of human
 
 
 
placenta (Villee, Joel, Loring and Spencer,
1960).
 
The reductive steps in the biosynthesis of
steroids, fatty acids, purines, serine, and
other substances generally require TPNH
rather than DPNH as hydrogen donor. The
cell ordinarily contains most of its TPN
in the reduced state and most its DPN in
the oxidized state (Glock and McLean,
1955). If the amount of TPN+ is ratelimiting, a transhydrogenase, by oxidizing
TPN and reducing DPN, would permit
further oxidation of substrates such as isocitric acid and glucose 6-phosphate, which
require TPN+ as hydrogen acceptor and
which are key reactions in the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and the hexose monophosphate shunt, respectively. Furthermore,
the experiments of Kaplan, Schwartz, Freeh
and Ciotti (1956) indicate that less biologically useful energy, as ATP, is obtained
when TPNH is oxidized by TPNH cytochrome c reductase than when DPNH is
oxidized by DPNH cytochrome c reductase.
Thus, a transhydrogenase, by transferring
hydrogens from TPNH to DPN before
oxidation in the cytochrome system, could
increase the energy yield from a given
amount of TPNH produced by isocitrate or
glucose 6-phosphate oxidation. The increased amount of biologically useful energy
could be used for growth, for protein and
nucleic acid synthesis, for the imbibition of
water, and for the other physiologic effects
of estrogens.
 
Estrogen stimulation of the transhydrogenation reaction would tend to decrease
rather than increase the amount of TPNH
in the cell. Thus the estrogen-induced stimulation of the synthesis of steroids, fatty
acids, proteins, and purines in the uterus
can be explained more reasonably as due to
an increased supply of energy rather than
to an increased supply of TPNH.
 
The theory that estrogens stimulate transhydrogenation by acting as coenzymes
which are rapidly and reversibly oxidized
and reduced does not explain the pronounced estrogenic activity in vivo of stilbestrol, 17a-ethinyl estradiol, or bfsdehydrodoisynolic acid, for these substances do
not contain groups that could be readily
oxidized or reduced. The exact mechanism
 
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
(359
 
 
 
of action of estrogens at the biochemical
level remains to be elucidated, but the
data available permit the formulation of a
detailed working hypothesis. The notable
effects of estrogens and androgens on behavior (see chapter by Young) are presumably due to some direct or indirect effect of the hormone on the central nervous
system. The explanation of these phenomena
in physiologic and biochemical terms remains for future investigations to provide.
 
B. ANDROGENS
 
Although there is a considerable body of
literature regarding the responses at the biologic level to administered androgens and
progesterone, much less is known about the
site and mechanism of action of these hormones than is known about the estrogens.
The review by Roberts and Szego (1953b)
deals especially with the synergistic and
antagonistic interactions of the several
steroidal sex hormones.
 
The rapid growth of the capon comb following the administration of testosterone
has been shown to involve a pronounced
increase in the amount of mucopolysaccharide present, as measured by the content
of glucosamine (Ludwig and Boas, 1950;
Schiller, Benditt and Dorfman, 1952). It
is not known whether the androgen acts by
increasing the amount or activity of one of
the enzymes involved in the synthesis of
polysaccharides or whether it increases the
amount or availability of some requisite
cofactor. Many of the other biologic effects
of androgens do not seem to involve
mucopolysaccharide synthesis and the
relation of these observations to the
other roles of androgens remains to he determined.
 
Mann and Parsons (1947) found that
castration of rabbits resulted in a decreased
concentration of fructose in the semen.
Within 2 to 3 weeks after castration the
amount of fructose in the semen dropped
to zero, but rapidly returned to normal following the subcutaneous implantation of a
pellet of testosterone. Fructose reappeared
in the semen of the castrate rat 10 hours
after the injection of 10 mg. of testosterone
(Rudolph and Samuels, 1949). The coagulating gland of the rat, even when trans
 
 
planted to a new site in the body, also responds by producing fructose when the host
is injected with testosterone. The amount
of citric acid and ergothioneine in the semen
is also decreased by castration and increased by the implantation of testosterone
pellets (Mann, 1955). The experiments of
Hers (1956) demonstrate that fructose
is produced in the seminal vesicle by
the reduction of glucose to sorbitol and
the subsequent oxidation of sorbitol to
fructose. The reduction of glucose requires TPNH as hydrogen donor and the
oxidation of sorbitol requires DPN as
hydrogen acceptor. The sum of these two
reactions provides for the transfer of hydrogens from TPNH to DPN. If androgens
act as cofactors which are reversibly oxidized and reduced, and thus transfer hydrogens from TPNH to DPN as postulated
by Talalay and Williams-Ashman (1958),
one would expect that an increased amount
of androgen, by providing a competing system for hydrogen transfer, would decrease
rather than increase the production of fructose. The marked increases in the citric
acid and ergothioneine content of semen
are not readily explained by this postulated
site of action of androgens.
 
An increase in the activity of /3-glucuronidase in the kidney has been reported
following the administration of androgens
(Fishman, 1951). This might be interpreted
as an arlaptive increase in enzyme induced
by the increased concentration of substrate,
or by a direct effect of the steroid on the
synthesis of the enzyme.
 
The respiration of slices of prostate gland
of the dog is decreased by castration or by
the administration of stilbestrol (Barron
and Huggins, 1944). The decrease in respiration occurs with either glucose or pyruvate
as substrate. The seminal vesicle of the rat
responds similarly to castration. Rudolph
and Samuels (1949) found that respiration
of slices of seminal vesicle is decreased by
castration and restored to normal values
within 10 hours after the injection of testosterone. Experiments by Dr. Phillip Corfman in our laboratory with slices of prostate
gland from patients with benign prostatic
hypertrophy showed that oxygen utilization
was reduced 50 per cent by estradiol added
 
 
 
660
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
in vitro at a level of 1 /xg. per ml. Respiration of slices of the ventral prostate gland
of the rat is decreased by castration and increased by administered testosterone (Nyden and Williams-Ashman, 1953). These
workers showed that lipogenesis from acetate-l-C^* in the prostate is also significantly diminished by castration and
restored to normal by administered testosterone.
 
The succinic dehydrogenase of the liver
has been found to be increased by castration
and decreased by the administration of testosterone (Kalman, 1952; Rindani, 1958),
the enzyme is also inhibited by testosterone
added in vitro (Kalman, 1952). In contrast,
Davis, Meyer and McShan (1949) found
that the succinic dehydrogenase of the
prostate and seminal vesicles is decreased
by castration and increased by the administration of testosterone.
 
An interesting example of an androgen
effect on a specific target organ is the decreased size of the levator ani and
other perineal muscles of the rat following castration. The administration of
androgen stimulates the growth of these
muscles and increases their glycogen content
(Leonard, 1952). However, their succinoxidase activity is unaffected by castration
or by the administration of testosterone.
Courrier and Marois (1952) reported that
the growth of these muscles stimulated by
androgen is inhibited by cortisone. The
remarkable responsiveness of these muscles
to androgens in vivo gave promise that
slices or homogenates of this tissue incubated with androgens might yield clues as to
the mode of action of the male sex hormones. Homogenates of perineal and masseter muscles of the rat responded to androgens administered in vivo with increased
oxygen consumption and ATP production
iLoring, Spencer and Villee, 1961). The experiments suggested that the activity of
DPNH-cytochromo r reductase in these
tissues is controlled by aiKh'ogeiis.
 
C. PROGESTERONE
 
Attempts to clarify the biochemical basis
of the role of progesterone have been hampered by the requirement, in most instances,
for a previous stimulation of the tissue by
estrogen. The work of Wade and Jones
 
 
 
(1956a, b) demonstrated an interesting effect of progesterone added in vitro on several aspects of metabolism in rat liver mitochondria. Progesterone, but not estradiol,
testosterone, 17a-hydroxyprogesterone, or
any of several other steroids tested, stimulated the adenosine triphosphatase activity
of rat liver mitochondria. This stimulation
is not the result of an increased permeability
of the mitochondrial membrane induced by
progesterone, for the stimulatory effect is
also demonstrable with mitochondria that
have been repeatedly frozen and thawed to
break the membranes. Other experiments
showed that ATP was the only substrate
effective in this system ; progesterone did not
activate the release of inorganic phosphate
from AMP, ADP, or glycerophosphate.
 
In other experiments with rat liver mitochondria (Wade and Jones, 1956b), progesterone at a higher concentration (6 X lO"'*
m) was found to inhibit the utilization of
oxygen with one of the tricarboxylic acids
or with DPNH as substrate. This inhibition
is less specific and occurred with estradiol,
testosterone, pregnanediol, and 17a-hydroxy progesterone, as well as with progesterone. The inhibition of respiration by high
concentrations of steroids in vitro has been
reported many times and with several different tissues; it seems to be relatively unspecific. Wade and Jones were able to show
that progesterone inhibits the reduction of
cytochrome c but accelerates the oxidation
of ascorbic acid. They concluded that progesterone may perhaps uncouple oxidation
from phosphorylation in a manner similar
to that postulated for dinitrophenol. The
site of action of this uncoupling appears to
be in the oxidation-reduction path between
DPNH and cytochrome c. Mueller (1953)
found that progesterone added in vitro decreases the incorporation of glycine-2-C^'*
into the protein of strips of rat uterus, thus
counteracting the stimulatory effect of estradiol administered in vivo.
 
Zander (1958) reported that A4-3-ketopregnene-20-a-ol and A4-3-ketopregnene20-^-ol arc effective gestational hormones
in the mouse, rabbit, and man, although
somewhat less active in general than is
progesterone. An enzyme in rat ovary which
converts progesterone to pregnene-20-a-ol,
and also catalyzes the reverse reaction, was
 
 
 
STEROID SEX HORMONES
 
 
 
661
 
 
 
described by Wiest (1956). The conversion
occurred when slices of ovary were incubated with DPN. Wiest postulated that
the progesterone-pregnene-20-a-ol system
might play a role in hydrogen transfer, in
a manner analogous to that postulated by
Talalay and Williams-Ashman (1958) for
estrone-estradiol- 17^, but his subsequent
experiments ruled out this possibility, for
he was unable to demonstrate any progesterone-stimulable transhydrogenation reaction.
 
The nature of the effect of progesterone
and of estrogens on myometrium has been
investigated extensively by Csapo. Csapo
and Corner (1952, 1953) found that ovariectomy decreased the maximal tension of
the myometrium and decreased its content
of actomyosin. The administration of estradiol to the ovariectomized rabbit over a
period of 7 days restored both the actomyosin content and the maximal tension of the
myometrium to normal. The concentration
of ATP and of creatine phosphate in the
myometrium is decreased by ovariectomy
but is restored by only 2 days of estrogen
treatment. This suggests that the effect on
intermediary metabolism occurs before the
effect on protein {i.e., actomyosin) synthesis. Csapo (1956a) concluded that estrogen
is a limiting substance in the synthesis of
the contractile proteins of myometrium, but
he could not differentiate between an effect
of estrogen on some particular biosynthetic
reaction and an effect of estrogen on some
fundamental reaction which favors synthesis in general. He was unable to demonstrate
any comparable effect of progesterone on
the contractile actomyosin-ATP system of
the myometrium.
 
Other observations provide an explanation for the well known effect of progesterone in decreasing the contractile activity of
myometrium, not by any effect on the contractile system itself, but in some previous
step in the excitation process. Under the
domination of progesterone the myometrial
cells have a decreased intracellular concentration of potassium ions and an increased
concentration of sodium ions (Horvath,
1954). The change in ionic gradient across
the cell membrane is believed to be responsible for the altered resting potential and
the partial depolarization of the cell mem
 
 
brane which results in decreased conductivity and decreased pharmacologic reactivity
of the myometrial cell. The means by which
progesterone produces the changes in ionic
gradients is as yet unknown. Csapo postulates that the hormone might decrease the
rate of metabolism which in turn would
lessen the rate of the "sodium pump" of the
cell membrane. The contractile elements,
the actomyosin-ATP system, are capable of
full contraction but, because of the partial
block in the mechanism of excitation and of
propagation of impulses (Csapo, 1956b),
the muscle cells cannot operate effectively;
the contractile activity remains localized.
Csapo (1956a) showed that the progesterone
block is quickly reversible and disappears if
progesterone is withdrawn for 24 hours. He
concluded that the progesterone block is
necessary for the continuation of pregnancy
and that its withdrawal is responsible for
the onset of labor.
 
]\Iost investigators who have speculated
about the mode of action of steroids —
whether they believe the effect is by activating an enzyme, by altering the permeability of a membrane, or by serving as a
coenzyme in a given reaction— have emphasized the physical binding of the steroid to
a protein as an essential part of the mechanism of action or a preliminary step to
that action. They have in this way explained
the specificities, synergisms, and antagonisms of the several steroids in terms of the
formation of specific steroid-protein complexes. The differences between different
target organs, e.g., those that respond to
androgens and those that respond to estrogens, can be attributed to differences in the
distribution of the specific proteins involved
in these binding reactions. Viewed in this
light, the problem of the mode of action of
sex hormones becomes one aspect of the
larger problem of the biochemical basis of
embryonic differentiation of tissues.
 
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PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
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a precursor of tetrahydrocortisone in man. J.
Am. Chem. Soc, 76, 5260-5261.
 
West. C. D., Damast, B. L., Sarro, S. D., and
Pearson, 0. H. 1956. Conversion of testosterone to estrogens in castrated, adrenalectomized human females. J. Biol. Chem., 218,
409-418.
 
WiEST, W. G. 1956. The metabolism of progesterone to A4-pregnen-20a-ol-3-one in eviscerated female rats. J. Biol. Chem., 221, 461467.
 
Zander, J. 1958. Gestagens in human pregnancy.
In Proceedings Conference on Endocrinology
of Reproduction, C. W. Lloyd, Ed. New York:
Academic Press, Inc.
 
Zondek, B., and Hestrin, S. 1947. Phosphorylase
activity in human endometrium. Am. J. Obst.
ct Gvnec, 54, 173-175.
 
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS ON ENDOCRINE SECRETIONS
 
James H. Leathern, Ph.D.
 
PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY, RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY,
NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY
 
 
 
I. Introduction' 666 I, Introduction
 
II. Nature of Problems in Nutritional -j-. -, .^ ^ ,• ,• t ,
 
Studies 668 Despite the accumulation of many data
 
A. Thyroid Cxland, Nutrition, and Re- in the field of reproductive endocrinology
 
production ()68 during the past 20 years and the long es
B. Adreiial Gland, Nutrition, and Re- ^ _^ tablished awareness of a nutritional in
C. Diabetef^Mellitus, Nutrition, and '' ^f^f on fertility and fecundity, knowl
Reproduction ()72 edge bearing on nutrition and the endocrine
 
D. Sterile-Obese Syndrome 673 glands subserving reproduction has ad
E. Diet and the Liver 673 vanced comparatively slowly. However, re
III. Hypophysis and Diet 674 markable advances have been made in each
 
A. Inanition 674 speciality SO that nutritional-endocrine
 
^roein. .. w problems should continue to be a fruitful
 
C. Carbohvdrate and Fat ()7() ^ „ ^i-r^x i-ii
 
D Vitamins 676 ^^^^^ ^^^' ^tudy. Data which have yet to
 
IV. Male Reproductive System (i77 be obtained eventually w'ill contribute to
 
A. Testis 677 the coherence one would prefer to present
 
1. Inanition 677 now.
 
2. Protein 678 'y\^q endocrinologist appreciates the deli
4 Vitamins (i8() ^^^^ balance which exists between the hy
B. Influence of Nutrition on the Respon- ' pophysis and the gonads. In a sense, a simi
siveness of Male Reproductive Tis- lar interdependence exists between nutrition
 
sues to Hormones 681 and the endocrine glands, including those
 
1. Testis ■ . . 681 ^j^|-^ reproductive functions. Not only does
 
2. feeminal vesicles and i)rostate 682 x •<• • n xi • j i -•
 
V. Female Reproductive System 683 nutrition influence synthesis and release of
 
A. Ovaries 683 hormones, but hormones in turn, through
 
1. Inanition 683 their regulation of the metabolism of pro
2. Protein 684 teins, carbohydrates, and fats, influence nu
3. Carbohydrate 685 trition. Thus, dietary deficiencies may create
 
5 Vitamins 685 endocrine imbalance, and endocrine imbal
B. Influence of Nutrition on the ResiK)n- '^^ce may create demands for dietary fac
siveness of Female Pe])ro<luct ive tors. It follows, therefore, that, in any conTissues to Hormones 687 sideration of this interrelationship, one must
 
1 . Ovary ... 687 consider not only undernutrition and lack of
 
2. uterus and vagina 688 -n c j \ l ^ i ^ cc i. r
 
3. Mammary gland 689 specific foods, but also possible effects of
 
C. Pregnancy. . 689 antithyroid substanccs in foods, antimetab
VI. Concluding Remarks 693 olites, and overnutrition, especially for the
 
VII.Pkferencks (;!)4 child (Forbes, 1957).
 
666
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
667
 
 
 
Our understanding of the means by which
hormones exert their effects is relatively
slight, as is our knowledge of the biochemical mechanisms by w^hich supplements and
deficiencies of vitamins and amino acids
influence hormone action. Nevertheless,
support for the statement that modifications
of nutrition influence endocrine gland secretions or hormone action on distant target organs or tissues is provided by an
enumeration of a few basic cell components
requiring proteins, lipids, and vitamins.
(1) Proteins combine with lipids to form
lipoproteins which are essential features
of the internal and external cellular membranes and interfaces. Hormones, as well as
nutrition, influence cell membranes and
therefore cell transport is affected. It is well
known that hormones influence electrolyte
and carbohydrate transfer and recently an
endocrine control of amino acid transport
was demonstrated (Noall, Riggs, Walker
and Christensen, 1957). The effect of modifications of nutrition on the capacity of hormones to influence cell transport must await
study. (2) Enzymes are proteins with chemically active surfaces and often include nonprotein groups such as vitamins. Nutritional
and hormonal changes cause alterations in
enzyme concentrations (Knox, Auerbach
and Lin, 1956). Vitamin, mineral, and fat
deficiencies favor a decrease in enzymes,
whereas protein deficiencies have varied effects (Van Pilsum, Speyer and Samuels,
1957). Enzyme changes caused by hormones
appear to be a consequence of metabolic
adaptations. The importance of a nutritional base on which a hormone can express
an effect on the enzymes of the reproductive
organs can only be determined after further
data have been obtained. (3) Proteins combined with nucleic acids become nucleoproteins, some of which are organized in the
cytoplasm and may be templates for cellular protein synthesis. Other nucleoproteins
are contained in the nucleus. Nutrition and
hormones influence tissue nucleoproteins
but studies involving the reproductive organs are few. How^ever, one possible cause
of human infertility is low desoxyribose
nucleic acid in the sperm ("Weir and Leuchtenberger, 1957).
 
Proteins are characteristic components of
 
 
 
tissues and hypophyseal hormones are protein in nature; also the major portion of
gonadal dry weight is protein. Such being
the case, it is important to appreciate that
the protein composition of the body is in
a dynamic state and that proteins from the
tissues and from the diet contribute to a
common metabolic pool of nitrogen. This
metabolic pool contains amino acids which
may be withdrawn for rebuilding tissue
protein and for the formation of new protein
for growth. Obviously, the character of the
metabolic pool of nitrogen reflects dietary
protein level and quality. A food protein
which is deficient in one or more amino
acids will restrict tissue protein synthesis.
Hormones also influence the metabolic pool
by affecting appetite as well as absorption,
utilization, and excretion of foods, and thus
hormones could accentuate the effect of a
poor diet, or create demands beyond those
normally met by an adequate diet. In addition a study of the tissues and organs of
the body reveals that contributions to the
metabolic pool are not uniform, thus one
tissue or organ may be maintained at the
expense of another. In protein deprivation
in adults the liver quickly contributes increased amounts of nitrogen to the metabolic
pool whereas the testis does not. On the
other hand, protein contributions to the
nitrogen pool by the hypophysis, and the
amino acid withdrawals needed for hormone
synthesis, are unknown. Data suggesting
that the addition of specific nutrients to
diets improves hypophyseal hormone synthesis have been presented (Leathem,
1958a).
 
In 1939 jNIason rightfully emphasized the
need for vitamins in reproduction. Since
then, much additional knowledge has been
obtained. Vitamins of the B complex have
been more clearly identified and a better
understanding of their function has been
gained. Thiamine is important for carbohydrate metabolism, pyridoxine for fat metabolism, and the conversion of tryptophan
to nicotinic acid, and vitamin B12 may be
involved in protein synthesis. In addition,
vitamins have been found to serve as coenzymes, and folic acid to be important for
estrogen action on the uterus. Tliosr. and
 
 
 
668
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
many other findings prompt a survey of the
relationships of vitamins to reproduction.
 
It is the intention of the author to review
enough of the evidence which interrelates
nutrition and reproduction to create an
awareness of the problems in the area.
Reviews dealing with the general subject
of hormonal-nutritional interrelationships
have been presented (Hertz, 1948; Samuels,
1948; Ershoff, 1952; Zubiran and GomezMont, 1953; Meites, Feng and Wilwerth,
1957; Leathem, 1958a,). Other reviews have
related reproduction to nutrition with emphasis on laboratory (Mason, 1939; Guilbert, 1942; Lutwak-Mann, 1958) and farm
animals (Reid, 1949; Asdell, 1949), and on
protein nutrition (Leathem, 1959b, c). An
encyclopedic survey of the biology of human nutrition has been made by Keys,
Brozec, Hernschel, Michelsen and Taylor
(1950).
 
II. Nature of Problems in Nutritional
Studies
 
A. THYEOID GLAND, NUTRITION, AND
REPRODUCTION
 
Normal development of the reproductive
organs and their proper functioning in
 
TABLE 12.1
Ovarian response to chorionic gonadrotrophin,
 
as modified by thiouracil and diet
 
(From J. H. Leathem, in Recent Progress in
 
the Endocrinology of Reproduction, Academic
 
Press, Inc., New York, 1959.)
 
 
 
Diet
 
 
Ovarian Weight
 
 
Cholesterol
 
 
Total
 
 
Free
 
 
18 per cent casein .
 
18 tier cent +
 
I'hiouracil
 
per cent casein . .
per cent + thiouracil
 
18 per cent gelatin . . .
 
 
mg.
 
87
342
 
59
133
 
59
186
27.5
 
 
%
0.41
 
0.20
 
0.47
 
0.22
 
0.66
0.26
1.56
 
 
0.18
0.12
0.23
0.15
 
0.22
 
 
18 per cent -f
thio uracil
 
 
0.18
18
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chorionic gonadotrophin = 10 I. U. X 20 days.
 
 
 
adults are dependent not only on the endocrine glands composing the hypophysealgonadal axis, but on others as well. The
importance of the thyroid, although not
the same for all species, is readily apparent
from the effects of prolonged hypo- and
hyperthyroid states on reproduction. Many
of these effects have been enumerated elsewhere (chapters by Albert, by Young on the
ovary, and by Zarrow) , but others also are
important. Thus steroid production may be
altered in hypothyroid animals; certainly
its metabolism is influenced. Myxedema is
associated with a profound change in androgen metabolism. Endogenous production of
androsterone is very low and subnormal
amounts of administered testosterone are
converted to androsterone. Triiodothyronine
corrects this defect (Hellman, Bradlow,
Zumoff, Fukushima and Gallagher, 1959).
The gonads of male and female offspring of
cretin rats are subnormal. The testes may
contain a few spermatocytes but no spermatozoa, and Leydig cells seem to secrete
little or no androgen. The ovaries may contain a few small follicles with antra, but
corpora lutea are absent and ovarian lipid
and cholesterol concentrations are very
low. Nevertheless, the gonads are competent to respond to administered gonadotrophin with a marked increase in weight.
However, administration of chorionic gonadotrophin to the hypothyroid rat stimulated follicular cyst formation rather than
folliculogenesis and corpora lutea formation
(Leathem, 1958b), but, for even this aberrant development, dietary protein was required (Leathem, 1959b) (Table 12.1). The
relationship between hypothyroidism and
ovarian function may provide a clue to a
possible origin of ovarian cysts, long known
to be a common cause of infertility and associated reproductive disorders. Clinical
cases of untreated myxedema exhibit ovarian cysts, and rats made hypothyroid for
eight months, had a higher percentage of
cystic ovaries than did euthyroid rats
(Janes, 1944).
 
The reproductive system of the adult
male is less affected than that of the immature male by a decrease in thyroid function, just as the testis of the adult is less
likely to reflect a change in protein nutrition
which is sufficient to alter the immature rat
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
669
 
 
 
testis. On the other hand, the lack of
demonstrable thyroid dysfunction in the
adult male does not exclude the possibility
of an effect of thyroid hormone on reproduction. The conversion of thyroxine to triiodothyronine may be hindered (Morton,
1958) . Thyroxine was found to decrease the
number of active cells in the semen and to
reduce motility, whereas triiodothyronine
increased the number of active spermatozoa
(Farris and Colton, 1958; Reed, Browning
and O'Donnell, 1958j. Small dosages of thyroxine stimulated spermatogenesis in the
mouse, rabbit, and ram (Maqsood, 1952)
and were beneficial in normal guinea pigs
and rats (Richter and Winter, 1947; Young,
Rayner, Peterson and Brown, 1952).
 
In many species reproduction occurs despite hypothyroidism, but fecundity may
be subnormal (Peterson, Webster, Rayner
and Young, 1952). Feeding an antithyroid
drug, thiouracil, to female rats may or may
not prevent pregnancy, but it reduces the
number of young per litter. Thiouracil feeding continued through lactation will decrease litter size (Leathem, 1959b). Hypothyroid guinea pigs gave birth to some live
young, but the percentage approached normal only when thyroxine was administered
(Hoar, Goy and Young, 1957). Pregnant
euthyroid animals responded to thyroxine
by delivering more living young than normal control pigs (Peterson, Webster, Ravner and Young, 1952) . The extent to which
such effects are consequences of the reduction in appetite, metabolism, and absorption of food from the gut which are associated with hypothyroidism has not been
determined.
 
Hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, will
increase the appetite and enhance absorption of food from the gut, as the increased
metabolism requires more calories, minerals,
vitamins, choline, and methionine. In adult
rats hyperthyroidism induces a marked loss
in body fat and accelerates protein catabolism. The two effects, if unchecked, result
in loss of body weight and death. In immature males hyperthyroidism slows gain
in body weight, retards testis growth and
maturation, and abolishes androgen secretion (Table 12.2). Altering dietary protein
in adult animals failed to modify the thyroid hormone effects, thereby suggesting
 
 
 
TABLE 12.2
 
Effects of diet and thyroid {0.2 'per
 
cent) on immature rats
 
(From J. H. Leathem, in Recent Progress in
 
the Endocrinology of Reproduction, Academic
 
Press, Inc., New York, 1959.)
 
 
 
Diet
 
 
Testis Weight
 
 
Seminal
 
 
(Casein) X 30 Days
 
 
Actual
 
 
Relative
 
 
Vesicles
 
 
20 per cent
 
20 per cent +
thyroid
 
6 per cent
 
6 per cent +
thyroid
 
per cent
 
per cent -|thyroid
 
 
mg.
1G94
 
1090
 
825
 
245
 
140
 
95
 
 
mg./lOOgm.
 
1035
 
881
1232
 
650
 
346
 
261
 
 
mg.
88
 
9
16
 
7
7
6
 
 
 
that the metabolic demands of other tissues
were making increased withdrawals from
the metabolic pool of nitrogen and thus
hindering testis growth. In euthyroid rats, a
6 per cent protein diet will permit testis
growth in the absence of a gain in body
weight, but hyperthyroidism prevents this
preferential effect. Although Moore (1939)
considered the effect of thyroid hormone on
reproduction as possibly due to general body
emaciation, the testis seems to be less responsive than the body as a whole. Adult
rats fed 0.2 per cent desiccated thyroid
exhibited no correlation between loss of
body weight, change in testis weight, or
protein composition of testis at two levels
of casein and lactalbumin (Leathem,
1959b) . The testes were seemingly not influenced by the metabolic nitrogen changes
which caused a loss in carcass nitrogen
and an associated increase in kidney and
heart nitrogen.
 
The mechanism of thyroid hormone action on reproduction is far from clear. As
we have noted, a part of its action may be
through the regulation of nutritional processes. Thyroid function is influenced by
the biologic value of the dietary protein
(Leathem, 1958a) and the specifie amino
acids fed (Samuels, 1953). In turn, an
altered thyroid function will influence the
nitrogen contributions to the metabolic pool
by reducing appetite and absorption from
 
 
 
670
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
the gut, and by changing the contributions
of nitrogen to the metabolic pool made by
the body tissues. Hypothyroidism interferes
with the refilling of body protein stores;
consequently, protein needs of the reproductive organs may not be fully met (Leathern, 1953). It is consistent with this
opinion that testis recovery from protein
deprivation in hypothyroid rats was aided
by thyroxine treatment (Horn, 1955).
 
Conversion of carotene to vitamin A may
be prevented by hypothyroidism, suggesting
that a subnormal amount of this vitamin
may contribute to fetal loss. An increased
intake of B vitamins might be required as
hypothyroidism aggravates a vitamin B12
deficiency, and increased intake of B vitamins enhances the capacity of young rats to
withstand large doses of thiouracil (Meites,
1953). Although a reduced metabolic rate
might seemingly reduce vitamin requirements, more efficient metabolic activities,
in the absence of hormonal stimuli, seem to
occur when vitamin intake is increased
(Meites, Feng and Wilwerth, 1957).
 
Reproduction is influenced by effects
which are the opposite of a number of
those just cited, i.e., effects of malnutrition
on thyroid function. The need for iodine in
the prevention of goiter is well known.
However, certain foods prevent the utilization of iodine in the synthesis of thyroid
hormone. The foods containing an antithyroid or goitrogenic agent, as tested in
man, include rutabaga, cabbage, brussels
sprouts, cauliflower, turnip, rape, kale, and
to a lesser extent peach, pear, strawberry,
spinach, and carrot (Greer and Astwood,
1948). A potent goitrogen isolated from
rutabaga is L-5-vinyl-2-thiooxazolidine
((ireer, 1950, 1956). Reduced food intake
will decrease the thyroid gland response to
goitrogens (Gomez-Mont, Paschkis and
Cantarow, 1947; Meites and Agrawala,
1949), the uptake of I^^^ (Meites, 1953),
and the level of thyrotrophic hormone in
laboratory animals (D'Angelo, 1951). The
thyroid changes associated with malnutrition in man arc uncertain (Zubiran and
Gomez-Mont, 1953). However, a decreased
functioning of the gland in anorexia nervosa, followed by an increased functioning
on refeeding (Poiioff, Lasche, Nodine,
 
 
 
Schneeberg and \'ieillard, 1954), is suggestive of a direct nutritional need.
 
Changes in the thyrotrophic potency of
the rat hypophysis have been observed in
various vitamin deficiencies. Thiamine deficiency may increase thyroid function, but
vitamin A deficiency may have the opposite
effect (Ershoff, 1952). The difficulties inherent in the assay of thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH) , even by current methods,
prevent one from drawing definite conclusions from the available data.
 
Immature animals given thyroxine are
retarded in growth and do not survive. However, increasing dietary thiamine, pyridoxine, or vitamin B12 improves the ability of
the young rat to withstand large dosages
of thyroid substances (Meites, 1952), as
does methionine (Boldt, Harper and Elvehjem, 1958). Consideration must also be
given to the need for nutritional factors
which play a minor role in normal metabolic
states but increase in importance in stress.
Thus yeast and whole liver contain antithyrotoxic substances (Drill, 1943; Ershoff,
1952; Overby, Frost and Fredrickson,
1959).
 
Excessive thyroid hormone will prevent
maturation of the ovary and in adult rats
will cause ovarian atrophy with a cessation
of estrous cycles. Addition of yeast to the
diet permitted estrous cycles to continue
(Drill, 1943), but gonadal inhibition in the
immature animal was not ]3revented. However, whole liver or its w^ater-insoluble fraction counteracted the gonadal inhibition induced by hyperthyrodism in immature
rats (Ershoff, 1952). Biochemical mechanisms by which these dietary supplements
can benefit rats given excessive quantities
of hormone are unknown.
 
B. .\DREXAL GLAND, NUTRITION, AND
REPRODUCTION
 
The problem of the relationship between
adrenal steroid secretions and the reproductive system is one that still requires
clarification. Furthermore, the possible influences of nutrition can only be inferred
from the effects of adrenal steroids on the
major metabolic systems of the body.
 
In the female there is a close relationshiji
between the adrenal and the estrous and
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
iul
 
 
 
menstrual cycles (Zuckerman, 1953; chapter by Young on the ovary). The ovary
would seem to require cortical steroids for
the normal functioning of its own metabolic
processes and for those which it influences
peripherally. The Addisonian patient may
show ovarian follicular atresia and a loss of
secondary sex characteristics, and the untreated adrenalectomized rat exhibits a
decrease in ovarian size and has irregular
cycles (Chester Jones, 1957). The decline
in size of the ovary after adrenalectomy
is due to impaired sensitivity to folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) rather than to
a decreased production of FSH, and the
ovarian response is corrected by cortisone
(Mandl, 1954).
 
Reproductive potential is not necessarily
lost when there is adrenal insufficiency, but
pregnancy is not well tolerated by women
with Addison's disease. Furthermore, adrenalectomy in rats at the time of mating or
4 to 6 days after mating resulted in abortion. Improved pregnancy maintenance was
obtained in adrenalectomized rats given
saline or cortisone acetate (Davis and Plotz,
1954) , whereas desoxycorticosterone acetate
alone extended the pregnancy period beyond
normal time (Houssay, 1945). Essentially
normal pregnancies were obtained in adrenalectomized rats given both cortisone
acetate and desoxycorticosterone acetate
(Cupps, 1955). Substitution of cortisone
acetate for adrenal secretions may be incomplete because the adrenal hormone in
the normal rat is primarily corticosterone
and because cortisone enhances the excretion of certain amino acids and vitamins. It
would be interesting to test a diet with a
high vitamin content on the capacity of an
adrenalectomized rat to maintain pregnancy, because improved survival of operated rats is obtained by giving vitamin Bio
(Meites, 1953) or large doses of pantothenic acid, biotin, ascorbic acid, or folic
acid (Ralli and Dumm, 1952; Dumm and
Ralli, 1953).
 
An adrenal influence over protein metabolism is well known, but protein nutrition,
in turn, can influence cortical steroid effectiveness. In fact, an extension of the life
span of adrenalectomized rats is not obtained with adrenal steroids if the diet
 
 
 
lacks protein (Leathern, 1958a). A low
protein diet alone will not improve survival after adrenalectomy, but better survival is obtained when the rats are given
saline. When the low protein diet was supplemented with methionine, a definite improvement in life span was observed and the
possibility that cortisone exerts its effect by
drawing on the carcass for methionine was
suggested (Aschkenasy, 1955a, b).
 
Reducing dietary casein to 2 per cent
seriously endangers pregnancy in the rat,
but the addition of progesterone permits
80 per cent of the pregnancies to be maintained. However, removal of the adrenal
glands counteracts the protective action of
the progesterone, only 10 per cent of the
pregnancies continuing to term. Addition
of methionine to the low casein diet improved pregnancy maintenance, but 1 mg.
cortisone acetate plus progesterone provided the best results (Aschkenasy-Lelu
and Aschkenasy, 1957; Aschkenasy and
Aschkenasy-Lelu, 1957). These data emphasize the importance of nutrition in obtaining an anticipated hormone action. Further investigation might be directed toward
the study of whole proteins other than casein, for the biologic value of proteins differs from normal when tested in adrenalectomized rats (Leathem, 1958a) .
 
As Albert has noted in his chapter, adrenalectomy has little or no effect on the
testis. Gaunt and Parkins (1933) found no
degenerative changes in the testes of adult
rats dying of adrenal insufficiency, although
an increase in the testis : body-weight ratios
was noted in rats fed 18 per cent and 4 per
cent protein (Aschkenasy, 1955c). If adrenalectomized rats are kept on a maintenance dosage of cortisone acetate for 20
days and fed dietary proteins of different
biologic values, one finds that testis-composition of protein, lipid, and glycogen varies in the same manner as in the normal
rat (Wolf and Leathem, 1955) (Table 12.3).
 
When the adrenal glands are intact, the
influence of diet on their functional capacity and indeed on the hypophyseal- adrenal
axis must be considered. Zubiran and Gomez-]\Iont (1953) showed that patients exhibiting gonadal changes associated with
chronic malnutrition also exhibit adrenal
 
 
 
672
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GOXADS
 
 
 
TABLE 12.3
 
Nutritional effects on the testes of cortisonemaintained adrenalectomized rats
(From R. C. Wolf and J. H. Leathern,
Endocrinology, 57, 286, 1955.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Testes Composition
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(per cent)
 
 
Treatment
 
 
Diet
 
 
Testes
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Protein
 
 
Lipid
 
 
Glycogen
 
 
 
 
 
 
mg.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corti
 
20 per cent
 
 
703
 
 
68.5
 
 
30.4
 
 
0.13
 
 
sone
 
 
casein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ace
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
tate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Control
 
 
 
 
1211
 
 
70.5
 
 
29.4
 
 
0.15
 
 
Corti
 
20 per cent
 
 
808
 
 
61.0
 
 
31.8
 
 
0.17
 
 
sone
 
 
wheat
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ace
 
ghiten
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
tate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Control
 
 
 
 
816
 
 
62.3
 
 
32.2
 
 
0.17
 
 
Corti
 
20 per cent
 
 
1014
 
 
64.3
 
 
31.3
 
 
0.17
 
 
sone
 
 
peanut
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ace
 
flour
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
tate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Control
 
 
 
 
699
 
 
68.5
 
 
31.3
 
 
0.12
 
 
 
hypofimction. Several clinical tests permitted the evaluation of subnormal adrenal
function which, however, did not reach
Addisonian levels. Malnutrition not onlyreduced hypophyseal adrenocorticotrophic
hormone (ACTH), but also prevented an
incomplete response by the adrenal glands
to injected ACTH. In laboratory rodents,
anterior hypophyseal function is also influenced by dietary protein and vitamin
levels (Ershoff, 1952). The importance of
dietary protein in the hypophyseal-adrenal
system has recently been re-emphasized
(Leathem, 1957; Goth, Nadashi and Slader,
1958). Furtiiermore, adrenal cortical function is affected by vitamin deficiencies
(Morgan, 1951), from which it appears
that pantothenic acid is essential for cortical hormone elaboration (Eisenstcin, 1957).
Administration of excessive amounts of
cortical steroids can induce morphologic
changes which have been compared to inanition (Baker, 1952). Not only is nitrogen
loss enhanced, but hyperglycemia can also
be induced which, therefore, increases the
need for thiamine. Cortical steroids influence the metabolism of various vitamins
 
 
 
(Draper and Johnson, 1953; Dhyse, Fisher,
Tullner and Hertz, 1953; Aceto, Li Moli
and Panebianco, 1956; Ginoulhiac and
Nani, 1956). H a vitamin deficiency already
exists, administration of cortisone will aggravate the condition (Meites, Feng and
Wilwerth, 1957). Nevertheless, drastic effects of therapeutic doses of cortisone on
reproductive function do not occur. In rare
cases loss of libido has been reported in
the male, but mori)hologic changes in the
testis were not observed (JVladdock, Chase
and Nelson, 1953). Cortisone has little if
any effect on the weight of the rat testis
(Moore, 1953; Aschkenasy, 1957) and does
not influence testis cholesterol (Migeon,
1952). In the female, menstrual disturbances have been noted in association with
cortisone therapy, with the occurrence of
hot flashes (Ward, Slocumb, Policy, Lowman and Hench, 1951). However, cortisone
corrected disturbances during the follicular
phase, possibly by increasing FSH release
(Jones, Howard and Langford, 1953). Cortisone also increased the number of follicles
in the ovary of the rat (Moore, 1953), but
not in the rabbit. Cortisone administration
did not prevent the enhanced ovarian response to chorionic gonadotrophin seen in
hypothyroid rats (Leathem, 1958b) and
had little effect on mice in parabiosis ( Noumura, 1956).
 
In pregnant female rabbits resorption and
stunting of fetuses occurred during treatment with large doses of cortisone (Courrier
and Collonge, 1951). Similar effects were
noted in mice (LcRoy and Domm, 1951 ;
Robson and Sharaf, 1951).
 
Some of the metabolic derangements of
human toxemia of pregnancy have been
correlated with accelerated secretion of
adrenal steroids creating a steroid imbalance (see chapter by Zarrow). Cortisone is
reported to have a beneficial effect on some
cases (Moore, Jessop, 'Donovan, Barry,
Quinn and Drury, 1951). Protein inade({uacies may also be etiologic in toxemia and
further (>xamination of the possibility
sliould he made.
 
C. DIABETES MELLITUS, NUTRITION, AND
REPRODUCTION
 
(llycosuria can be induced experimentally
by starvation, overfeeding, and shifting
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
673
 
 
 
diet^ from one of high fat content to one
i; which is isocaloric but high in carbohydrate
(Ingle, 1948). Force feeding a high carbohydrate diet will eventually kill a rat despite insulin administration aimed at controlling glycosuria (Ingle and Nezamis,
1947). In man excessive eating leading to
obesity increases insulin demand and, in
many diabetics of middle age, obesity precedes the onset of diabetes. With our present
knowledge we must conclude that overfeeding is wrong when glycosuria exists and that
vitamin B supplements may be of value
in diabetes (Meites, Feng and Wilwerth,
1957; Salvesen, 1957).
 
In man urinary 17-ketosteroids and androgen levels are subnormal in diabetes
(Horstmann, 1950), and in the diabetic rat
pituitary gonadotrophins are reduced
(Shipley and Danley, 1947), but testis hyaluronidase does not change (Moore, 1948) .
When hyperglycemia exists in rats, semen
■] carbohydrates increase (Mann and Lutwak-Mann, 1951).
 
Hypoglycemia influences the male reproductive organs. In rats tolbutamide or
insulin produce lesions of the germinal
epithelium which can be prevented by
\' simultaneous administration of glucose.
When 2 to 5 hypoglycemic comas are induced, such testis injuries increase progressively in number and frequency, and
only a partial return to normal is observed
a month later (Mancini, Izquierdo, Heinrich, Penhos and Gerschenfeld, 1959).
 
It is well known that the incidence of
infertility in the pre-insulin era was high
in young diabetic women. Fertility is also
reduced in diabetic experimental animals,
and rat estrous cycles are prolonged (Davis,
Fugo and Lawrence, 1947) . Insulin is corrective (Sinden and Longwell, 1949; Ferret,
Lindan and Morgans, 1950). Pregnancy in
women with uncontrolled diabetes may
terminate in abortion or stillbirth, possibly
l)ecause toxemia of pregnancy is high (Pedersen. 1952). In rats pancreatectomy performed the 8th to 12th day of pregnancy
increased the incidence of stillbirths (Hultciuist, 1950). In another experiment almost
one- fourth of 163 animals with diabetes
induced by alloxan on the 10th to 12th day
of pregnancy died before parturition and
 
 
 
about 25 ])er cent of the survivors aborted
(Angcrvall, 1959).
 
D. STERILE-OBESE SYNDROME
 
A sterile-obese syndrome in one colony of
mice has been shown to be a recessive monogenic trait (Ingalls, Dickie and Snell, 1950).
Obesity was transmitted to subsequent generations by way of ovaries that were transplanted from obese donors to nonobese recipients (Hummel, 1957). Obesity was
transmitted by obese females receiving hormonal therapy and mated to obese males
kept on restricted food intake (Smithberg
and Runner, 1957). In addition to the investigations of the hereditary nature of the
sterile-obese syndrome, the physiologic
basis for the sterility has been studied in
reference to the presence of germ cells, viability of ova and sperm, integrity of the
ovary, and response of the uterus to estrogen (Drasher, Dickie and Lane, 1955). The
data indicate that sterility in some obese
males can be prevented by food restriction
and that sterility in certain obese females
can be corrected.
 
E. DIET AND THE LIVER
 
The concentration of hormones which
reaches the target organs in the blood is the
result of the rate of their production, metabolism, and excretion. How hypophyseal
hormones are destroyed is not clear, but
current data make it apparent that pituitary hormones have a short half-life in the
circulatory system. Exerting a major control over circulating estrogen levels is the
liver, with its steroid-inactivating systems.
Zondek (1934) initially demonstrated that
the liver could inactivate estrogens and this
finding has had repeated confirmation
(Cantarow, Paschkis, Rakoff and Hansen,
1943; De:\Ieio, Rakoff, Cantarow and
Paschkis, 1948; Vanderlinde and Westerfield, 1950). Other steroids are also inactivated by the liver with several enzyme
systems being involved; the relative concentration of these enzymes varies among
species of vertebrates (Samuels, 1949).
 
The liver is a labile organ which readib.'
responds to nutritional modifications; the
induced liver changes alter the steroid-inactivating systems of this organ. Thus, inanition (Drill and Pfeiffer, 1946; Jailer,
 
 
 
G74
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
1948) , vitamin B complex deficiency (Segaloff and Segaloff, 1944; Biskind, 1946), and
protein restriction (Jailer and Seaman,
1950) all influence the capacity of the liver
to detoxify steroids. Reduced protein intake
is a primary factor in decreasing the effectiveness of the steroid-inactivating system
(Jailer and Seaman, 1950; Vanderlinde and
Westerfield, 1950). Rats fed an 8 per cent
casein diet lose their capacity to inactivate
estrone within 10 days. However, ascorbic
acid alone or in combination with glutathione restored the estrone-inactivating system (Vasington, Parker, Headley and Vanderlinde, 1958).
 
Failure of steroids to be inactivated will
influence the hypophyseal-gonadal axis. In
turn the excess of estrogen will decrease
gonadotrophin production by the hypophysis and thus reduce steroid production by
the gonad. In addition nutritional modifications influence hypophyseal and possibly
gonadal secretory capacity directly. Conceivably, nutritional alterations could
modify the amount of steroid secreted or
interfere with complete steroid synthesis
by a gland.
 
Fatty infiltration of the liver and a
general increase in fat deposition occur in
fed and fasted rats after the injection of
certain pituitary extracts and adrenal steroids and after the feeding of specific diets.
Impaired estrogen inactivation has been
associated with a fatty liver, but Szego and
Barnes (1943) believe that the major influence is inanition. In fact, estrogens, especially ethinyl estradiol, interfere with
fatty infiltration of the liver induced by a
low protein diet (Gyorgy, Rose and Shipley, 1947) or by a choline-deficient diet
(Emerson, Zamecnik and Nathanson, 1951).
Stilbestrol, however, did not prevent the increase in liver fat induced by a protein-free
diet (Glasser, 1957). Estrogens that are
effective in preventing fatty infiltration may
act by sparing methionine or choline or by
inhibiting growth hormone (Flagge, Marasso and Zimmerman, 1958).
 
Ethionino, the antimetabolite of nu'thioniiK', Avill induce a fatty liver and inhibit hepatic protein synthesis in female,
but not in male rats (Farber and Segaloff,
1955; Farber and Corban, 1958). Pretreatment of females with testosterone prevents
 
 
 
the ethionine effect, but this blockage of
ethionine action need not be related to
androgenic or progestational properties of
steroids (Ranney and Drill, 1957).
 
III. Hypophysis and Diet
 
Studies involving acute and chronic starvation have shown that gonadal hypofunction during inanition is primarily due to
diminished levels of circulating gonadotrophins. Because of the similarity to
changes following hypophysectomy, the
endocrine response to inanition has been
referred to as "pseudohypophysectomy."
 
A. INANITION
 
The hypophysis has been implicated in
human reproduction disturbances associated with undernutrition. Hypophyseal
atrophy and a decrease in urinary gonadotrophins have been observed in chronic
malnutrition (Klinefelter, Albright and
Griswold, 1943; Zubiran and Gomez-]\Iont,
1953) and anorexia nervosa (Perloff,
Lasche, Nodine, Schneeberg and Vieillard,
1954). Refeeding has restored urinary
gonadotrophin levels in some cases, but
hypoj^hyseal damage may result from severe
food restriction at puberty (VoUmer, 1943;
Samuels, 1948).
 
The influence of inanition on the reproductive organs of lal)oratory rodents
is well recognized but the cft'ects on the
hypophysis cannot be presented conclusively. In support of prior investigations,
Mulinos and Pomerantz (1941a, b) in rats
and Giroud and Desclaux (1945) in guinea
pigs observed a hypophyseal atrophy following chronic underfeeding as well as a
decrease in cell numbers and mitoses. In
fact, refeeding after chronic starvation
resulted in only a partial recovery of hypophyseal weight (Quimby, 1948). Nevertheless, complete starvation did not influence relative gland weight in female rats
(Meites and Reed, 1949), and cytologic
evidence (periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) test)
of an estimated 3- fold increase in gonadoti'ophin content was claimed following
chronic starvation (Pearse and Rinaldini,
1950). Assays of hypophyseal gonadotrophin content in chronically starved rats
of both sexes have l)een reported as decreased (Mason and Wolfe, 1930; Werner,
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
675
 
 
 
1939), unchanged (,]\Iarrian and Parkes,
1929; Pomerantz and Mulinos, 1939; Maddock and Heller, 1947; Meites and Reed,
1949; Blivaiss, Hanson, Rosenzweig and
McNeil, 1954), or increased (Rinaldini,
1949; Vanderlinde and Westerfield, 1950).
An increase in pituitary gonadotrophin was
evident when hormone content was related
to milligrams of tissue (Meites and Reed,
1949). Thus, the hormone release mechanism may fail in starvation, and eventually
gonadotrophin production will be reduced
to a minimum (]\laddock and Heller, 1947).
 
Gonadectomy of fully fed rats is followed
by an increase in hypophyseal gonadotrophin content. Chronic starvation, however, prevented the anticipated changes in
the pituitary gland following gonadectomy
in 8 of 12 female rats (Werner, 1939). On
the other hand, if adult female rats were
subjected to 14 days of reduced feeding
1 month after ovariectomy, no change in
the elevated gonadotrophin levels was noted
(Meites and Reed, 1949). In contrast,
Gomez-Mont (1959) observed above normal
urinary gonadotrophins in many menopausal and postmenopausal women despite
undernutrition.
 
It is apparent that uniformity of opinion
as to how starvation influences hypophyseal
gonadotrophin content has not been attained. Several explanations can be given for
the discrepancies. (1) There have been unfortunate variations in experimental design.
IVIaddock and Heller (1947) starved rats
for 12 days, whereas Rinaldini (1949) used
a low calorie diet of bread and milk for
30 days. Other variations in feeding have
included feeding one-half the intake required for growth (Mulinos and Pomerantz,
1941b I, regimens of full, one-half, oneciuarter, and no feeding for 7 and 14 days
(Meites and Reed, 1949), and feeding inadequate amounts of a standard rat diet
for 1 to 4 months (Werner, 1939). (2)
Hypophyseal implants and anterior pituitary extracts should not be compared, for
variable gonadotrophin production may follow implantation procedures, depending on
whether necrosis or growth occurs (Maddock and Heller, 1947). (3) There has been
an insufficient standardization of experimental materials. The assay animal has
usually been the immature female rat, but
 
 
 
occasionally the immature mouse has been
used, and Rinaldini (1949) used the hypophysectomized rat.
 
B. PROTEIN
 
The need for specific food elements by
the hypophysis warrants consideration,
for the hormones secreted by this gland
are protein in nature and the amino acids
for protein synthesis must be drawn from
body sources. However, dietary protein
levels can vary from 15 per cent to 30 per
cent without influencing hypophyseal gonadotrophin content in rats (Weatherby and
Reece, 1941), but diets containing 80 per
cent to 90 per cent of casein increased
hypophyseal gonadotrophin (TuchmannDuplessis and Aschkenasy-Lelu, 1948). Removal of protein from the diet will decrease
hypophyseal gonadotrophin content in
adult male rats in comparison with pair-fed
and ad libitum-ied controls, but the decrease may or may not be significant in a
30-day period; luteinizing hormone (LH)
seemed to be initially reduced. Extension of
the period of protein depletion another 2
months resulted in a significant lowering of
hy]iophyseal gonadotrophin levels (Table
12.4) (Leathern, 1958a). On the other
hand, an increased FSH with no decrease
in LH activity was observed in the hypophyses of adult female rats following
30 to 35 days of protein depletion (Srebnik
and Nelson, 1957). The available data indicate that not only may a sex difference
exist, but also that species may differ; restitution of gonadotrophin in the discharged
rabbit pituitary was not influenced by in
TABLE 12.4
 
Influence of a protein-free diet on hypophyseal
 
gonadotrophin content
 
(From J. H. Leathern, Recent Progr. Hormone
 
Res., 14, 141, 1958.)
 
 
 
Days on PFD*
 
 
Xo. of Rats
 
 
Anterior
Pituitary
Weight
 
 
Recipient
Ovarv
Weight
 
 
 
 
 
 
nig.
 
 
mg.
 
 
 
 
 
9
 
 
8.3
 
 
74
 
 
30
 
 
9
 
 
7.3
 
 
54
 
 
50
 
 
7
 
 
7.0
 
 
33
 
 
90
 
 
17
 
 
6.0
 
 
23
 
 
 
L^ntreated recipient ovarian weight = 15.4 mg.
* PFD = Protein-free diet.
 
 
 
67G
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
adequate dietary protein (Friedman and
Friedman, 1940).
 
When anterior pituitar}^ glands of 60gm. male rats were extracted and administered to immature female recipients, ovarian
weight increased from 13.0 to 37.3 mg.
After feeding 20 per cent casein or fox chow
ad libitum for 14 days, the hypophyses of
male rats contained almost twice as much
gonadotrophin per milligram of tissue as
did the hypophyses of the initial controls.
Removal of protein from the diet for 14
days, however, reduced hypophyseal gonadotrophin concentration below the level
of the initial controls (Leathem and Fisher,
1959).
 
Data on the hypophyseal hormone content as influenced by specific amino acid
deficiencies have not come to the author's
attention. Cytologically, however, Scott
(1956) noted that an isoleucine-deficient
diet depleted the pituitary gonadotrophic
cells of their PAS-positive material and reduced the size of acidophilic cells. Omission
of threonine, histidine, or tryptophan invoked similar effects. The changes probably represent the interference of a single
amino acid deficiency with protein metabolism rather than specific effects attributable to the lack of amino acid itself. Excessive amino acid provided by injecting
leucine, methionine, valine, tyrosine, or
glycine caused release of gonadotrophin
(Goth, Lengyel, Bencze, Saveley and Majsay, 1955).
 
Administration of 0.1 mg. stilbestrol for
20 days to adult male rats eliminated detectable hypophyseal gonadotrophins. Hormone levels returned during the postinjection period provided the diet contained
adequate protein, whereas a protein-free diet
markedly hindered the recovery of hypophyseal gonadotrophins. The gonadotrophin
content of the pituitary gland correlated
well with the recovery of the reproductive
system, indicating that gonadotrophin production was subnormal on ]irotein-free feeding (Leathem, 1958a).
 
C. CAHBOHYDR.\TE .\ND FAT
 
Reproduction does not appear to be influenced by carbohydrates per se and hypophyseal alterations have not been noted.
 
 
 
Fat-deficient diets, however, do influence
reproduction and the hypophysis exhibits
cellular changes. Pituitary glands of female rats fed a fat-free diet contain a subnormal number of acidophiles and an increased number of basophiles (Panos and
Finerty, 1953) . In male rats the feeding oi
a fat-free diet increased hypophyseal basophiles, followed progessively by more castration changes (Finerty, Klein and Panos,
1957; Panos, Klein and Finerty, 1959).
 
D. VITAMINS
 
Despite the many investigations relating
reproduction to vitamin requirements, relatively few have involved hypophyseal hormone estimations. Thus in 1955, Wooten,
Nelson, Simpson and Evans reported the
first definitive study which related pyridoxine deficiency to hypophyseal gonadotrophin content. Using the hypophysectomized rat for assay, pituitary glands
from Bo-deficient rats were shown to have
a 10-fold increase in FSH per milligram of
tissue and a slightly increased LH content.
Earlier studies had revealed that vitamin
Bi-free diets decreased pituitary gonadotrophins in male rats (Evans and Simpson,
1930) and a similar effect of the folic acid
antagonist, aminopterin, in the monkey was
found later (Salhanick, Hisaw and Zarrow, 1952).
 
Male rats deficient in vitamin A exhibited
a 43 per cent increase, and castrated vitamin
A-deficient rats a 100 per cent increase in
hypophyseal gonadotrophin potency over
the normal controls (Mason and Wolfe,
1930). The increase of gonadotrophin was
more marked in vitamin A-deficient male
than in vitamin A-deficient female rats.
Associated with the increase in hormone
level was a significant increase in basophile
cells (Sutton and Brief, 1939; Hodgson,
Hall, Sweetman, Wiseman and Converse,
1946; Erb, Andrews, Hauge and King,
1947).
 
A re\-iew of the literature up to 1944 permitted Mason to suggest that the anterior
hypophysis was not the instigator of reproductive disturbances in vitamin E deficiency. Nevertheless, Griesbach, Bell and
Livingston (1957), in an analysis of the
pituitary gland during progessive stages of
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
677
 
 
 
tocopherol deprivation, observed cytologic
changes in the hypophysis which preceded
testis changes. The "peripheral or FSH
gonadotrophes" increased in number, size,
and activity. The LH cells exhibited a
hyperplasia of lesser extent, but possibly
sufficient to increase LH in circulation and
to cause hypertrophy of the male accessory
glands. Gonadotrophic hormone content of
pituitary glands from vitamin E-deficient
rats may be decreased (Rowlands and
Singer, 1936), unchanged (Biddulph and
Meyer, 1941), or increased to a level between normal and that of the castrate, when
the adult male rats were examined after 22
weeks on a deficient diet (Nelson, 1933;
Drummond, Noble and Wright, 1939).
Using hypophysectomized male rats as assay animals, evidence was obtained that
FSH was increased in the pituitary glands
of vitamin E-deficient male and female rats
(P'an, Van Dyke, Kaunitz and Slanetz,
1949).
 
IV. Male Reproductive System
 
A. TESTIS
 
The two basic functions of the male
gonads are to produce gametes and secrete
steroids. Spermatogenic activity can be
estimated from testis morphology and examination of semen samples. Androgen secretion can be estimated from urinary steroid levels, accessorj^ gland weight, and
from analyses of accessory sex gland secretions, i.e., fructose and citric acid. In normal maturation in the rabbit, rat, boar,
and bull, androgen secretion precedes spermatogenesis (Lutwak-Mann, 1958). On this
basis it would appear that well fed young
bulls may come into semen production 2 to
3 months sooner than poorly fed animals
(Brat ton, 1957).
 
1. Inanition
 
Complete starvation will pre^•ent maturation of immature animals. Furthermore,
marked undernutrition in 700 boys, 7 to 16
years of age, was associated with genital
infantilism in 37 per cent and cryptorchidism in 27 per cent (Stephens, 1941).
Restriction of food intake to one-half of the
normal in maturing bull calves had a
 
 
 
marked delaying effect on the onset of
seminal vesicle secretion, but a lesser delaying effect on spermatogenesis (Davies,
Mann and Rowson, 1957) . Limiting the food
intake to one-third of the normal did not
prevent the immature rat testis from forming spermatozoa at the same time as their
controls (Talbert and Hamilton, 1955).
When testis maturation was prevented by
inanition, a rapid growth and maturation
occurred on refeeding (Ball, Barnes and
Visscher, 1947; Quimby, 1948) but Schultze
(1955) observed that full body size was not
attained.
 
The reproductive organs of the adult are
more resistant to changes imposed by diet
than are those of the immature animal.
Thus, Mann and Walton (1953) found that
23 weeks of underfeeding produced little
change in sperm density and motility in mature animals although seminal vesicle function was reduced. Li the male rat testis
hypofunction follows partial or complete
starvation (]\Iason and Wolfe, 1930; Mulinos and Pomerantz, 1941a; Escudero, Herraiz and Mussmano, 1948), but there is no
reduction in testicular nitrogen (Addis, Poo
and Lew, 1936). Loss of Leydig cell function precedes cessation of spermatogenesis
(Moore and Samuels, 1931) and is evident
by the atrophy of the accessory sexual organs (^lulinos and Pomerantz, 1941a) and
by an alteration in accessory gland secretion
(Pazos and Huggins, 1945; Lutwak-]\Iann
and Mann, 1950). Evidence of a tubular
effect is provided by the lack of motile
sperm (Reid, 1949). Severe dietary restriction is associated with the absence of
spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules and
epididymis (Mason, 1933; Menze, 1941).
 
The human male suffering from chronic
malnutrition exhibits hypogonadism. The
testes atrophy and exhibit a decrease in size
of the seminiferous tubules; basement membrane thickening and small Leydig cells
are seen. These individuals excrete significantly subnormal amounts of 17-ketosteroids (Zubiran and Gomez-Mont, 19531.
Acute starvation may also decrease urinary
17-ketosteroid and androgen levels as much
as 50 per cent, with recovery evident on refeeding (Perloff, Lasche, Nodine, Schneeberg and Vieillard. 1954).
 
 
 
6/
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
TABLE 12.5
 
Effect of diet on the testes of immature rats
 
(From J. H. Leathern, in Re-productive Phijsiology
 
and Protein Nutrition, Rutgers University
 
Press, New Brunswick, N. J., 1959.)
 
 
 
Sperm
 
 
 
Initial control . . .
20 per cent X 30
 
days
 
6 per cent X 30
 
days
 
3 per cent X 30
 
days
 
per cent X 30
 
days
 
per cent + 5
per cent liver. ,
 
per cent + 5
per cent yeast
 
G5 per cent X 30
davs
 
 
 
No. of
Rats
 
 
Testis
 
 
Weight
 
 
 
 
mg.
 
 
mg./lOOgm.
 
 
10
 
 
329
 
 
825
 
 
10
 
 
1694
 
 
1035
 
 
16
 
 
824
 
 
890
 
 
12
 
 
380
 
 
930
 
 
10
 
 
140
 
 
346
 
 
10
 
 
112
 
 
291
 
 
10
 
 
119
 
 
296
 
 
10
 
 
1747
 
 
1040
 
 
 
 
 
100
 
50
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
100
 
 
 
2. Protein
 
The minimal amount of dietary protein
which will support reproduction, lactation,
and growth is 16.7 per cent (Goettsch, 1949) .
Thus, it is not surprising that maturation
of testes and accessory sex organs was prevented in immature rats (Horn, 1955) and
mice (Leathern and DeFeo, 1952) when
they were fed a protein-free diet for 15 to
30 days after weaning. Furthermore, supplements of 5 per cent liver to the casein-free
diet had no effect. After a month, the testes,
averaging 329 mg., decreased to 140 mg. in
rats fed per cent casein, but the weight
increased to an average of 1694 mg. and
1747 mg. in rats fed 20 per cent and 65 per
cent casein, respectively (Table 12.5). Following protein depletion, there was a decrease in tubular ribonucleic acid and an increase in lipid. Accumulation of gonadal
lipid in the inactive testis may be an abnormal assimilation of a degenerative nature or simply nonutilization. A diet containing 6 per cent casein permitted the
formation of spermatozoa in some animals
(Guilbert and Goss, 1932). When the 6 per
cent casein diet was fed to immature animals for 30 days 50 per cent of the rats
exhibited some spermatozoa; in addition,
testis weight increased slightly and seminal
 
 
 
vesicle weight doubled, but body weight was
not improved (Horn, 1955). Thus, as we
noted earlier, the reproductive system may
gain special consideration for protein allotments when supplies are limited.
 
Gain in testis weight in immature male
rats and the biochemical composition of the
immature testis are influenced by the nutritive value of the protein fed. The testes of
normal immature rats contain 85 per cent
water, 10.5 per cent protein, 4.5 per cent
lipid, and detectable glycogen (Wolf and
Leathern, 1955). Proteins of lower nutritive
value (wheat gluten, peanut flour, gelatin ) may permit some increase in testis
weight, but testis protein concentration decreased, percentage of water increased, and
lipid and glycogen remained unchanged
(Table 12.6). The enzyme ^fi-glucuronidase,
which has frequently been associated with
growth processes, exhibited no change in
concentration as the testis matured or was
jirevented from maturing by a protein-free
diet (Leathem and Fisher, 1959). Not only
are the weight and composition of the testis
influenced by feeding proteins of varied biologic value, but the release of androgen is
more markedly altered. When a 22-day-old
male rat was fed a 20 per cent casein diet
for 30 days, the seminal vesicle and ventral
prostate weights increased 9- to 10-fold in
comparison with initial control weight. Sub
TABLE 12.6
 
Niiiritioiial effects on testis-coin position
 
in immature rats
 
(From R. C. Wolf and J. H. Leathem,
 
Endocrinology, 57, 286, 1955.)
 
 
 
20 pel' cent casein
 
20 per cent wheat
gluten
 
20 per cent i)eanut flour
 
20 i)er cent gelatin
 
5 per cent casein
 
Fox chow
 
Initial control . .
 
 
 
No. of
Rats
 
 
Final
Body
Weight
 
 
 
 
gm.
 
 
7
 
 
128
 
 
8
 
 
82
 
 
8
 
 
81
 
 
5
 
 
53
 
 
5
 
 
61
 
 
8
 
 
115
 
 
7
 
 
61
 
 
 
72.3j30.4
04.634.0
 
 
 
1468
1017
 
1257 66.1
2101
 
 
 
28.8
 
 
 
0.11
0.18
0.11
0.10
 
 
 
684,62.4 29.2 0.26
1515'70.3 30.3 0.15
273 72. 7:30. 10.19
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
679
 
 
 
stitution of wheat gluten and peanut flour
for casein, limited the increase in the weight
of the seminal vesicles to less than 100 per
cent. In fact, seminal vesicle weight as related to body weight did not increase in
animals fed 20 per cent wheat gluten.
 
The withholding of dietary protein from
an immature rat for 30 days, during which
time maturation occurs in the fully fed animal, did not impose a permanent damage.
Refeeding of protein permitted the rapid recovery of testis weight and the appearance
of spermatoza, 70 per cent of all animals
having recovered in 30 days when fully fed,
whereas only 25 per cent recovered when
6 per cent casein was fed. Recovery of
androgen secretion was somewhat slower
than that of the tubules as estimated by
seminal vesicle weight.
 
Variations in protein quality are a reflection of amino acid patterns, and amino
acid deficiencies interfere with testis maturation (Scott, 1956; Pomeranze, Piliero,
Medeci and Plachta, 1959). Alterations in
food intake which follow amino acid deficiencies have required forced feeding or
pair-fed controls, but it is clear from what
w^as found in the controls that the gonadal
changes were not entirely due to inanition
(Ershoff, 1952).
 
If the diet is varied so that caloric intake
per gram is reduced to half while retaining
the dietary casein level at 20 per cent, immature rat testis growth is prevented. The
effect is unlike that obtained with this level
of protein in the presence of adequate calories. Furthermore, the caloric restriction
may increase testis glycogen (Leathem,
1959c).
 
Protein anabolic levels are higher in the
tissues of young growing animals and the
body is more dependent on dietary protein
level and quality for maintenance of the
metabolic nitrogen pool than in adult animals. On the other hand, body protein reserves in adult animals permit internal
shifts of nitrogen to the metabolic pool and
to tissues when dietary sources are reduced
or endocrine imbalances are imposed. Thus,
Cole, Guilbert and Goss (1932) fed a low
protein diet to adult male rats for 60 to 90
days before the sperm disappeared, but the
animals would not mate. Amount of semen
and sperm produced by sheep have been re
 
 
TABLE 12.7
 
Arlult rat testes and seminal vesicles
 
after protein depletion
 
(From J. H. Leatliem, Recent Progr. Hormone
 
Res., 14, 141, 1958.)
 
 
 
Days on
 
 
No. of
 
 
Testis
 
 
H2O
 
 
Protein
 
 
Total
 
 
Seminal
 
 
PFD*
 
 
Rats
 
 
Weight
 
 
Protein
 
 
Vesical
 
 
 
 
 
 
nig.
 
 
%
 
 
%dry
 
 
gm.
 
 
mg.
 
 
Control
 
 
9
 
 
2852
 
 
85.9
 
 
66.7
 
 
0.28
 
 
1276
 
 
30
 
 
9
 
 
2600
 
 
86.0
 
 
66.1
 
 
0.24
 
 
689
 
 
50
 
 
7
 
 
2398
 
 
85.4
 
 
64.1
 
 
0.22
 
 
320
 
 
90
 
 
25
 
 
1429
 
 
85.7
 
 
69.6
 
 
0.13
 
 
168
 
 
 
* PFD = Protein-free diet.
 
lated to the dietary protein level (Popoff
and Okultilschew, 1936). Removal of protein from the diet for 30 days had little
effect on the adult rat testis weight, spermatogenesis, or nitrogen content (Leathem,
1954). However, seminal vesicle w^eight was
reduced 50 per cent (Aschkenasy, 1954).
Prolonged protein depletion was required
before the testis exhibited a loss in protein
and a reduction in size. A loss of spermatozoa was not observed consistently, although some testes were completely atrophic
(Table 12.7). Accessory organ weight decrease reflected the disappearance of androgen (Leathem, 1958a). Interstitial cell atrophy has also been noted in rats fed a low
vegetable protein (cassava) diet (Adams,
Fernand and Schnieden, 1958).
 
Sterility may or may not be induced with
diets containing 65 per cent protein (Reid.
1949; Leathem, 1959c) but a 15 to 18 per
cent dietary level of a poor protein such
as maize or gelatin will decrease sperm motility and increase the number of abnormal
sperm. The influence of proteins having different nutritional values in support of the
growth of testes from the level to which
they were depressed by stilbestrol indicated
that casein, lactalbumin, and wheat gluten
are equally competent to support testis
growth whereas gelatin is deficient. Whole
proteins may have several amino acid deficiencies, but the administration of amino
acid antagonists may help to identify important individual amino acids. As an example, ethionine causes severe seminiferous
tubule atrophy and Leydig cell hypoplasia
(Kaufman, Klavins and Kinney, 1956;
Goldberg, Pfau and Ungar, 1959). Studies
in man have indicated a sharp reduction in
 
 
 
680
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
spermatozoa after 9 days on an argininedeficient diet (Holt, Albanese, Shettles,
Kajdi and Wangerin, 1942).
 
Adequate dietary protein cannot maintain reproductive function if the diet is
calorie deficient. Thus, a decrease in seminal
vesicle weight could be related to a decrease
in dietary calories while protein levels were
constant (Rosenthal and Allison, 1956).
However, the accessory gland weight loss
imposed by caloric restriction could be
slowed by increasing the dietary protein
(Rivero-Fontan, Paschkis, West and Cantarow, 1952).
 
Alterations in testis function imposed by
inadequate protein are corrected when protein is returned to the diet at normal levels
(Aschkenasy and Dray, 1953). Nevertheless, the nutritional state of the animal as
a factor influencing recovery has been demonstrated with stilbestrol-treated adult male
rats. While being fed an 18 per cent casein
diet, adult male rats were injected with 0.1
mg. stilbestrol daily for 20 days. Testis
weight decreased from 2848 to 842 mg.,
spermatogenesis was abolished, and testis
water and protein content were significantly
reduced. Despite a reduction in food intake,
pair-fed controls exhibited no effect on reproductive organs. When a protein-free diet
was substituted for the normal diet during
the administration of stilbestrol, atrophy of
the reproductive system was observed. Cessation of hormone administration was followed by a rapid return of testicular function toward normal when 18 per cent casein
was fed both during the injection period
and the recovery period. Within 30 days
spermatogenesis and testicular composition
were fully recovered. However, when 18
per cent casein was fed in the postinjection
period to rats that had received a proteinfree diet while being given stilbestrol, recovery was clearly slow. After a month,
spermatozoa were observed in only 30 per
cent of the testes and testis weight was subnormal. Despite the seeming similarity of
response by the two nutritional groups during the injection period, the postinjection recovery on identical dietary intake revealed
marked differences in rate of recoverv (Leathem, 1958a).
 
 
 
3. Fat
 
Linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids
are designated as essentially fatty acids, but
the physiologic role of these substances is
not clearly understood. Nevertheless, the
male reproductive organs are influenced by
dietary essential fatty acid levels. High
fat diets may enhance testicular weight
(Kaunitz, Slanetz, Johnson and Guilmain,
1956) whereas removal of fat from the diet
resulted in a degeneration of the seminiferous tubules as evidenced by intracellular
vacuolation and a reduction in spermatids
and spermatozoa (Panos and Finerty,
1954). After 5 months of feeding a fatfree diet, the rat testis may be devoid of
sperm (Evans, Lepkovsky and Murphy,
1934). Testis degeneration occurred despite
dietary supplements of vitamins A and E
and in animals whose health appeared quite
normal (Ferrando, Jacques, Mabboux and
Prieur, 1955; Ferrando, Jacques, Mabboux
and SoUogoub, 1955).
 
Weanling rats fed 14 per cent arachis (peanut) oil for 15 weeks exhibited a marked
impairment of spermatogenesis (Aaes-Jorgensen, Funch and Dam, 1956) and 28
per cent arachis oil induced testicular damage of such an order that 15 weeks of feeding
ethyl linoleate did not restore fertility
(Aaes-Jorgensen, Funch and Dam, 1957).
 
4. Vitamins
 
Testicular dysfunction as judged by failure of sperm formation or atrophy of the
secondary sex organs has been observed in
deprivations of thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, calcium pantothenate, biotin, and
vitamins A and E. One must distinguish,
however, between effects of inanition associated w^ith a vitamin deficiency and a
specific vitamin effect (Skelton, 1950) ; one
must also consider species differences (Biskind, 1946).
 
There is no question but that vitamin E
deficiency in the rat results in a specific
and irreversible damage to the testis. Tubular damage may proceed to the point where
only Sertoli cells remain and yet the interstitial cells are not influenced (Mason,
1939). Similar changes followed vitamin E
deficiency in the guinea pig (Pappenheimer
and SchogolefT, 1944; Curto, 1954; Ingel
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
681
 
 
 
man-Siindberg, 1954) , hamster (Mason and
Mauer, 1957), and bird (Herrick, Eide and
Snow, 1952; Lowe, Morton, Cunningham
and Vernon, 1957). However, little or no
effect of an absence of vitamin E was noted
in the rabbit (Mackenzie, 1942) and mouse
(Bryan and Mason, 1941), or in live stock
(Blaxter and Brown, 1952), or man (Lutwak-Mann, 1958), although vitamin E is
present in human testes (Dju, Mason and
Filer, 1958). Treatment of low-fertility
farm animals with wheat germ oil or tocopherol or the use of this vitamin clinically
have provided only inconclusive results
(Beckmann, 1955) . Although some positive
effects have been reported in man, the results may be due in part at least to the sparing action of tocopherol toward vitamin A.
 
Vitamin A deficiency influences the testis
but changes are closely associated with the
degree of inanition. In the rat, a vitamin deficiency sufficient to cause ocular lesions
did not prevent sperm formation, but a deficiency of such proportions as to cause a
body weight loss did cause atrophy of the
germinal epithelium (Reid, 1949). Vitamin
A deficiency will induce sterility in mice
(McCarthy and Cerecedo, 1952). A gross
vitamin deficiency in bulls before expected
breeding age prevented breeding ; adult bulls
may exhibit a lower quality semen but they
remain fertile (Reid, 1949). Vitamin A deficiency induces metaplastic keratinization
of the epithelium lining the male accessory
sex organs (Follis, 1948) and thus may influence semen.
 
Testis damage induced by vitamin A deficiency can be reversed, but vitamin A
therapy in man for oligospermia not due to
vitamin lack was without effect (Home
and Maddock, 1952) .
 
Age of the animal and dosage are factors
which influence the results obtained in male
rats with administered vitamin A. Immature
male rats given 250 I.U. of vitamin A per
gram of body weight daily exhibited a loss
of spermatocytes, an effect which was accentuated by tocopherol (Maddock, Cohen
and Wolbach, 1953). Little or no effect of
similar treatment was observed in adult
rats. The liver is the major storage depot
for vitamin A and the fact that the male rat
liver is more quickly depleted and less capa
 
 
ble of storage than is the liver of the female
should be considered in any attempted correlation of the vitamin and hormone levels
(Booth, 1952).
 
Other vitamin deficiencies have been
shown to influence the testis. A lack of
thiamine had little effect on testis weight,
but did influence the Leydig cells and prevented growth of the accessory sex organs
(Pecora and Highman, 1953). A chronic
lack of ascorbic acid will cause a degeneration of both Leydig cells and seminiferous
tubules. The effects of vitamin deficiency on
the testis has been distinguished from those
due to inanition and have been related to
changes in carbohydrate metabolism (Mukherjee and Banerjee, 1954; Kocen and
Cavazos, 1958) . The importance of ascorbic
acid in the testis as related to function is
not evident, but concentrations of this vitamin are maximal at 1 week of age (Coste,
Delbarre and Lacronique, 1953).
 
Serious anatomic and functional impairments of testes were noted in pantothenic
acid deficiency (Barboriak, Krehl, Cowgill
and Whedon, 1957), and development of
the rat testis and seminal vesicles was retarded by a biotin deficiency (Bishop and
Kosarick, 1951; Katsh, Kosarick and Alpern, 1955), but the animals did not exhibit
marked alterations in other endocrine organs (Delost and Terroine, 1954). Testosterone hastened the development of vitamin
deficiency and enhanced the severity of biotin deficiency in both sexes, thereby suggesting a hormone-vitamin relationship
(Okey, Pencharz and Lepkovsky, 1950). On
the other hand, testosterone had no effect on
the tolerance of mice for aminopterin, but
castration increased the tolerance (Goldin,
Greenspan, Goldberg and Schoenberg 1950).
 
B. INFLUENCE OF NUTRITION ON THE EE
SPONSIVENESS OF MALE REPRODUCTIVE
 
TISSUES TO HORMONES
 
1. Testis
 
a. Inanition. The testes of birds on limited
food intake were more responsive to hypophyseal gonadotrophin than fully fed birds
(Byerly and Burrows, 1938; Breneman,
1940). In the rat several investigators have
shown that the testis will respond to gonadotrophin despite inanition (Moore and Sara
 
 
682
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
TABLE 12.8
 
Influence of diet and pregnant mare serum (PMS)
 
on testes and seminal vesicles of
 
immature male mice
 
(From V. J. DeFeo and J. H. Leathern,
 
unpublished.)
 
 
 
Diet (Per cent
Protein X Days Fed)
 
 
 
per cent X 10
per cent X 10
per cent X 20
per cent X 20
 
 
 
l.u.
 
3
 
3
 
 
 
stage of
Spermatogenesis
 
 
 
4
1
 
1 5
5
 
 
 
Spermatids
 
 
 
Seminal
Vesicles
 
 
 
mg.
 
2.7
4.5
 
2.7
3.5
 
 
 
uels, 1931; Funk and Funk, 1939; Meites,
1953), with a stimulation of Leydig cells,
an increase in testis size, and, in 40 days,
a return of spermatozoa. Underfed males injected with gonadotrophin sired litters (Mulinos and Pomerantz, 1941a, b). Improved
nutrition aided by unknown liver factors
enhanced the response to androgen in severe human oligospermia (Glass and Russell, 1952).
 
b. Protein. Feeding a protein-deficient
diet to adult male rats for 60 to 90 days
did not prevent stimulation of the testes and
seminal vesicles after pregnant mare's serum
(PMS) administration (Cole, Guilbert and
Goss, 1932). As we have noted, immature
animals are prevented from maturing when
diets lack protein. Nevertheless, a gonadal
response to injected gonadotrophin was obtained in immature mice fed a protein-free
diet for 13 days; tubules and Leydig cells
were stimulated and androgen was secreted
(Table 12.8). Refeeding alone permitted a
recovery of spermatogenesis which was not
hastened by concomitant PMS (Leathem,
1959c).
 
The maintenance of testis weight and
spermatogenic activity with testosterone
propionate in hypophysectomized adult
male rats is well known, but these studies
have involved adequate nutrition. If hypophysectomized rats were fed a protein-free
diet and injected with 0.25 mg. testosterone
propionate daily, testis weight and spermatogenesis were less well maintained than
in rats fed protein. Testis protein concentra
 
 
tion was also reduced. These data suggest
that influences of nutrition on the testis can
be direct and are not entirely mediated
through hypophyeal gonadotrophin changes
(Leathem, 1959b).
 
c. Fat. The rat fed for 20 weeks on a fatfree diet exhibits a degeneration of the
seminiferous epithelium within the first
weeks which progresses rapidly thereafter.
Chorionic gonadotrophin or rat pituitary extract started during the 20th week failed to
counteract the tubular degeneration, but
testosterone propionate proved effective
(Finerty, Klein and Panos, 1957). The result shows that the ineffectiveness of the
gonadotrophins could not be due to the failure of androgen release (Greenberg and Ershoff, 1951).
 
d. Vitamins. Gonadotrophins failed to
promote spermatogenesis in vitamin A(Mason, 1939) or vitamin E- (]Mason,
1933; Geller, 1933; Drummond, Noble and
Wright, 1939) deficient rats, but in another
experiment the atrophic accessory sex organs of vitamin A-depleted rats were stimulated (Mayer and Goodard, 1951). Lack
of vitamin A favored an enhanced response
to PMS when the ratios of seminal vesicle
weight to body weight were computed
(Meites, 1953). The failure of gonadotrophins to stimulate testis tubules suggests a
specific effect of avitaminosis A and E
(Mason, 1933) on the responsiveness of the
germinal epithelium.
 
Subnormal responses of rats to PMS, as
measured by relative seminal vesicle weight,
were obtained when there were individual
vitamin B deficiencies, but the influence was
due largely to inanition (Drill and Burrill,
1944; Meites, 1953). Nevertheless, sufficient
response to chorionic gonadotrophin was obtained so that fructose and citric acid levels
were restored to normal. Such an effect was
not observed to follow dietary correction unless an unlimited food intake was allowed
(Lutwak-Mann. 1958).
 
 
 
2. Sc
 
 
 
il W.siclfx and Prosfate
 
 
 
a. Inanition. Although the accessory reproductive organs resppnd to direct stimulation despite an inadequate food intake
(Mooi'c and Samuels. 19311, tlio increase
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
683
 
 
 
in weight may be subnormal in mice and
rats (Goldsmith, Nigrelli and Ross, 1950;
Kline and Dorfman, 1951a, Grayhack and
Scott, 1952), or above normal in chickens
(Breneman, 1940). Complete deprivation
of food reduced the quantity of prostatic
fluid in the dog, but exogenous androgen restored the volume, increased acid phosphatase, and induced tissue growth (Pazos and
Huggins, 1945) .
 
6. Protein. The response of the seminal
vesicles to androgen was investigated in immature rats, using weight and /5-glucuronidase as end points. Castration and 10 days
on a protein-free diet preceded the 72-hour
response to 0.25 mg. testosterone propionate.
The lack of protein did not prevent a normal weight increase, and enzyme concentration was unchanged. If an 18 per cent diet
was fed during the 3-day period that the
androgen was acting, no improvement in
weight response was noted, but enzyme concentration increased 100 per cent. Thus,
when protein stores are depleted, the androgen response may be incomplete in the absence of dietary protein (Leathern, 1959c).
Nevertheless, varied protein levels do not
influence seminal vesicle weight-response
when caloric intake is reduced (RiveroFontan, Paschkis, West and Cantarow,
1952).
 
c. Vitamins. Vitamin deficiencies do not
prevent the seminal vesicles from responding to androgen. In fact, in vitamin B deficiency, testosterone restored fructose and
citric acid levels to normal despite the need
for thiamine in carbohydrate metabolism
(Lutwak-Mann and Mann, 1950). In the
male, unlike the female, the effects of folic
acid deficiency in reducing responsiveness
to administered androgen were largely due
to inanition in both mice and rats (Goldsmith, Nigrelli and Ross, 1950; Kline and
Dorfman, 1951a) , and vitamin A deficiency
which leads to virtual castration does not
prevent an essentially normal response of
the accessory glands to testosterone propionate (Mayer and Truant, 1949). Restricting the caloric intake of vitamin Adeficient rats retarded the curative effects
of vitamin A in restoring the accessory sex
glands of the A-deficient animals (Mason,
1939).
 
 
 
V. Female Reproductive System
 
A. OVARIES
 
1. Inanition
 
Mammalian species generally exhibit a
delay in sexual maturation when food intake is subnormal before puberty, and
ovarian atrophy with associated changes
in cycles if inanition is imposed on adults.
In human beings a decrease in fertility and
a greater incidence of menstrual irregularities were induced by war famine (Zimmer,
Weill and Dubois, 1944). Ovarian atrophy
with associated amenorrhea and sterility
were invoked by chronic undernutrition
(Stephens, 1941). The ovarian morpliologic
changes were similar to those of aging.
Urinary estrogens were subnormal in 22 of
25 patients exhibiting amenorrhea associated with limited food intake (Zubiran and
(_lomcz-Mont, 1953).
 
The nutritional requirements of jM'imates
other than man have been studied in female
baboons. The intake of vitamins and other
essential nutrients was found to be of the
same order as that recommended for man.
Caloric intake varied with the menstrual
cycle, being least during the follicular phase
and maximal during the 2 to 7 days preceding menstruation (Gilbert and Gillman,
1956). Various diets were also studied to
assess their importance in maintaining the
normal menstrual rhythm. The feeding of
(a) maize alone, (b) assorted vegetables
and fruit, or (c) maize, skimmed milk, and
fat led to menstrual irregularities or to
amenorrhea. The mechanism regulating ovulation was the first to be deranged. The
addition of various vitamins or of animal
protein did not correct the menstrual disorders. However, inclusion of ox liver in
the diet did maintain the menstrual rhythmicity, but the beneficial effect could not
be attributed to its protein content (Gillman and Gilbert, 1956 ) .
 
In lower mammals that have been studied,
inanition will hinder vaginal opening, and
delay puberty and ovarian maturation and
functioning. In adult rats and mice ostrous
cycles are interrupted and the reprorUictive
system becomes atrophic when body weight
loss exceeds 15 per cent. The ovaries be
 
 
684
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
come smaller, ovulation fails, and large
vesicular follicles decrease in number with
an increase in atresia, but primary follicles
show a compensatory increase (Marrian
and Parkes, 1929; Mulinos and Pomerantz,
1940; Stephens and Allen, 1941; Guilbert,
1942; Bratton, 1957). The ovarian interstitial cells mav be markedly altered or absent
(Huseby and Ball, 1945; Rinaldini, 1949)
and the ovary may exhibit excessive luteinization (Arvy, Aschkenasy, AschkenasyLelu and Gabe, 1946) or regressing corpora
lutea (Rinaldini, 1949) . However, the ovarian changes induced by inanition may be
reversed by refeeding, with a return to reproductive capacity (Ball, Barnes and Visscher, 1947; Schultze, 1955). The effect of
feed-level on the reproductive capacity of
the ewe has been reported (El-Skukh, Nulet,
Pope and Casida, 1955), but one must realize that high planes of nutrition may adversely influence fertility (Asdell, 1949).
Nevertheless, additional protein and calcium added to an adequate diet extended
the reproductive life span (Sherman, Pearson, Bal, McCarthy and Lanford, 1956).
 
2. Protein
 
The availability of just protein has an
important influence on the female reproductive system. In immature rats ovarian
maturation was prevented by feeding diets
containing per cent to 1.5 per cent protein
(Ryabinina, 1952) and low protein diets decreased the number of ova but without altering their ribonucleic acid (RNA) or glycogen content (Ishida, 1957). Refeeding 18
per cent protein for only 3 days was marked
by the appearance of vesicular follicles and
the release of estrogen in mice previously fed
a protein-free diet (Leathem, 1958a). In
experiments involving the opposite extreme,
in which 90 per cent protein diets were used,
a retardation of ovarian growth, and a delay in follicular maturation, in vaginal
opening, and in the initiation of estrous
cycles were noted (Aschkenasy-Lelu and
Tuchmann-Duplessis, 1947; TuchniannDuplcssis and Aschkenasy-Lelu, 1948).
 
Adult female rats fed a protein-free diet
for 30 days exhibited ovaries weighing 22
mg. compared with ovaries weighing 56 mg.
from i)air-fed controls fed 18 per cent casein.
Ovarian glycogen, ascorbic acid, and cho
 
 
lesterol were all influenced by protein
deprivation and anestrum accompanied
the ovarian changes. Furthermore, uterine
weight and gl3^cogen decreased in rats fed
protein-free diets (Leathem, 1959b).
 
In adult rats the feeding of 3.5 per cent
to 5 per cent levels of protein (GuillDert and
Gross, 1932) was followed by irregularity
of the cycles or by their cessation. The
cycles became normal when 20 to 30 per cent
protein was fed (Aschkenasy-Lelu and
Aschkenasy, 1947). However, abnormally
high levels of casein (90 per cent) induced prolonged periods of constant estrus
(Tuchmann-Duplessis and AschkenasyLelu, 1947). Nevertheless, not all species
responded to protein depletion in the same
manner. For example, the rabbit exhibited
estrus and ovulation despite a 25 per cent
body weight loss imposed by to 2 per cent
protein diets (Friedman and Friedman,
1940).
 
Despite a normal level of protein in the
diet, inadequate calories will interfere with
reproductive function and induce ovarian
atrophy (Escudero, Herraiz and Mussmano,
1948; Rivero-Fontan, Paschkis, West and
Cantarow, 1952). Furthermore, the effects
of 15 per cent and 56 per cent protein levels
on estrous cycles could not be distinguished
when calories were reduced 50 per cent (Lee,
King and Visscher, 1952). Returning mice
to full feeding after months of caloric deficiency resulted in a sharp increase in reproductive performance well above that expected for the age of the animal (Visscher,
King and Lee, 1952). This type of rebound
phenomenon has not been explained.
 
Reproductive failure assigned to dietary
protein may be a reflection of protein
quality as well as level. Specific amino acid
deficiencies lead to cessation of estrus
(White and AVhite, 1942; Berg and Rohse,
1947) and thus feeding gelatin or wheat
as the protein source and at an 18 per cent
level was quickly followed by an anestrum
(Leathem, 1959b). Supplementation of the
wheat diet with lysine corrected the reproductive abnormalities (Courrier and
Raynaud, 1932), but neither lysine (Pearson, Hart and Bohstedt, 1937) nor cystine
(Pearson, 1936) added to a low casein diet
was beneficial. Control of food intake must
be considered in studies involving amino
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
685
 
 
 
acids, for a deficiency or an excess can create an imbalance and alter appetite. Opportunity to study the amino acids in reproduction is now possible because of the work of
Greenstein, Birnbaum, Winitz and Otey
(1957) and Schultze (1956) , who maintained
rats for two or more generations on synthetic diets containing amino acids as the
only source of protein. Similarly, the amino
acid needs for egg-laying in hens has been
reported (Fisher, 1957). Tissue culture
methods also permit the study of the nutritional requirements of embryonic gonadal
tissue, the success of avian gonadal tissue in
culture being judged by survival, growth,
and differentiation. In experiments in which
this technique was used it was found that a
medium made up of amino acids as the basic
nitrogen source can maintain gonadal explants very successfully, even though the
choice of amino acids does not exactly correspond to the 10 essential amino acids recommended for postnatal growth (StengerHaffen and Wolff, 1957).
 
3. Carbohydrate
 
The absence of dietary carbohydrate does
not appreciably affect the regularity of
estrous cycles in rats provided the caloric
need is met. However, the substitution of
20 per cent sucrose for corn starch induced
precocious sexual maturity which was followed by sterility (Whitnah and Bogart,
1956). The ovaries contained corpora lutea,
but the excessive luteinization of unruptured
follicles suggested a hypophyseal disturbance. Substitution of 20 per cent lactose for
corn starch had no effect. Increased amounts
of lactose retarded the gain in body weight
and blocked ovarian maturation, possibly
because the animal could not hydrolyze adequate amounts of the disaccharide. Addition of whole liver powder to the diet
counteracted the depressing action of 45 per
cent lactose on the ovary (Ershoff, 1949).
 
4. Fat
 
There seems to be little doubt that dietary
fat is reciuired for normal cyclic activity,
successful pregnancy, and lactation, and
that the requirements for essential fatty
acids are lower in females than in males
(Deuel, 1956).
 
Conception, fetal development, and par
 
 
turition can take place in animals fed a
diet deficient in fatty acids (Deuel, Martin
and Alfin-Slater, 1954) , despite a reduction
in total carcass arachidonic acid (Kummerow. Pan and Hickman, 1952). Earlier
reports indicated that a deficiency of essential fatty acids caused irregular ovulation and impaired reproduction (Burr and
Burr, 1930; Maeder, 1937). The large pale
ovaries lead Sherman (1941) to relate essential fatty acid deficiency to carotene
metabolism. In this regard the removal of
essential fatty acids from an adequate diet
supplemented with vitamin A and E lead
to anestrum and sterility while maintaining
good health (Ferrando, Jacques, Mabboux
and Prieur, 1955). Perhaps the differences
in opinion regarding the effects of fatty acid
deficiency can be related to the duration of
the experimental period. Panos and Finerty
(1953) found that growing rats placed on
a fat-free diet exhibited a normal time for
vaginal opening, normal ovarian weight,
follicles, and corpora lutea, although interstitial cells were atrophic. However, regular estrous cycles were noted for only 20
weeks, thereafter 60 per cent of the animals
exhibited irregular cycles.
 
A decrease in reproductive function may
be invoked by adding 14 per cent arachis
oil to the diet (Aaes-Jorgensen, Funch and
Dam, 1956) . Increasing dietary fat by adding rape oil did not influence ovarian function but did cause the accumulation of
ovarian and adrenal cholesterol (Carroll
and Noble, 1952).
 
Essential fatty acid deficiency is associated with underdevelopment and
atrophic changes of the uterine mucosa.
Adding fat to a stock diet enhanced uterine
weight in young animals at a more rapid
pace than body weight (Umberger and
Gass, 1958) .
 
5. Vitamins
 
Carotenoid pigments are present in the
gonads of many vertebrates and marine invertebrates, and, in mammals, are particularly prominent in the corpus luteum.
However, no progress has been made in
determining either the importance of the
carotenoids in the ovary or of the factors
controlling their concentrations. It is well
known that vitamin A deficiency induces
 
 
 
686
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
a characteristic keratinizing metaplasia of
the uterus and vagina, but estrous cycles
continue despite the vaginal mucosal
changes. Furthermore, ovulation occurs
regularly until advanced stages of deficiency appear. The estrous cycle becomes
irregular in cattle fed for a long period
of time on fodder deficient in carotene. The
corpora lutea fail to regress at the normal
rate and ovarian follicles become atretic and
cystic ( Jaskowski, Watkowski, Dobrowolska and Domanski, cited by Lutwak-Mann,
1958). The alterations in reproductive organs associated with a lack of vitamin A
may be due in part to a vitamin E deficiency
since the latter enhances the rate at which
liver stores of vitamin A are depleted.
 
Definite effects of hypervitaminosis A
have been observed on reproduction. Masin
(1950) noted that estrus in female rats
could be prolonged by administration of
37,000 I.U. of vitamin A daily. The implications, however, have not been studied.
The effect of hypervitaminosis A may actually induce secondary hypovitaminoses.
The displacement of vitamin K by excess
A is almost certain and similar relationships
appear to exist with vitamin D (Nieman
and Klein Obbink, 1954).
 
The failure of vitamin E-deficient female rats to become pregnant is apparently
due to disturbances of the implantation
process rather than to the failure of ovulation. There is no direct proof of ovarian
dysfunction (Blandau, Kaunitz and Slanetz,
1949). However, the ovary of the rat deficient in vitamin E may have more connective tissue and pigment, and Kaunitz
(1955) showed by ovarian transplantation
that some nonspecific ovarian dysfunction
appears to exist (cited by Cheng, 1959 (.
Vitamin E is essential for birds, but there
is little evidence for a dependency in most
mammals; sheep, cows, goats, and pigs have
been studied. Treatment of low-fertility
farm animals with tocopherol has not provided conclusive data favoring its use (Lutwak-Mann, 1958), nor has the treatment
of human females been rewarded with any
indication that vitamin E might be helpful
in cases of abnormal cycles and habitual
abortion (Beckmann, 1955).
 
No specific reproductive disturbances in
man, the rhesus monkey, or the guinea pig
 
 
 
have been associated with vitamin C deficiency (Mason, 1939). Nevertheless, the
high ascorbic acid content of ovarian and
luteal tissue and of the adrenal cortex suggests a physiologic role in association with
steroid synthesis. (3varian ascorbic acid
varies with the estrous cycle, dropping
sharply in the proestrum (Coste, Delbarre
and Lacronique, 1953), and decreasing in
resjionse to gonadotrophin (Hokfelt, 1950;
Parlow, 1958). Virtually no ascorbic acid is
present in bovine follicular fluid (LutwakMann, 1954) or in rat ovarian cyst fluid
(Blye and Leathem, 1959). Uterine ascorbic
acid decreased in immature mice treated
with estrogen, but remained unchanged
in rats following thiouracil administration
(Leathem, 1959a). Its role in the uterus
awaits elucidation.
 
Delayed sexual maturation and ovarian
atrophy have been described when there
are deficiencies of thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, biotin, and B12
(Ershoff, 1952; Ullrey, Becker, Terrill and
Notzold, 1955). However, as we noted when
deficiencies of the vitamins were being considered, much of the impairment of reproductive function can be related to inanition
rather than to a vitamin deficiency (Drill
and Burrill, 1944). Pyridoxine deficiency,
although not affecting structure (Morris,
Dunn and Wagner, 1953) , markedly reduces
the sensitivity of the ovary to administered
gonadotrophin (Wooten, Nelson, Simpson
and Evans, 1958) .
 
Bird, frog, and fish eggs contain considerable quantities of vitamins. In fact, the
daily human requirements for vitamins may
be contained in a hen's egg and thus it is
not surprising that hatchability is decreased
l)y virtually any vitamin deficiency. Lutwak-Mann (1958) has provided an excellent
survey of these data with numerous references to studies of frogs and fishes. Nearly
all the B vitamins are present in fish roe
and the pantothenic acid concentration in
cod ovaries {Gadus morrhua) exceeds most
otlicr natural sources. The amount of the
latter varies with the reproductive cycle,
d(>creasing to its lowest level before spawning. Riboflavin and vitamin B12 , on the
other h;ui(l, do not change (Braekkan,
1955).
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
687
 
 
 
B. INFLUENCE OF NUTRITION ON THE RESPONSIVENESS OF FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE TISSUES
TO HORMONES
 
1. Ovary
 
a. Inanition. Marrian and Parkes (1929)
were the first to show that the quiescent
ovary of the underfed rat can respond to
injections of anterior pituitary as evidenced
by ovulation and estrous smears. Subsequently the ovaries of underfed birds, rats,
and guinea pigs were found to be responsive
to serum gonadotrophin (Werner, 1939;
Stephens and Allen, 1941; Mulinos and
Pomerantz, 1941b; Hosoda, Kaneko, Mogi
and Abe, 1956). A low calorie bread-andmilk diet for 30 days did not prevent ovarian response to rat anterior pituitary or to
chorionic gonadotrophin. In these animals
an increase in ovarian weight with repair
of interstitial tissue, as well as folhcle
stimulation and corpus luteum formation,
were observed (Rinaldini, 1949). Rats from
which food had been withdrawn for 12
days could respond to castrated rat pituitary extract with an increase in ovarian
and uterine weight (Maddock and Heller,
1947). Nevertheless, differences in the time
and degree of responsiveness to administered gonadotrophin were noted in rabbits.
Animals on a high plane of nutrition responded to gonadotrophin at 12 weeks,
whereas rabbits on a low plane of nutrition
responded at 20 weeks and fewer eggs were
shed (Adams, 1953).
 
b. Protein. Protein or amino acid deficiencies in the rat do not prevent a response
to administered gonadotrophin (Cole, Guilbert and Goss, 1932; Courrier and Raynaud,
1932) . However, the degree and type of
gonadal response is influenced by the diet.
Thus, immature female mice fed to 6 per
cent casein for 13 days exhibited only follicular growth in response to pregnant mare
serum, whereas the ovarian response in
mice fed 18 per cent casein was suggestive
of follicle-stimulating and strongly luteinizing actions (Table 12.9). Furthermore,
the ovarian response was significantly less
after 20 days of nonprotein feeding than
after 10 days of depletion (Leathem,
1958a). Ovarian stimulation by a gonadotrophin involves tissue protein synthesis
and thus the type of whole protein fed
 
 
 
could influence the responses. Yamamoto
and Chow (1950) fed casein, lactalbumin,
soybean, and wheat gluten at 20 per cent
levels and noted that the response to gonadotrophin as estimated by tissue nitrogen
was related to the nutritive value of the
protein. The ovarian weight response to
chorionic gonadotrophin was less in rats
fed 20 per cent gelatin than those fed 20
per cent casein (Leathem, 1959b). Inasmuch
as the hypophysis may influence the gonadal response to injected hormone despite
the diet, hypophysectomized rats fed a protein-free diet for 5 weeks and hyophysectomized rats on a complete diet were tested
for response to gonadotrophins. The response to FSH was not influenced by diet,
but the protein-depleted rats were twice
as sensitive to interstitial cell-stimulating
hormone (ICSH), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), and PMS as the normal
rats (Srebnik, Nelson and Simpson, 1958).
Protein-depleted, normal mice were twice as
sensitive to PMS as fully fed mice (Leathem and Defeo, 1952 1 .
 
c. Vitamins. In the female vitamin B
deficiencies do not prevent ovarian responses to gonadotrophin (Figge and Allen,
1942), but the number of studies is limited.
Be deficiency in DBA mice was associated
with an increased sensitivity of the ovary
to gonadotrophins (Morris, Dunn and Wagner, 1953), whereas pyridoxine deficiency
in the rat decreased ovarian sensitivity,
especially to FSH (Wooten, Nelson, Simp
TABLE 12.9
 
Influence of dietary protein and pregnant mare
 
serum {PMS) on the mouse ovary
 
(From J. H. Leathem, Recent Progr. Hormone
 
Res., 14, 141, 1958.)
 
 
 
Diet fPer cent
Protein X Days Fed)
 
 
 
 
c-5,
 
•g-s
 
1*
 
 
k
 
r
 
 
1
11
 
 
c
1
 
 
 
 
I.U.
 
 
mg.
 
 
 
 
 
 
mg.
 
 
per cent X 23
 
 
 
 
 
1.2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.8
 
 
per cent X 2.3
 
 
3
 
 
2.8
 
 
13
 
 
 
 
 
10.8
 
 
per cent X 13
 
 
 
 
 
1.4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.9
 
 
per cent X 13
 
 
3
 
 
4.4
 
 
16
 
 
1
 
 
15.1
 
 
6 per cent X 13
 
 
 
 
 
3.2
 
 
6
 
 
 
 
 
7.7
 
 
6 per cent X 13
 
 
3
 
 
5.6
 
 
12
 
 
1
 
 
31.9
 
 
18 per cent X 13
 
 
 
 
 
5.0
 
 
10
 
 
2
 
 
51.6
 
 
18 per cent X 13
 
 
3
 
 
8.0
 
 
7
 
 
4
 
 
51.3
 
 
 
088
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
son and Evans, 1958 j. Administration of
vitamin C concomitant witli gonadotropliin
has been claimed to enhance ovarian response (DiCio and Schteingart, 1942), but
in another study the addition of ascorbic
acid inhibited the hiteinizing and ovulating
action of the gonadotrophin (Desaive,
1956).
 
Whether induced by vitamin deficiency
or by inanition, the anestrum in rats which
follows 2 to 3 weeks' feeding of a vitamin
B-deficient diet has been explored as a
method for the assay of gonadotrophin.
Pugsley (1957) has shown that there is
considerable convenience of method and a
satisfactory precision of response for the
assay of HCG and pregnant mare serum.
 
2. Uterus and Vagina
 
a. Inanition. Limited food intake does
not prevent an increase in uterine weight
after estrogen. Testosterone propionate will
markedly increase uterine growth despite
a 50 per cent reduction in food intake
(Leathem, Nocenti and Granitsas, 1956).
Furthermore, dietary manipulations involving caloric and protein levels did not prevent the uteri of spayed rats from responding to estrogen (Vanderlinde and
Westerfield, 1950). More specific biochemical and physiologic responses must be
measured because starvation for 4-day periods clearly interferes with deciduoma formation (DeFeo and Rothchild, 1953). A
start in the direction of studying tissuecomposition changes has been made by
measuring glycogen. However, no changes
were noted in uterine glycogen in fasting
rats (Walaas, 1952), and estrogen promoted
glycogen deposition in the uteri of starved
rats as well as in the uteri of fully fed rats
(Bo and Atkinson, 1953).
 
b. Fat. Interest in the hormone content of
fat from the tissues of animals treated with
estrogen for the purpose of increasing body
weight has raised the question of tissue hormone content. If estrogen was to be detected in tissues, an increase in dietary fat
was necessary. However, the increase in
dietary fat decreased the uterine response to
stilbcstrol (I'mberger and Gass, 1958), thus
complicating the assay.
 
c. Vitainins. Stimulation of the uterus
by estrogen does not require tliianiinc, ribo
 
 
flavin, pyridoxine, or pantothenic acid. On
the other hand, a deficiency of nicotinic acid
appears to enhance the response to low
doses of estrogen (Kline and Dorfman,
1951a, b). However, Bio appears to be
needed for optimal oviduct response (Kline,
1955) and is required for methyl group synthesis from various one-carbon precursors
including serine and glycine (Johnson,
1958).
 
Response of the bird oviduct to stilbestrol
requires folic acid (Hertz, 1945, 1948). It
was shown subsequently that stilbestrol and
estrone effects in frogs, rats, and the rhesus
monkey also require folic acid. A folic acid
deficiency can be induced by feeding aminopterin. In this way the estrogen effects
can be prevented. Aminopterin also prevents
the action of progesterone in deciduoma
formation, from which it may be inferred
that folic acid is necessary for deciduoma
formation in the rat. Increased steroid or
folic acid levels can reverse the antagonist's
effect (Velardo and Hisaw, 1953).
 
The mechanism of folic acid action is not
clear. It may function in fundamental metabolic reactions linked with nucleic acid
synthesis. Brown (1953) showed that
desoxyribonucleic acid could be substituted
for folic acid in the bird. In the rat aminopterin interferes with the increase in
uterine nucleic acids, and with nitrogen
and P-^- uptake by nucleic acids following
estrogen. Folic acid has been implicated in
the metabolism of several amino acids
(Davis, Meyer and McShan, 1956).
 
Rats ovariectomized at weaning and
maintained on a vitamin E-free diet for
6 weeks to 10 months responded to estradiol
in the same manner as rats supplemented
with tocopherol. This finding suggests that
an intimate physiologic relationship between estradiol and vitamin E is not very
probable (Kaunitz, Slanetz and Atkinson,
1949). Nevertheless, vitamin E has been
re]:»orted to act synergistically with ovarian
hormones in dc^ciduoma formation (Kehl,
Douard and Lanfranchi. 1951 ) and to influence nucleic acid turnover (Dinning.
Simc and Day, 1956).
 
A vitamin-hormone interrelationship is
apparent when estrogen and vitamin A are
considered. Vitamin A-deficient female rats
present evidence of a metaplastic uterine
 
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
689
 
 
 
epithelium in 11 to 13 weeks, but similar
changes failed to develop in ovariectomized
rats. Vitamin A-deficient castrated rats
quickly developed symptoms of metaplasia
when estrogen alone was administered, but
no adverse effect followed the administration of estrogen combined with vitamin A
(Bo, 1955, 1956). The vagina is different.
Its epithelium becomes cornified in vitamin
A-deficient normal and castrated rats. The
cornification is histologically indistinguishable from that occurring in the estrous
rat and can be prevented by vitamin A.
In fact, vitamin A will quantitatively inhibit the effect of estrogen on the vaginal
mucosa when both are applied locally
(Kahn, 1954). Conversion of ^-carotene to
vitamin A is influenced by tocopherol, vitamin Bi2 , insulin, and thyroid, with evidence
for and against a similar action by cortisone
(Lowe and Morton, 1956; Rice and Bo,
1958). An additional vitamin-hormone relationship is suggested by the augmentation
of progesterone action in rabbits given vitamin Do .
 
3. Mammary Gland
 
Inanition prevents mammary growth, but
feeding above recommended requirements
for maintenance and growth from birth
to the first parturition also seems to interfere with mammary growth. Furthermore,
steroid stimulation of the mammary gland
is influenced by nutritional factors. Using
the male mouse, Trentin and Turner (1941)
showed that as food intake decreased, the
amount of estradiol required to produce a
minimal duct growth w^as proportionately
increased. In the immature male rat a
limited food intake prevented the growth of
the mammary gland exhibited by fully fed
controls. Nevertheless, the gland was competent to respond to estrogen (Reece, 1950) .
Inasmuch as the glands of force-fed hypophysectomized rats did not respond to estrogen (Samuels, Reinecke and Peterson,
1941; Ahren, 1959), one can assume that,
despite inanition, a hypophyseal factor was
present to permit the response of the mammary gland to estrogen. However, inanition
(IMeites and Reed, 1949) , but not vitamin
deficiencies (Reece, Turner, Hathaway and
Davis, 1937), did reduce the content of
hypophyseal lactogen in the rat.
 
 
 
Growth of the mammary gland duct in
the male rat in response to estradiol requires a minimum of 6 per cent casein. Protein levels of 3 per cent and per cent failed
to support growth of the duct (Reece, 1959) .
 
C. PREGNANCY
 
The human male after attaining adulthood is confronted with the problem of
maintaining the body tissues built up during
the growth period. However, in the human
female it has been estimated that the replacement of menstrual losses may require
the synthesis of tissue equivalent to 100
per cent of her body weight (Flodin, 19531.
In the event of pregnancy and in all viviparous species, the female is presented with
even more formidable demands and a limitation of nutritional needs can lead to loss
of the embryo or fetus. The role of nutrition
at this point in reproduction has always received considerable attention and is complicated by the circumstance that many food
substances influence pregnancy (Jackson,
1959). However, in many instances there is
no evidence that fetal loss or malformation
induced by nutritional modifications has
been the consequence of an endocrine imbalance and thus limitation of the immense
literature is permissible.
 
During the first 15 days of pregnancy, a
rat may gain 50 gm. Since the fetuses and
placentas are small, most of the gain is maternal and is associated with an' increase
in food intake of as much as 100 calories
per kilogram of body weight (Morrison,
1956). During the first 2 weeks of pregnancy, marked storage of fat and water occurs in the maternal body and the animal's
positive nitrogen balance is above normal.
Liver fat also increases (Shipley, Chudzik,
Curtiss and Price, 1953). The increased food
intake in early pregnancy may therefore
provide a reserve for late fetal growth, as
food intake may decline to 65 per cent of
the general pregnancy level during the last
7 days (Morrison, 1956). During this last
week, fetal growth is rapid. The rapid
growth has been related to (1) greater demands of the fetus, (2) greater amounts of
food in the maternal blood, and (31 greater
permeability of the placenta. Certainly the
anabolic potential of fetal tissues is high
and the mother can lose weight while the
 
 
 
690
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
fetuses gain. But it is also important to
recall that there is a shift in protein, because
its distribution in organs of pregnant rats
differs from that in nonpregnant animals
(Poo, Lew and Addis, 1939). Other changes
in the maternal organism were enumerated
b}^ Newton (1952) and by Souders and
Morgan (1957).
 
A measure of nitrogen balance during
pregnancy, rather than weight of young at
birth, has been suggested as a means of
determining a diet adequate for reproduction (Pike, Suder and Ross, 1954). After
the 15th day, a retention of body protein
increases, blood amino nitrogen and amino
acids decrease, and urea formation decreases. These metabolic activities suggest
an increase in growth hormone although the
levels of this hormone have not been estimated (Beaton, Ryu and McHenry, 1955).
Placental secretions have also been associated with the active anabolic state of the
second half of pregnancy, because removal
of the fetuses in the rat did not change the
anabolic activity, whereas removal of the
placentas was followed by a return to normal (Bourdel, 1957). A sharp increase in
liver ribose nucleic acid has been observed
during late pregnancy in mice and rats and
the effect attributed to a placental secretion
or to estrogen. Species differences also influence the results because only a modest
change in liver RNA was observed in guinea
pigs and no change occurred in cats (Campbell and Kostcrlitz, 1953; Campbell, Innes
and Kosterlitz, 1953a, b).
 
Clinical observations have related both
 
TABLE 12.10
 
Nutrition and pregnancy in rats
 
(From J. H. Leathern, in Recent Progress in
 
the Endocrinology of Reproduction, Academic
 
Press, Inc., New York, 1959.)
 
 
 
 
 
Calories/kg.
Body Weight
 
 
Fetuses, Day 20
 
 
 
 
No.
 
 
Average
weight
 
 
18 per cent casein
 
18 per cent casein
 
6 per cent casein
 
per cent casein
 
18 per cent gelatin
 
18 per cent gelatin
 
 
200
100
 
250
200
200
100
 
 
8
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
gm.
6.1
 
3.5
 
 
 
toxemia of pregnancy (Pequignot, 1956)
and prematurity to inadequate nutrition
(Jeans, Smith and Stearns, 1955). The potential role of protein deprivation in the
pathogenesis of the toxemia of pregnancy
prompted studies in sheep and rats. In sheep
nutritionally induced toxemia simulates the
spontaneous toxemia (Parry and Taylor,
1956), but only certain aspects of toxemia
were observed in the pregnant rat subjected
to low protein diets. When rats were fed 5
per cent casein and mated, fluid retention
was observed (Shipley, Chudzik, Curtiss
and Price, 1953) and pregnancy was completed in only 48 per cent of the animals
Curtiss, 1953). Gain in body weight in the
adult rat and gain in fetal weight were subnormal as the result of a low protein feeding
during pregnancy.
 
Complete removal of protein from the
diet beginning at the time of mating did not
prevent implantation but did induce an 86
to 100 per cent embryonic loss. The effect
was not related solely to food intake (Nelson and Evans, 1953) , as we will see in what
follows when the relationship between protein deficiency and the supply of estrogen
and progesterone is described. Limiting protein deprivation to the first 9 to 10 days of
pregnancy will also terminate a pregnancy,
but when the protein was removed from the
diet during only the last week of pregnancy,
the maternal weight decreased without an
effect on fetal or placental weight (Campbell and Kosterlitz, 1953). As would be anticipated, a successful pregnancy requires
protein of good nutritional quality and the
caloric intake must be adequate. Thus, an
18 per cent gelatin diet failed to maintain
pregnancy when 200 calories per kilogram
were fed, whereas a similar level of casein
was adequate (Table 12.10). However, reducing caloric intake to 100 calories despite
an otherwise adequate protein ration influenced the number and size of fetuses
(Leathern, 1959b). Additional proteins
should be studied and related to biochemical changes in pregnancy and to the need for
specific amino acids; for example, elimination of methionine or tryptophan from the
diet may or may not be followed by resorption (Sims, 1951; Kemeny, Handel, Kertesz
and Sos, 1953; Albanese, Randall and Holt,
1943). Excretion of 10 amino acids was in
 
 
NUTRITIONAL EFFECTS
 
 
 
691
 
 
 
creased during normal human pregnancy
(Miller, Ruttinger and Macey, 1954).
 
That a relationship exists, between the
dietary requirements just described to the
endocrine substances which participate in
the control of pregnancy, is suggested by the
fact that the deleterious effects of a proteinfree diet on pregnancy in rats have been
counteracted by the administration of estrone and progesterone. Pregnancy was
maintained in 30 per cent, 60 to 80 per cent,
and per cent of protein-deficient animals
by daily dosages of 0.5 /xg., 1 to 3 fig., and 6
jug. estrone, respectively. On the other hand,
injection of 4 to 8 mg. progesterone alone
maintained pregnancy in 70 per cent of the
animals (Nelson and Evans, 1955) , and an
injection of 4 mg. progesterone with 0.5 //.g.
estrone provided complete replacement
therapy (Nelson and Evans, 1954). Food
intake did not increase. The results suggest
that reproductive failure in the absence of
dietary protein was due initially to lack of
progesterone and secondarily to estrogen,
the estrogen possibly serving as an indirect
stimulation for luteotrophin secretion and
release. It is well known that hypophysectomy or ovariectomy shortly after breeding
will terminate a pregnancy and that replacement therapy requires both ovarian
hormones. Thus, the protein-deficient state
differs somewhat from the state following
hypophysectomy or ovariectomy, but the
factors involved are not known.
 
Pregnancy alters nutritional and metabolic conditions in such a way that labile
protein stores of the liver and other parts of
the body are influenced, but similar effects
are imposed by a transplanted tumor, especially when it reaches 10 per cent of the
body weight. ' Thus, transplantation of a
tumor into a pregnant animal would place
the fetuses in competition with the tumor for
the amino acids of the metabolic pool. Under
these circumstances will the pregnancy be
maintained? An answer to the question may
not yet be given. Nevertheless, Bly, Drevets
and Migliarese (1955) observed various degrees of fetal damage in pregnant rats bearing the Walker 256 tumor, and 43 per cent
fetal loss was obtained with a small hepatoma (Paschkis and Cantarow, 1958).
 
Essential fatty acid deficiency, at least
in the initial stages, does not interfere with
 
 
 
development of the fetuses or parturition in
the rat, but the pups may be born dead or
they do not survive more than a few days
(Kummerow, Pan and Hickman, 1952). A
more pronounced deficiency has induced
atrophic changes in the decidua, resorption
of fetuses, and prolonged gestation. Death
of the fetuses appears to be secondary to
placental injury. Hormonal involvement, if
any, when there is fatty acid deficiency and
pregnancy seems not to have been investigated.
 
Pregnancy and lactation are major factors influencing vitamin requirements. It is
not surprising, therefore, that vitamin deficiencies influence the course of a pregnancy. The subject has recently been reviewed by Lutwak-jMann (1958).
 
A deficiency of vitamin A does not noticeably affect early fetal development, but
later in gestation placental degeneration occurs with hemorrhage and abortion. When
the deficiency is moderate the pregnancy is
not interrupted, but the fetuses are damaged
(Warkany and Schraffenberger, 1944; Wilson, Roth and Warkany, 1953; Giroud and
Martinet, 1959). In calves and pigs the
abnormalities are associated with the eyes
and palate (Guilbert, 1942) ; in birds skeletal abnormalities are seen (Asmundson and
Kratzer, 1952). The use of hormones in an
effort to counteract the effects seems to have
been attempted only in the rabbit where
12.5 mg. progesterone improved reproduction impaired by vitamin A lack (Hays and
Kendall, 1956). Vitamin A excess also
proves highly detrimental to pregnancy, as
resorption and malformations occur. Administration of excessive vitamin A on days
11 to 13 of pregnancy induced cleft palate in
90 per cent of the embryos (Giroud and
Martinet, 1955) . In another experiment the
effect of excessive vitamin A was augmented
by cortisone (Woollam and Millen, 1957).
 
Vitamin E deficiency has long been known
to influence pregnancy in rodents and fetal
death appears to precede placental damage
and involution of the corpora lutea. Gross
observations of the abnormal embryos have
been reported (Cheng, Chang and Bairnson, 1957). Estrogen, progesterone, and lactogen were not effective in attempts at corrective therapy (Ershoff, 1943), but estrone
and progesterone markedly reduced the in
 
 
692
 
 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS
 
 
 
cidence of congenital malformations associated with vitamin E lack (Cheng, 1959).
In the test of a possible converse relationship, estradiol-induced abortion in guinea
pigs was not prevented by vitamin E (Ingelman-Sundberg, 1958) .
 
Fat-soluble vitamins incorporated in the
diet may be destroyed by oxidation of the
unsaturated fatty acids. To stabilize the
vitamins, the addition of diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD) to the diet has
proven successful, but recent studies show
that DPPD has an adverse effect on reproduction and thus its use in rat rations
is contraindicated (Draper, Goodyear, Barbee and Johnson, 1956).
 
Vitamin-hormone relationships in pregnancy have been studied with regard to
thiamine, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and
folic acid. Thiamine deficiency induced stillbirths, subnormal birth weights, resorption
of fetuses, and loss of weight in the mother.
However, as in the case of protein deficiency, pregnancy could be maintained with
0.5 fjLg. estrone and 4 mg. progesterone (Nelson and Evans, 1955). Estrone alone had
some favorable effect on the maintenance
of pregnancy in thiamine-deficient animals,
but it was less effective in protein-deficient
animals.
 
Fetal death and resorptions as well as
serum protein and nonprotein nitrogen
(NPN) changes similar to those reported
for toxemia of pregnancy (Ross and Pike,
1956; Pike and Kirksey, 1959) were induced
by a diet deficient in vitamin Be . Administration of 1 fxg. estrone and 4 mg. progesterone maintained pregnancy in 90 per cent of
vitamin Be-deficient rats (Nelson, Lyons
and Evans, 1951). However, the pyridoxinedeficient rat required both steroids to remain pregnant and in this regard resembled
the hypophysectomized animal (Nelson,
Lyoas and Evans, 1953). Nevertheless, a
hypophyseal hormone combination which
was adequate for the maintenance of pregnancy in the fully fed hypophysectomized
rat (Lyons, 1951) was only partially successful when there was a deficiency of pyridoxine. An ovarian defect is suggested.
 
The folic acid antagonist, 4-aminopteroylglutamic acid, will rapidly induce the
death of early implanted embryos in mice.
 
 
 
rats, and man (Thiersch, 1954j . Removal
of folic acid from the diet or the addition
of x-methyl folic acid will induce malformations when low doses are given and resorptions when high doses are given. Furthermore, this effect is obtained even when
the folic acid deficiency is delayed until
day 9 of a rat pregnancy or maintained for
only a 36-hour period. A deficiency of
pantothenic acid will also induce fetal resorption. The vitamin is required for hatching eggs (Gillis, Heuser and Norris, 1942).
In animals deficient in folic acid or in
pantothenic acid, estrone and progesterone
replacement therapy did not prevent fetal
loss, suggesting that the hormones cannot
act (Nelson and Evans, 1956). In the above
mentioned deficiencies replacement of the
vitamin is effective. However, vitamins
other than those specifically deleted may
provide replacement, thus ascorbic acid
seems to have a sparing action on calcium
pantothenate (Everson, Northrop, Chung
and Getty, 1954) .
 
Pregnancy can be interrupted by altering
vitamins other than those discussed above,
but the hormonal aspects have not been
explored. Thus, the lack of choline, riboflavin, and Bi2 will induce fetal abnormalities and interrupt gestation (Giroud, Levy,
Lefebvres and Dupuis, 1952; Dryden, Hartman and Gary, 1952; Jones, Brown, Richardson and Sinclair, 1955; Newberne and
O'Dell, 1958) . Choline lack is detrimental to
the placenta (Dubnov, 1958), riboflavin
deficiency may impair carbohydrate use
(Nelson, Arnrich and Morgan, 1957) and/or
induce electrolyte disturbances (Diamant
and Guggenheim, 1957) , and Bjo spares choline and may be concerned with nucleic
acid synthesis (Johnson, 1958). Excessive
amounts of Bio are not harmful. It is interesting to note that uterine secretions and
rabbit blastocyst fluid are rich in vitamin
B]2 (Lutwak-Mann, 1956), but its presence
in such large amounts has not been explained.
 
An additional substance, lithospermin, extracted from the plant, Lathijrus odoratus,
is related to hormone functioning; it is antigonadotrophic when eaten by nonpregnant
animals and man. The feeding of this substance to prciiiiant rats terminated the pregnancies about the 17th day. Treatment with
estrogen and progesterone was preventive
(Walker and Wirtschafter, 1956). It is assumed, therefore, that lithospermin interfered with the production of these hormones.
A repetition of the experiment on a species
in which the hypophysis and ovaries are
dispensable during much of pregnancy
would be of interest.
 
In retrospect it has been found that a
deficiency in protein and the vitamins
thiamine, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and
folic acid individually can interrupt a pregnancy. Furthermore, a combination of estrone and progesterone which is adequate to
maintain pregnancy after hypophysectomy
and ovariectomy, is equally effective in protein or thiamine deficiency. This suggests
that the basic physiologic alteration is a
deprivation of ovarian hormones. However,
protein- and thiamine-deficiency states differ from each other as shown by the response to estrogen alone (thiamine deficiency is less responsive), and these states
differ from hypophysectomy in which estrone alone has no effect. A pyridoxine deficiency seems to involve both ovary and
hypophysis, for neither steroids nor pituitary hormones were more than partially
successful in maintaining pregnancy in rats.
Lastly, pantothenic acid and folic acid
deficiencies may not create a steroid deficiency. What is involved is not known;
many possibilities exist. Pantothenic acid,
for example, participates in many chemical
reactions. Furthermore, it is known that
thiamine is essential for carbohydrate metabolism but not for fat metabolism whereas
pyridoxine is involved in fat metabolism
and in the conversion of tryptophan to nicotinic acid. It is clear, though, that much
ground must be covered before the formulation of fruitful hypotheses may be anticipated.
 
VI. Concluding Remarks
 
The development, composition, and normal functioning of the reproductive system
is dependent on adequate nutrition. However, the requirements are many and only
gradually are data being acquired which are
pertinent to the elucidation of the nutritional-gonadal relationship.
 
 
 
The demands for nutrient substances is
not always the same. During pregnancy and
lactation there is a need for supplemental
feeding. A similar need exists in birds and
in the many cold-blooded vertebrates in
which reproduction is seasonal. Atypical endocrine states create imbalances and a need
for nutrient materials which vary, unpredictably, we must acknowledge, until the
numerous interrelationships have been clarified.
 
At many points where determination of
cause and effect are possible, an indirect
action of dietary factors on reproduction is
indicated. No other conclusion seems possible in view of the many instances in which
the effect of dietary deficiencies can be
counteracted by the administration of a
hormone or combination of hormones. The
direct action is not immediately apparent;
it probably is on the processes by which
metabolic homeostasis is maintained, and is
in the nature of a lowering of the responsiveness to the stimuli which normally trigger these processes into action. The processes
may be those by which pituitary and gonadal hormones are produced or they may be
the mechanisms by which these hormones
produce their effects on the genital tracts
and on the numerous other tissues on which
they are known to act.
 
Because of the many interrelationships,
some of which are antagonistic and some
supportive, determination of the role of specific dietary substances is not easy. For
those who work with laboratory species,
the problem is further complicated by the
many strain differences. For everyone, the
problem is complicated by the many species
differences which are the result of an evolution toward carnivorous, herbivorous, or
omnivorous diets, to say nothing of the
countless specific preferences within each
group.
 
Finally, it is something of a paradox in our
culture that much of our effort has been devoted to investigations of the effects of deficiencies and undernutrition rather than
to the effects of excesses and overnutrition.
Much evidence supports the view that in
the aggregate the latter are fully as deleterious as the former, but the means by which this result is achieved are largely unknown.
 
 
 
VII. References
 
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Young WC. Sex and internal secretions. (1961) 3rd Eda. Williams and Wilkins. Baltimore.
Section A Biologic Basis of Sex Cytologic and Genetic Basis of Sex | Role of Hormones in the Differentiation of Sex
Section B The Hypophysis and the Gonadotrophic Hormones in Relation to Reproduction Morphology of the Hypophysis Related to Its Function | Physiology of the Anterior Hypophysis in Relation to Reproduction
The Mammalian Testis | The Accessory Reproductive Glands of Mammals | The Mammalian Ovary | The Mammalian Female Reproductive Cycle and Its Controlling Mechanisms | Action of Estrogen and Progesterone on the Reproductive Tract of Lower Primates | The Mammary Gland and Lactation | Some Problems of the Metabolism and Mechanism of Action of Steroid Sex Hormones | Nutritional Effects on Endocrine Secretions
Section D Biology of Sperm and Ova, Fertilization, Implantation, the Placenta, and Pregnancy Biology of Spermatozoa | Biology of Eggs and Implantation | Histochemistry and Electron Microscopy of the Placenta | Gestation
Section E Physiology of Reproduction in Submammalian Vertebrates Endocrinology of Reproduction in Cold-blooded Vertebrates | Endocrinology of Reproduction in Birds
Section F Hormonal Regulation of Reproductive Behavior The Hormones and Mating Behavior | Gonadal Hormones and Social Behavior in Infrahuman Vertebrates | Gonadal Hormones and Parental Behavior in Birds and Infrahuman Mammals | Sex Hormones and Other Variables in Human Eroticism | The Ontogenesis of Sexual Behavior in Man | Cultural Determinants of Sexual Behavior
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SECTION C Physiology of the Gonads and Accessory Organs

The Mammalian Testis

A. Albert, Ph.D., M.D.

Professor of Physiology, Mayo Foundation, and Head of the Endocrinology Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

I. Introduction

The function of the testis is concerned with the preservation of the species. It accomplishes this by producing sperm and hormones. The tubular apparatus is responsible for the manufacture of sperm, and the interstitial tissue gives rise to the hormones. These two compartments are intimately associated with one another embryologically, anatomically, and functionally. Furthermore, they are controlled by separate gonadotrophic hormones of the anterior pituitary. In turn, the secretion and metabolism of the pituitary gonadotrophins are controlled by the tubules and the Leydig cells. Knowledge of this reciprocal control of pituitary-testis activity was well established by 1940; in general, this reciprocity is the basic frame of reference for the interpretation of all aspects of testicular function. JMore intimate relationships are quite complex and, as will be seen, not completely understood.


It would be gratifying to interpret all aspects of the testis within this fundamental frame of reference. This is not possible at present because the literature is too conflicting and no one has a sufficiently broad experience with testicular endocrinology to sift all of this literature competently. The extreme scatter of literature on the testis furnishes ample evidence for the discontinuity and heterogeneity of effort. Perhaps the main service of this chapter is the compilation in broad categories of the heterogeneous literature of the past 20 years, so that the student may have a handy, albeit incomplete, guide to the subject and to several of the major problems. A preview of the material to be discussed follows.


This chapter pertains to the testis in postnatal life. Acquaintance with the principal facts of the embryology of the testis and with recent developments in fetal endocrinology of the testis is presumed. Only a short description of the postnatal development of the testis is given because encyclopedic coverage is to be expected in other treatises, and because the acquisition of further details of the postnatal development of the testis in various species belongs more to the domain of comparative morphology. The basic lessons already have been learned from a few species, and only the jDrovision of an unusual specimen for study could be expected to aid the endocrinologist.


Interest in the effects of cryptorchism has shifted in the 20 years following Moore's (1939) summary in the second edition of this book; at that time, the main interest in the cryptorchid testis was in its capacity for hormonal production. At present, the chief concern is with its capacity for spermatogenic function. Despite some labor and much discourse, the treatment of cryptorchism in the human is not satisfactory. Controlled methods of management based on a reasonable working hypothesis have not been evolved, so that a definitive evaluation of results in terms of fertility is impossible.


The architecture of the testis has been described in terms of structural pattern and composition adapted for the formation and transport of sperm and for hormonal production. The influences of the circulatory and the nervous systems on testicular function have received uneven consideration. The former system is essential for testicular function; not only does it bring the necessary gonadotrophic hormones to the testis but, just as important, it provides foodstuffs and oxygen and carries away metabolites. The testis is extremely sensitive to derangement of its blood supply. The peripheral nervous system, however, appears to be relatively unimportant to the postnatal well-being of the testis.

The compartments of the testis are discussed in two sections of this chapter. The germinal epithelium produces sperm, and it is with regard to this compartment that major advances have been made. Quantitative cytologic studies have unraveled the spermatogenic cycle and have provided detailed information on spermiogenesis. These studies are tedious and require painstaking techniques, but there is at present no other way to obtain quantitative information.


The hormonal compartment of the testis has been further clarified by morphologic methods, but the greatest advances have been made by chemists. The biogenesis of male hormone has been worked out and is discussed in detail in the chapter hj Villee. So far, the hormones manufactured by the testis have been shown to include only steroids. A flare of interest in a water-soluble hormone, namely inhibin, was shortlived, and this issue has been dormant in the past decade.


The next two sections of this chapter, the control of the testis by the pituitary, and the effects of male hormone and other steroids on the testis are representative of classic endocrinology. The dual concept of testicular control by means of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) for the tubular apparatus and the Leydig cells, respectively, is less secure than it was believed to be in 1939. Interest in the fractionation of pituitary gonadotrophins waned in the 1940's, and investigators were unable to obtain purified FSH and LH for experimental study. Furthermore, the discovery that testosterone and other steroids maintained spermatogenesis in the complete absence of gonadotrophins became an irritant to the dualist's composure. Intensive effort in this area has removed some difficulties, but it has not solved the problems. Recent studies have shown that male hormone is needed for spermiogenesis and gonadotrophins for copious spermatogenesis, but there the problem rests.


The effect of alterations in the endocrine system on the testis is discussed briefly. Extremely little has been done in this area except for the influence of altered thyroidal states. As will be seen, the thyroid can exert some influence on testicular function, but this depends largely on the species studied. Further understanding will evolve as more species are studied.


The last sections in the chapter deal with disorders and tumors of the testis. Disorders of the testis, chiefly hypogonadal states, are important in both veterinary and clinical medicine. Study of some of these disorders has greatly clarified normal jihysiology. A brief survey will be given of this aspect to emphasize the pituitary regulation of testicular function as shown by the effects of certain spontaneous disorders of the pituitary. Brief mention will also be made of the awareness of the increasing importance of gene factors and of the fetal endocrine system in basic and clinical problems of the testis. The inherited types of infertility in males seem to be an especially rewarding field of investigation. Spontaneous tumors of the testis supply interesting and instructive material for study in both clinical and veterinary medicine. Tumors induced in the testis by experimental means have contributed nothing unique to the problem of oncogenesis. They have, however, provided material for the concept of hormonal dependence" of certain tumors; therefore, they are of importance in the field of cancer.

Not included in this review are studies on the effects of nutritional deficiency, of radiation, and toxic substances on the testis. The first is discussed in detail in the chapter by Leathern. The second has been purposely omitted because it belongs more to the sphere of interest of the radiation biologist than to that of the endocrinologist. It must not be forgotten, however, that knowledge of the relative sensitivity of the various cells of the testis to injury, the first quantitative information on the spermatogenic cycle, and the mechanism of repopulation of the germinal epithelium after severe damage were contributions of the radiation biologist. The third is a hodgepodge of material which at present defies orderly condensation. Despite this, some of the studies in this area are of potential value in providing unique experimental preparations, i.e., animals with testes containing only Leydig cells, or only Sertoli cells. Finally, a miscellany of papers dealing with the general physiology or with the general biochemistry of the testis has also been omitted.

II. Postnatal Development of the Testis

In the past 20 years, voluminous descriptive information has been compiled on the events and consequences of the postnatal development of the testis of mammals. Only a few examples will be given. The developmental anatomy and postnatal changes in the testis of the laboratory rat have been described. Various monographs on the rat (Farris and Griffith, 1949, for references) and Moore's chapter in the 1939 edition are available.


The testis of the guinea pig has a growth spurt about the 20th day of life. The accessory sex structures, such as the vas deferens, epididymis, and prostate, are stimulated somewhat later, at 30 to 40 days. The growth of these accessory organs is an indication of male hormone activity. The time at which hormonal secretion occurs varies among individual animals. Variability (48 to 70 days) occurs also in the appearance of sperm (Sayles, 1939). Under controlled conditions of breeding, Webster and Young (1951) observed that the first intromission in guinea pigs occurs at about 54 days of age. The first ejaculate occurs some 10 days later and is sterile. Fertile ejaculates begin on the average at 82 days of age. Thus, a period of adolescent sterility exists as the result of both lack of ejaculation and a period when there is an insufficiency of spermatozoa. The hamster (Bond, 1945) copulates at 30 days of age but is not fertile until 43 days of age. Adolescent sterility of the male may be a more common phenomenon than is generally apjireciated.

The testes of the cat are descended at bh-th. Testicular growth is slow, the combined weight of the two testes increasing from 20 mg. at birth to 100 mg. at weaning. During the 2 months following weaning, the testes attain a weight of 130 mg. A spurt in growth occurs between the third and the fifth month of life, when the testes may weigh 500 mg. This spurt is associated with the appearance of Leydig cells and an increase in the size of the epididymis. Mitotic activity of the germinal epithelium is present in testes weighing 400 to 500 mg. Spermatids appear when the testes weigh 700 mg., and sperm are found fairly uniformly when the testes are more than 1 gm. in weight. At this stage, the tubular diameter is maximal. After maturity, the weight of the testes is generally proportional to body weight. A 5-kg. cat will have testes weighing 4 gm. (Scott and Scott, 1957).

From birth to 80 days of age, the testes of goats grow at a slow but uniform rate. In the immature animal, the tubules are small, measuring 30 fjL in diameter, and are composed of a single layer of cells without any lumen. The interstitial tissue contains only mesenchymal cells. At 90 days of age, a lumen appears in the tubules and spermatogenesis begins. At 94 days, maturation of the Lej^dig cells is noted, and spermiogenesis occurs. The diameter of the tubules at maturity is about 100 jx, but the tubule continues to increase to about 160 /x when the goat is 135 days of age. Formation of sperm occurs earlier in goats than in rams, bulls, and boars (Yao and Eaton, 1954).

As in common laboratory animals, the time sequence in the testicular maturation of farm animals is determined by genie factors, which obviously is an important phenomenon economically. In different strains of the ram, for instance, there is a variation of 5 weeks in the time of appearance of primary spermatocytes, of 9 weeks in the appearance of secondary spermatocytes, and of 2 weeks for spermatids (Carmon and Green, 1952).

Among the primates, postnatal development has been studied intensely in the monkey and man. In the rhesus monkey (Fig. 5.1), the tubules attain a diameter of 70 to 80 fx during fetal life (van Wagenen and Simpson, 1954). Only spermatogonia and Stertoli cells containing basal nuclei are present. Mature Leydig cells are also identifiable. Shortly after birth, regression occurs in the tubules, which decrease to a diameter of 50 to 60 )u, and in the Leydig cells, which dedifferentiate into mesenchymal cells. The presence of mature Leydig cells and of differentiated Sertoli cells in the fetal testis and their involution shortly after birth may be related to the secretion of a fetal morphogenic substance (c/. chapter by Burns).

During the first year after birth, the few spermatogonia increase in number and size. During the second year, they become more numerous and the tubules increase in length. However, the germinal epithelium remains quiescent until late in the third year. At this time, the Sertoli cells increase in number and differentiate. The Leydig cells mature again. The tubular diameter now is about 100 jx. A lumen appears when the tubules are 100 to 150 /x in diameter. Spermatids appear, and orderly spermatogenesis occurs. The prepubertal period in the monkey is about a fifth that of man; except for the factor of time, the sequence of development in the monkey testis resembles that in man (Figs. 5.2 and 5.3). In the pubertal monkey Leydig cells and tubules are stimulated simultaneously. Some observers have reported that maturation of Leydig cells occurs after tubular maturation in humans (Sniffen, 1952; Albert, Underdahl, Greene and Lorenz, 1953a) and in bulls (Hooker, 1948). However, this point may depend on the choice of the criteria for tubular stimulation (tubular wall versus germinal epithelium) and for function of Leydig cells (morphologic differentiation versus secretory activity) .



Fig. 5.1. Graphic representation of changes in testes of the rliesus monkey during development. Coordinates are body weight and age of animals, and length of testes. (From G. van Wagenen and M. E. Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)



Some interesting details on the relative weight of the testis in primates have been supplied by hunting and scientific expeditions. Schultz (1938) studied 87 adult primates. The relative testicular weights (testicular weight divided by body weight X 100) varied between 0.1 and 0.4 in American monkeys. Considerably more variation was seen in Old World monkeys. The relative weight in five species of macaques varied between 0.46 and 0.92, but in langurs was only 0.06. The weight ratio in the orangutan was 0.05, in the gibbon and man 0.08, and in the chimpanzee, 0.27. Rough estimations of the ratio of the volume of interstitial tissue to tubular volume showed that the macacjue has a greater relative volume of interstitial tissue than man. Testicular weights vary according to race; Japanese men have smaller testes than American men (Schonfeld, 1943) .

The human testis at birth consists of small tubules measuring 50 to 75 yn in diameter and arranged in cords containing several rows of darkly staining nuclei. The epithelium is mostly undifferentiated, but large cells with sharp boundaries are present. These are primary germ cells. The interstitium of the testis is highly developed and contains solidly packed Leydig cells. After birth the Leydig cells disappear from the interstitium in a matter of a few weeks. From this time, the testis remains generally quiescent until puberty, when Leydig cells reappear as a result of the secretion of gonadotrophin. Only mesenchymal cells resembling fibroblasts characterize the interstitium in the period from a few weeks after birth until puberty. The germinal cords acquire a lumen at approximately 6 years of age, although this landmark shows considerable variation. The nuclei of the germinal cells at this time are arranged in two layers.

At puberty, which may occur at any age from 9 to 19 years, a great increase in size and tortuosity of the tubules occurs. The lamina propria develops, the Sertoli cells become differentiated, and the seminiferous epithelium gradually matures. The Leydig cells mature somewhat later than the changes noted in the tubules and become characteristically arranged in groups in the intertubular zones.

After maturity is attained, the adult histologic pattern may be maintained into old age without pronounced changes. Spermatogenic activity varies from tubule to tubule, but an over-all picture shows spermatogenesis proceeding in an orderly fashion, with sperm heads closely approximating the luminal end of the Sertoli cells. About twothirds of the tubule is occupied by the germinal epithelium. The lumen makes up about 15 per cent of the tubule. The proportionate volumes for the germinal cells are as follows: spermatogonia, 24 per cent; spermatocytes, 45 per cent; spermatids and spermatozoa, 29 per cent; various abnormal cells, 2 per cent. The Sertoli cells occupy about one third of the tubular epithelium. The Leydig cells occupy 9 per cent of the total intertubular spaces. About 66 per cent of the human adult testis is composed of tubules and about 22 per cent is made up of the intertubular spaces (Table 5.1). With age, progressive fibrosis occurs in the human testis, the width of the tubular wall increases, and thinning of the germinal epithelium occurs (SnifTen, 1952; Charny, Constin and Meranze, 1952; Albert, Underdahl, Greene and Lorenz, 1953b; de la Baize, Bur, Scarpa-Smith and Irazu, 1954; Roosen-Runge, 1956).

III. Descent of the Testis

The descent of the testis from an abdominal position in the fetus was known to the ancients (Badenoch, 1945). This change in position is a mammalian phenomenon. In the Monotremata and most of the Edentata, the testes are abdominal. Some of the Insectivora, Cetacea, and Sirenia also have abdominal testes. The testes in marsupials lie suprapubically in a pouch that has a closed vaginal process. The testes of Aplodontia rufa, the most primitive rodent extant, occupy a semiscrotal position during the breeding season; otherwise, the testes are abdominal (Pfeiffer, 1956). In some rodents, Lnsectivora and Chiroptera, the testes are intra-abdominal in the resting stage, but during the rutting season they are pulled into the scrotum by muscles. In the Ungulata. Carnivora, and Primates, the testes are extra-abdominal. Exceptions are the elephant and stag, whose testes are retracted in the nonrutting season. Thus, "cryptorchism" is normal for many mammals, and the term should be restricted to designate nal cavity. Early work by Moore (reviewed an abnormal testicular position in those spe- by Moore, 1951) showed that the testes cies whose testes normally are scrotal. In of rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs become such species, cryptorchism of sufficient du- atrophic within a few weeks when placed ration results in an irreversible loss of sper- in the abdominal cavity. Moore wrapped the matogenic function and in a variable failure testes of the ram with wool batting, with of hormonal function. the result that the ram was sterilized by its In most animals the testicular temperature afforded by the scrotum is 1 to 8°C. 5°C. above body temperature to the scrotum lower than the body temperature. In man of guinea pigs causes temporary sterility, the testicular temperature is 1.5 to 2.5°C. The deleterious effects of increased temperalower than the temperature of the abdomi- ture also are observed in man. Fever, dia


own body heat. The application of water



Fig. 5 2 Dcx rlopmental stages in tho monkey testis


Fig. 5.3. Developmental stages in the monkey testis {continued from Figure 5.2)


? To^lls of .1 96-(lav fetus Tubules aie shoit and stiaight. diametei is 60 to 70 /j. Oiih Sertoli cells and a few spermatogonia are present in tubules. Sertoli cells are large and fill the lumen. Intertubular spaces are wide and contain many cells, some epithelioid.

3. Biopsy of testis at birth (174-day gestation). Tubular diameter is 60 to 80 fj.. Nuclei of Sertoli cells are basal, and cytoplasmic strands fill tubular lumen. Spermatogonia are sparse. Iiitertiil)ular tissue is abundant but imdifforentiated.

4. Testis at 3 months. More coiling of tubules is present; diameter is 50 to 60 /i. Cytoplasm of Sertoli cells is developed and still fills the lumen. A few spermatogonia are present. Intertubular spaces are narrow and interstitial cells have regressed.


5. Testis at 3 months and 25 daj's. Considerable increase in length, with coiling of tubules, has occurred. Tubides are small (50 to 60 n), compact, and filled with the Sertoli nuclei. There are occasional spermatogonia. The peritubular arrangement of dark-stained nuclei of intertubular tissue is clearty seen.

6. Testis at 4 months and 24 days. Tubules are small and closely packed. The size has not changed (50 to 60 m). The Sertoli nuclei fill the lumen, only occasional spermatogonia being seen.

7. Testis at 1 year, 3 months, 24 days. Tubules are still small (40 to 50 fi). Spermatogonia are now increased in number and size. Nuclei of vmdifferentiated cells fill the lumen. Only dark-stained nuclei in rows around tubules are seen in narrow peritubular spaces.

S. Testis at 1 year, 8 months, 7 days. Tubules are still small (50 yu). The Sertoli nuclei continue to crowd the lumen. Intertubular tissue is undifferentiated.

9. Testis at 2 years, 7 months, 6 days. Note that during an entire year no appreciable advance in development has occurred except in multiplication of the Sertoli nuclei and a slight increase in tubular diameter (60 to 70 /n). Some of the interstitial cells are now lighter staining.

10. Testis at 2 years, 9 months, 21 days. Tubules are now definitely larger (90 /i). Sertoli cells have moved to the periphery of the tubule. Spermatogonia are nvmiorous and rounded. Rounded Lej'dig cells are now freciuently seen.

11. Right testicular biopsy at 2 years, 4 months, 11 days. Tubules are long, convoluted, and closely packed, measuring 50 to 70 m in diameter. Sertoli cells are poorly differentiated, but the cytoplasm is increasing and the nuclei have partially moved basally. Interstitial cells are small and sparse.

12. Right testicular biopsy at 2 years, 9 months, 16 days. The changes are slight. Tubules are somewhat larger (70 m) and the Sertoli nuclei are more basal. No differentiation of the Leydig cells is seen.

IS. Right testicular biopsy at 3 years, 1 month, 26 days. Tubules have increased slightly in diameter (80 to 90 m)- The Sertoli nuclei are now definitely basal. A few cells, recognizable as spermatocytes I by the spireme, are present. Interstitial cells are still not clearly recognizable.

14. Left testis at 3 years, 2 months, 14 days. Tubules measure 100 to 120 /a. Many spermatocytes are now present. Canalization is seen in a few tubules. A few epithelioid Leydig cells are present singly or in pairs.

15. Testicular biopsy at 2 years, 7 months, 14 days. Tubules measure 70 m. The Sertoli nuclei are basal. A few desciuamating cells are present in the meshes of the Sertoli cytoplasm. Occasional Leydig cells are recognizable.

16. Testicular biopsy at 3 years and 17 days. Tubules measure 70 to 80 m- The Sertoli nuclei are basal. Vascularity has increased, and more space is present between tubules. Epithelioid Leydig cells are present, although not of mature size. Spermatocytes are appearing.

17. Left testis at 3 years, 2 months, 14 days. Tubules measure 100 to 120 fi. Formation of spermatocytes I is abundant.

18. Testicular biopsy at 3 years, 5 months, 28 days. Tubules measure 130 to 150 ti. Many spermatids and some sperm cells are present. Some desquamation of immature cells is still present in the tubular lumen. (From G. van Wagenen and M. E. Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)

19. Testis of 110-day fetus. Note short, uncoiled tubules, with a diameter of 70 to 80 ti. Cytoiilasm of Sertoli cells is well developed and largely fills the lumen. The broad intertubular spaces contain abundant cells, many of which are enlarged and roun<led.

20. Testis of 110-day fetus. This shows tubules in cross section. The orientation of the interstitial tissue concentrically around the tubules and the enlargement of the cells within the concentric rings are evident.

21. Testis at birth after a 174-day gestation. Note the Sertoli nuclei remaining in a basal position and the persistent wide intertubular space; however, the size of the Leydig cells has decreased.

22. Right testis at 2 years, 10 months, 3 days. Tubular diameter is 100 to 120 fi. Spermatids have differentiated to presperm cells or almost mature sperm cells. Great amounts of cellular debris fill the lumen. Few Leydig cells are differentiated.

23. Right testis 1 month later, at 2 years, 11 months, 1 day. Tubular diameter is 100 to 140 fi. Sperm cells are present.


thcrniy, or heating of the testes by other methods produces temporary depression of the sperm count (see Hotchkiss, 1944b, for review) . These experiments support the concept of the thermoregulatory function of the scrotum. These studies also indicate that spermatogenesis in mammals can proceed only at an optimal temperature.

Cryptorchism in man has received considerable attention because it is a common clinical problem. The incidence of cryptorchism in man is given as 10 per cent at birth, 2 per cent at puberty, and 0.2 per cent at maturity (Nelson, 1953). The testis of man develops between the adrenal glands medially and the body wall laterally, ventral to the metanephros, and in the 20mm. fetus is not far from the groin. The gubernaculum develops from the plica inguinalis and attaches to a pocket of the abdominal wall which forms the vaginal process (Wyndham, 1943). At the 2nd month of fetal life, the testis is elongated, extending from the diaphragm to the site of the future abdominal inguinal ring. By the 3rd month, the cranial end of the testis undergoes involution. By the 4th to the 7th month, the testis is in the iliac fossa near the internal ring. Descent occurs in the seventh month, and the testis becomes scrotal during the 8th fetal month. The gubernaculum shortens as descent takes place and finally becomes a vestige in the adult.

Prenatal descent of the testis into the scrotum also occurs in mammals, such as the monkey, horse, bull, pig, sheep, and goat. Descent occurs postnatally in the opossum, whereas it takes place in the pubertal period in rats, mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs. The monkey occupies a somewhat intermediate position. The testes descend before birth but then migrate back into the abdominal cavity until puberty when descent occurs for the second time


TABLE 5.1

Comparison of average volume of structures in the testis of man and the rat All figures are percentages of total testicular volume. (From E. C. Roosen-Runge, Fertil. & Steril., 7, 251, 1956.)


Interstitial tissue

Leydig cells

Basement membrane

Total interstitial space

Spermatogonia

Spermatocytes

Spermatids and spermatozoa

Abnormal germ cells

Residual bodies

Total germ cells

Sertoli cells

Lumen

Space


Man


22.0 3.1 9.1

34.2

7.8 14.4 9.1 0.7

32.0 17.4 10.6

5.8


8.0 1.7 2.4

12.1 1,7

14.7

41.1 0.1 1.2

58.8 8.4

19.5 1.1


(Wells, 1944) . In seasonal breeders like the ground squirrel, the testes alternate between scrotum and abdomen with the breeding and nonbreeding seasons.

The mechanism of testicular descent is not entirely understood. The gubernaculum seems to act as a guide for the descending testis, but it is not essential for descent. Excision of the gubernaculum does not prevent descent (Wells, 1943a, b). Growth of the testis is not a determining factor in its downward migration. Martins (1943) showed that substitute testes in the form of paraffin pellets can be made to descend in castrated rats by the administration of testosterone. Therefore, it appears that descent is determined by androgens affecting the testis and accessory structures. The questions as to what androgens are responsible for testicular descent, where they are formed, and how they are controlled remain unanswered. Because Leydig cells appear in the fetal testis of man during the fourth month and because Ferner and Runge


24. Right testis after another month, at 3 years and 1 day. Tubular diameter is 120 to 150 fi. Tubules are tightly packed and it is difficult to find Leydig cells. Cellular debris has been cleared from most tubule.s, and a new generation of spermatids with orderly arrangement is present.

25. Right testis 5 months later, at 3 years, 5 months, 1 day. Tubular diameter is 150 ^l. Leydig cells are extremely rare. There are many presperm cells and a few mature sperm cells free in the lumen.

26 to 28. Adult testis, age 11 years, 6 months, 20 days. 26. Seminiferous tubule lumen lined by young spermatids. 27. Tubule lined by spermatids with spermlike heads. 2S. Tubule containing mature sperm cells about ready to be shed. (From G. van Wagenen and M. L. Simpson, Anat. Rec, 118, 231, 1954.)



(1956j have shown that these Ley dig cells give strong histochemical reactions suggestive of the presence of steroidal materials, it is presumed that the human fetal testis produces androgens responsible for its descent. Were this true, it would appear reasonable that human chorionic gonadotrophin produced throughout the pregnancy could be responsible for the formation and secretion of androgenic substances by the fetal testis. Such an action would provide a function for human chorionic gonadotrophin during the last two trimesters of pregnancy. However, Wells (1944) held androgens from adrenal sources responsible for testicular descent.

The precise control of testicular descent is not known. Gonadotrophins effective on the Leydig cells induce rapid descent. Androgens hasten descent and estrogens inhibit it (Mussio Fournier, Estefan, Grosso and Albrieux, 1947). However, Finkel (1945) concluded that descent may be a genetic phenomenon in the opossum, which seems to be different from rodents in many aspects of testicular physiology. Because hormonal secretion is not detected in the opossum until the 100th day and because descent occurs earlier, it was doubted that androgens are responsible for descent.

The effects of cryptorchism on the histologic appearance of the human testis have been the subject of many studies. However, few new observations have been made since the excellent description by Cooper (1929) of the normal and retained testis in man. Cooper studied abdominal and scrotal testes at various ages from birth to senility and concluded: (1) the farther the prepubertal testis descends, the more similar it is to its normal scrotal mate; (2) sperm cells are rare in retained testes but occasionally may be found in testes held at the external ring; (3) the younger the child, the more normal is the retained testis; (4) the Leydig cells are not affected adversely by retention, nor are they more numerous, as earlier observers had thought. As a result of these conclusions, surgical treatment of retained testes in the first two years of life was advised.

Rea (1939) concluded erroneously that the undescended testis is normal until puberty but stated correctly that it rapidly degenerates after puberty. That the retained testis may not be normal before puberty and is almost always abnormal after puberty was confirmed by Nelson (1953), and by Robinson and Engle (1954). Before the age of 5 years, the scrotal testis and the cryptorchid testis are indistinguishable histologically; after this time, the cryptorchid testis is always retarded in growth and differentiation. Puberty is accompanied by growth of both the scrotal and the retained testis, but the retained testis does not keep pace with its scrotal mate. Nelson (1951) pointed out that fewer spermatogonia are present in the retained testis than in the scrotal mate and that this difference becomes proportionally greater after puberty. The testis retained for a long time becomes fibrotic. The germinal epithelium (excepting the Sertoli cells) is destroyed but the Leydig cells are said to be normal. However, Sohval (1954) found that the number of Sertoli cells in the pubertal retained testis is less than that in the normal scrotal testis. In older men, the Sertoli cells may be obliterated, in which case the tubules eventually become hyalinized. This is not an invariable sequence in testes retained for long periods. Sohval stated that a man, aged 42, produced sperm from a retained testis.

The comments just presented are based on the supposition that failure of descent occurs in normal testes because of adhesions or abnormalities of the canal, or because of failure of the normal stimulus for descent. However, lack of descent also may result because the testis is intrinsically defective (Nelson, 1953). Three boys were described whose undescended testes did not contain germ cells; however, the descended testes also did not have germ cells, so the relationship between germinal aplasia and nondescent is not clear. Another type of abnornuility was described by Sohval ( 1954) and referred to as "tubular dysgenesis." These tubules were characterized by the absence of Sertoli cells and spermatogonia. Only undifferentiated cells were present. Furthermore, these tubules did not become fibrotic after puberty. Dysgenetic tubules were observed in about half of the cases of cryptorchism.

Little doubt exists, therefore, that the fertility iiotential of cryptorchid human testis, regardless of the cause, is seriously damaged. Sterility is not an inevitable consequence of bilateral cryptorchism in man as indicated by the report of sperm in the ejaculate of bilaterally cryptorchid men (Sohval, 1954). The work of Gross and Jewett (1956) also indicates that cryptorchism does not always produce irreversible damage because some patients do become fertile when orchidopexy is carried out at puberty.

The studies of Engberg (1949) and Raboch and Zahof (1956) indicate that the function of the Leydig cells of cryptorchid testes also may be impaired. The former found that bilaterally cryptorchid men excreted reduced amounts of urinary androgen and estrogen and had a lessened concentration of acid phosphatase (a secondary sex characteristic) in the semen. The latter two authors, contrary to previous reports, noted a high incidence of regressive Leydig cells. Also, severe androgenic insufficiency occurs in bilateral cryptorchid men in middle and old age. The affect of cryptorchism on hormonal function is best ascertained in experimental animals and will be considered shortly.

Spontaneous cryptorchism is found in many animals. Schultz < 1938 1 found that 5 per cent of the wild gibbons shot during the Asiatic Primate Expedition of 1937 were cryptorchid. Many veterinary reports show cryptorchism in various farm animals and pets. Cryptorchism also results from a deficiency of biotin in the laboratory rat (Manning, 1950). None of these reports deals with functional aspects of retention.

Experimental cryptorchism maintained for 28 days in the rat is followed by recovery of spermatogenesis in 40 to 100 days after restoration of the testes to the scrotum. With a proportionally longer sojourn in the abdomen, fewer and fewer of the tubules recover until finally tubular damage is irreparable. Androgenic function is gradually lost. Castration cells appear in the pituitary in 75 days, the seminal vesicles are reduced in size after 240 days, and the prostate becomes atrophic in 400 days. This sequence parallels the requirement for androgen; the seminal vesicles need more androgen (2.5 times) than does the prostate for maintenance, and the prevention of castration changes in the anterior pituitary requires twice as much androgen as does maintenance of the seminal vesicles (Nelson, 1937). These results were confirmed by Moore (1942), who added that the effects of cryptorchism on androgen production are dependent on the age at which it is induced. Old rats are less affected than young animals.

In the guinea pig, old experiments showed that tubular degeneration occurs rapidly but that secretion of androgen continues for more than a year. Using the condition of the accessory sex organs and sex behavior as end points for the activity of male hormone, Antliff and Young (1957) found no evidence of diminished production of androgen in animals made cryptorchid two days after birth.

In the boar, bull, and stallion secondary sex characteristics can be maintained by bilateral retained testes or by the testis made unilaterally cryptorchid after removal of the scrotal mate (Moore, 1944). Schlotthauer and Bollman (1942) removed one scrotal testis from an adult dog and placed the other in the abdomen; the prostate was maintained for two years. Hanes and Hooker (1937) found that cryptorchid testes in swine contained only half the normal amount of androgen. Kimeldorf (1948) reported that cryptorchism in rabbits results in a decrease of some 40 per cent in the total urinary 17-ketosteroids, a change similar to that after castration. He suggested that altered metabolism of testicular hormone caused by high temperatures may be responsible for this decrease. In general, then, the cryptorchid testis is capable of producing androgen but, depending on species, probably m amounts less than normal. The longer the state of cryptorchism exists, the more deficient is the capacity to secrete androgens.

IV. Breeding Patterns

The breeding pattern of adult male mammals may be divided into two major types (Moore, 1937). The first type is that of the seasonal breeder, including such animals as the ground squirrel, weasel, stoat, ferret, mole, hedgehog, and shrew (Asdell, 1946). In these animals, there is a short period of time, the duration of which varies in different species, in which breeding is at its height. Sperm cells are formed only during this period. The accessory sex structures are under intense androgenic stimulation. After the breeding season, regression occurs. For the remainder of the year spermatogenesis does not take place and the state of the accessory system resembles that of a castrated animal (Fig. 5.4).

The second type is the continuous breeder. Rat, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit (under laboratory conditions) , and man are well known examples. In this type, the testes and accessory sex structures maintain a constant state of activity, and breeding can occur at any time of the year.

The ram is an intermediate type of breeder, in which spermatogenesis is arrested in the nonbreeding season with a concomitant decrease in number of Leydig cells. Abnormal forms of sperm cells appear in the semen, reflecting the degeneration of the germinal epithelium at this time. The volume of the semen decreases, and libido is depressed. Thus, the ram may be regarded as an annual breeder, but the regression in the nonbreeding season is not complete (Maqsood, 1951a). Even the laboratory rat shows some evidence of a seasonal rhythm (Gunn and Gould, 1958). The capacity of the dorsolateral prostate to concentrate injected Zn*^^ is greater in February-March and June-July than at other seasons of the year.


Fig. 5.4. Reproductive tract of a seasonal hrrrdrr, the prairie dog, Cynumys. a. Anatomy of male reproductive tract and its abdoiinii.il i( l.ilionships during period of sexual activity. b. Diagrammatic representation of the PCNu.illy adive and the involuted reproductive tracts (dorsal view). (From A. Anthony. J. Morpliol., 93, 331, 1953.)




Various species of squirrels have been favorite subjects for the investigation of certain features of seasonal breeders (Mossman, Hoffman and Kirkpatrick, 1955; Kirkpatrick, 1955.1. The testes of the infantile fox squirrel contain small, round, lumenless cords with a single row of spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and a few spermatocytes. The Leydig cells are undifferentiated. The prepubertal fox squirrel has larger tubules with lumina. The testes at this time have increased about five times in weight, and the tubules are twice their former diameter. Spermatids are present.


The mature fox squirrel has free sperm cells in rather wide lumina, and mature, large Leydig cells. In the nonbreeding season, the spermatids and spermatozoa degenerate, leaving only spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and a few spermatocytes. The tubular wall becomes contracted and thickens, causing the shape of the tubule to be irregular. The Leydig cells atrophy. In December and January, when the breeding season starts, the process of sexual maturation is repeated. This process recurs annually ; however, with each year, the tubular wall becomes more irregular in shape demonstrating that periods of maturation and degeneration have taken place previously.

V. Architecture of the Testis

The testis of most mammals is divided into lobules by means of septa, and the entire testis is enveloped by the tunica albuginea, which keeps it under pressure.

The testis of the rat, however, has no septa; instead, the organ is constructed in a fan-shaped manner from a series of spiral canal arches, which arise from the rete testis (Fig. 5.5). The tubule is a Ushaped structure, open at two ends to the rete and running such a constant zigzag course within the testis that a palisade is formed. An average tubule is 30 cm. long. The tubules do not end blindly as a rule. They rarely fork or bifurcate and they never communicate with one another (Mliller, 1957; Clermont. 1958).


Fig. 5.5. Architecture of rat testis, showing relationship of tubules to spermatic artery. and arrangement of the Leydig cell aggregates and capillaries. (From I. MUller, Ztschr, Zellforsch. mikroscop. Anat., 45, 522, 1957.)




The suitability of architecture of the tubule for the process of spermatogenesis is obvious because it provides an epithelium with a large surface area. The arrangement of the tubules in arcs and palisades allows long tubules to be packed neatly in a small, ovoidal organ. The lumen of the tubule constitutes a pathway for the transport of sperm to the outside. Because sperm cells are transported passively, some mobile medium is needed. The obvious medium is fluid which can be transferred along the length of the tulnile. It is not known where and how such fluid enters the tubule and how it moves through the lumen as it transliorts sperm to the ductuli efferentes.

If fluid moves constantly along the length of the tubule to carry sperm, it must be reabsorbed from the excretory duct system. The ductuli efferentes, derived from the mesonephros, may play a role analogous to that of a nephron in reabsorbing large ciuantities of fluid from the seminiferous tubules (Ladman and Young, 1958). The cytologic organization of ciliated and nonciliated cells in the ductuli efferentes and rete testis of the guinea pig seems compatible with the presumption that these cells absorb fluid from the lumen and excrete it by way of the ductular system. Physiologic evidence of the transport of fluid within the excretory duct system will l)e given in Section VIII.

The architecture of the interstitium appears to be well adapted for the internal secretory function of the Leydig cells. Wedges of connective tissue are present in the interstices bounded by three tubules. The wedges contain Leydig cells, blood vessels, and connective tissue. Branches of the testicular artery feed the capillary network in the connective tissue wedges. The wedge capillaries are in close relationship to the Leydig cells. The topography of the capillary system of the rat testis is such that blood, after contact with the interstitial cells, flows by the generatic portion of the testis before entering the general circuation through the great veins at the hilum. This architecture apparently makes it feasible for hormones of the Leydig cells to exert local action on the tubule.

VI. The Circulatory System of the Testis

The testicular artery of mammals convolutes before reaching the testis. It is surrounded by the pampiniform plexus which is thermoregulatory, serving to preheat or to precool the blood. The convolutions of the testicular artery constitute a distinctive feature of mammals (Fig. 5.6). Lower vertebrates have segmental arteries, the testes do not descend, and the arteries do not lengthen or convolute. Marsupials differ in that the artery forms a rete marabile from which a short artery enters directly into the testis. The testicular artery in the dog forms 25 to 30 loops before entering the tunica albuginea. In the goat, the artery convolutes many times but finally branches into 3 or 4 convolutions that enter the testis from all sides. The testicular artery in the mouse has half-loops; except for man, it shows the fewest convolutions of all the mammalian testicular arteries thus far investigated by arteriography. The situation in the monkey is similar to that in the dog, whereas the artery in the cat and the guinea pig has between 5 and 10 loops.

The testicular artery of man is unique in two respects. It is the longest and thinnest artery in all the viscera, and it is also the straightest testicular artery in the 50 mammals thus far investigated. The testicular artery of man after giving off branches to the cord and epididymis generally runs on the posterior border of the testis. It bifurcates, each branch penetrating the tunica over its lateral and medial aspects (Harrison and Barclay, 1948). The testicular artery in man has a direct anastomosis with the vasal and cremasteric arteries (Harrison, 1948a, b; 1949a, b; 1952; 1953a, b).

The gradient in temperature between the i:»eritoneal and scrotal cavities varies widely among different species. A large gradient ocelli's in the goat, rabbit, rat, mouse, and ram ; a small gradient is i)resent in the monkey, (log, guinea pig. and man. The temperature gradient depends on many factors, such as the convolutions of the artery, the length of the artery, the size of the testis, the relationship between veins and arteries, and the activity of the dartos muscle (Harrison and Weiner, 19491.




Fig. 5.6. Vascular patterns of the testi.- ni ,i i. \\ maniinals. Roentgenograms of testicular artery injected with opaque medium from (1 ) (.log, (..^) goat, (3) ram, (4) mouse, (5) rat, (6) rabbit, (?) guinea pig, (S) cat, and (9) monkey. (From R. G. Harrison and J. S. Weiner, J. Exper. Biol., 26, 304, 1949.)



Inasmuch as temperature affects the testis directly, and also indirectly by way of the circulatory system, it is necessary to deal separately with the direct effects of temperature on the testis, the effects of environmental temperature, and the effects of circulatory occlusion. It is generally agreed that heat applied locally is injurious to the testis. Moore's experiments in which the testes were wrapped in insulating material already have been mentioned. In the guinea pig, sex activity and fertility are depressed for 44 to 72 days after exposure to heat (Young, 1927). Similar effects may be obtained (Williams and Cunningham, 1940) by heating rat testes with infrared lamps or by heating dog testes with microwaves from a radar source (Williams and Carpenter, 1957). In men, a single bout of fever (MacLeod and Hotchkiss, 1941) that increased the body temperature to 40.5°C. caused a depression in the sperm count. After return of the sperm count to normal, another episode of fever induced another depression. The production of androgen is not affected by exposure to high environmental temperature (Stein, Bader, Eliot and Bass, 1949). The local application of heat does not markedly suppress the production of androgens, judging from the older work with rats and guinea pigs. To the contrary, some evidence exists that secretion of androgens may be enhanced. After scrotal insulation, bulls were more ready to serve and excreted more androgenic" steroid than normal. The amount of fructose in semen (an indicator of androgen) increased after scrotal insulation in the ram (Glover, 1956) . Increased temperature originating locally may affect spermatogenesis in man. Davidson ( 1954) studied semen in cases of oligospermia before and after removal of varicoceles. Removal of the varicocele was followed by an increased number of sperm cells and a greater incidence of fertility. Defective fertility presumably was caused by interference with normal heat transfer because of the varicocele.

Local application of cold to the testis or scrotum also results in testicular degeneration (Harris and Harrison, 1955) ; however, testicular tissue can be frozen and stored and still retain transplantability and subsequently produce hormones and sperm (Parkes, 1954; Parkes and Smith, 1954; Deanesly, 1954).

The effects of temperature when the entire animal is subjected to thermal changes depend on numerous compensatory alterations in testicular circulation. The compensatory mechanisms differ in both ciuality and degree, depending on the nature of the experimental conditions. The testicular temperature of rodents placed in a hot room does not increase to a higher level than that of the general body temperature. This is true also for the ram. Within fairly wide limits of environmental temperature (10 to 40°C.), the intratesticular temperature of the bull is constant. However, the temperature of the scrotal surface increases slightly with increases in air temperature, but remains below body temperature (Riemerschmid and Quinlan, 1941). The homeostatic mechanisms for maintaining a constant, optimal testicular temperature are several. With increasing scrotal temperature, the scrotum extends and the testes lie lower. This increases heat exchange, despite ilw absence in certain species (mouse, rat, dog, cat, and rabbit) of scrotal sweat glands (Harrison and Harris, 1956). Optimal testicular temperature is also maintained by means of heat exchange between vessels of the pampiniform plexus. Exact data on the transfer of heat are not available, because determinations of the blood ffow have not been done.

There remains for consideration the effect on the testis of severe alterations in circulation. The histologic changes produced in the rat testis by temporary or permanent occlusion of the testicular artery were studied in great detail (Oettle and Harrison, 1952). Acute temporary ischemia (10 to 20 minutes in duration) produced only hyperchromasia of the spermatogonia. Normality was restored within 2 weeks. Ischemia of increasing duration produced correspondingly increased testicular damage. Hyperchromatic changes in the spermatogonia, loosening and exfoliation of the germinal epithelium, and desquamation of the mesothelium of the tunica occurred. The testis shrunk, the interstitium became edematous, and the Leydig cells swollen. A layer of ragged and vacuolated Sertoli cells, a few spermatogonia, and an occasional primary spermatocyte may be the only surviving elements. When the damage was extreme, the tubule became markedly atrojihic, the lumen disappeared, and the Sertoli cells became embedded in a collagenous matrix.

Permanent occlusion of the testicular artery in the rat can be accomplished by removing a segment of the artery within the abdominal cavity proximal to its anastomosis with the vasal artery (Fig. 5.7), which results in incomplete ischemia. After 1 hour of such occlusion, hyperchromasia of the spermatogonia occurs, with exfoliation of the spermatids. After 6 hours, the spermatocytes are exfoliated. One day later the testis enlarges considerably owing to edema. Multinucleated cells appear and many show pyknosis. The cytoplasm of the Sertoli cells disintegrates. After 3 days, all tubules are abnormal ; within 1 week, they are necrotic. The damage is restricted at first to the central jwrtion, but within a week practically all tnbulcs except some near the epididymal pole have been killed. Two weeks later, vacuolation occurs in the Leydig cells, with an accumulation of yellow pigment. By the end of a month, the interstitium becomes invaded by fibroblasts. The tubules, although not yet shrunken, show a thickened basement membrane. The necrotic contents conglomerate into a mass. After 7 months, pronounced interstitial fibrosis is present, extending from the periphery toward the center. Plasma cells are seen. Some of the Sertoli cells survive. The tubular debris is removed. Thus, it seems that the Leydig cells are most resistant to arterial occlusion. The Sertoli cells are the next most resistant, followed by the resting spermatogonia. The active differentiating cells are most susceptible to arterial occlusion.

A different type of lesion is produced by ligation of the superior epididymal artery. Focal necrosis of the initial segment of the caput occurs (Macmillan, 1956; Harrison and Macmillan, 1954). This disrupts the pathway between the vasa efferentia and the ductus epididymidis. The vasa distal to the ligature become choked with sperm within 3 days. The testes enlarge and then atrophy. In this manner, permanent atrophy of the testes occurs, with azoospermia due to obstruction.

VII. The Nervous System and the Testis

It is difficult to see nerve endings in the parenchyma of the testis. Van Campenhout (1947, 1949a, b) described masses of paraganglionic cells in the midportion of the genital ridge of the testis during development. The fibers of these cells are intimately associated with the interstitial cells. The testes of 22-day-old pigs contain numerous neuro-interstitial connections between nerve fibers and groups of Leydig cells in the hilar zone or near the tunica.

The origin of testicular nerve fibers is not entirely clear. The general belief is that the testis receives fibers from the lumbar sympathetic chain. These nerve fibers innervate only the blood vessels in the rat and cat. Varying reports have been made of the nervous connections in man. Apart from vasomotor and sensory nerves, few fibers enter the human testis. These follow the course of the arteries to the septula and make contact with the Leydig cells. Three types of contact are made, namely (1) perineural, in which the Leydig cells lie alongside the nerve, (2) intraneural, in which groups of Leydig cells may be found within the perineurium, and (3) interdigitational, in which the course of the nerve breaks a cluster of Leydig cells into small groups (Okkels and Sand, 1940-1941). It is not certain that nerve fibers actually penetrate Leydig cells (Peters, 1957; Gray, 1947). Peters noted that nerve fibrils also run to the walls of the tubules and enter the membrana propria to reach the Sertoli cells.


FiG. 5.7. Diagram of arterial supply of rat testis. The testicular artery (a), as it nears the testis, becomes tortuous just after giving off a branch (c) to the head of the epididymis that also supplies the fatty body (upper right). On reaching the testis, the testicular artery goes to the deep surface of the tunica albuginea. After coursing around the inferior pole, the artery winds up the anterior border of the testis, entering the parenchyma at e to break up into its terminal branches. The vasal artery (b) passes along the vas to reach the tail of the epididymis, where it anastomoses with the descending branch of the artery (d) supplying the body and tail. In the experiments, the testicular artery was permanently interrupted at point X (in the abdomen) or temporarily occluded at point Y. In the former case, the testis still would have some blood supply via the vasal artery, the branch of the testicular artery to the tail, and the terminal part of the testicular artery. However, the testicular artery is an end-artery at point Y. (From A. G. Oettle and R. G. Harrison, J. Path. & Bact., 64, 273, 1952.)


Experimental studies on the significance of the sympathetic nervous system with regard to testicular function have been only sporadically performed in lower animals. Coujard (1952,1954) found that the sympathetic ganglia along the vas deferens are most important to testicular development in the guinea pig. If these ganglia are injured, hypoplasia and aspermatogenesis of the testis follow. Unilateral removal of the prostatovesiculodeferential ganglion causes ipsilateral testicular immaturity. Defects of spermatogenesis also are noted when distant lesions in the sympathetic trunk are produced. Coujard concluded that the sympathetic system is an obligatory intermediate between gonadotrophic hormones and the testis. Somewhat similar studies have been reported on the cat (King and Langworthy, 1940) . If 7.5 cm. of the sacral and lumbar ganglionic chain are removed unilaterally, cessation of spermatogenesis occurs on the affected side within 2 or more weeks. The Leydig cells remain normal. Bilateral extirpation of strips of the ganglionic chain leads to reduction in spermatogenesis. In addition Weidenmann (1952) reported a diminution in volume of the Leydig cells after lumbar sympathectomy in cats. Destruction of the spinal cord by ultrasound in mice at levels from the eighth to the tenth thoracic segment had no effect on testicular weight, morphology, or spermatogenesis (Josimovich, 1958).

Lumbar sympathectomy in man has yielded variable results. Bandmann (1950) found atrophy of the testis and loss of potentia after unilateral lumbar sympathectomy; sperm examinations before and after operation disclosed deterioration in all of his cases. However, Alnor (1951) could not observe any effects in 14 patients after unilateral lumbar sympathectomy, and Kment (1951) found a temporary increase in potency in men after procaine block of the trunk. The effect of lumbar sympathectomy in man clearly needs more decisive study.

The poor sexual status of Iniinan paraplegics has led many authors to conclude that the nervous system controls testicular function in man. Apart from the muscular disability of male paraplegics, such symptoms and signs as gynecomastia, loss of potency, atrophy of the testes, creatinuria, proteinuria, a decreased basal metabolic rate, loss of sex hair, and decreased excretion of 17-ketosteroids suggest testicular insufficiency (Cooper and Hoen, 1949, 1952; Cooper, Rynearson, Bailey and MacCarty, 1950; Cooi^er, Rynearson, MacCarty and Power, 1950). The extent to which these changes occur in paraplegics is debatable, and certainly not all changes are always present in any one patient. A study by Talbot (1955) of 400 paraplegic and quadriplegic patients showed that two-thirds were capable of achieving erection, and that one-third of these had successful intercourse. One-twentieth were fertile. It is obvious, then, that potency and fertility are not invariably lost. The histologic appearance of the testis in paraplegics has been determined by both biopsy and necropsy. In contrast to the variability in symptoms, the histologic appearance of the testis is more uniform. Atrophy of the tubule occurs, often with disai)pearance of all germinal epithelium except the Sertoli cells. The tubular wall is thickened. Leydig cells are present but may be found in clumps, giving the appearance of hyperplasia (Keye, 1956). Perusal of most of the illustrations showing atrophic testes in paraplegic men (Stemmermann, Weiss, Auerbach and Friedman, 1950; Klein, Fontaine, Stoll, Dany, and Frank, 1952; Bors, Engle, Rosenquist and Holliger, 1950) indicates that all stages of degeneration may be encountered. Some testes resemble those in adult seminiferous tubular failure, and others, especially those showing severe atrophy, resemble cryptorcliid testes. It is most difficult to determine from a testis containing only Sertoli cells and clumped Leydig cells what the nature of the pathologic process was, because all tyi:)es of atrophy end in the same general histologic picture regardless of cause.

Mental disease and mental stress are said to affect the testis. Jankala and Naatanen (1955) found that severely disturbed rats, presumably under "mental strain," showed marked atrophy of the testis within 6 weeks. The severity of this atrophy is evident from the finding that only Sertoli cells remained. Caged dogs, apparently under mental strain, have transient testicular atrophy. Hormonal secretion is not impaired (Huggins, Masina, Eichelberger and Wharton, 1939). Testicular atrophy has been noted in schizoid patients (Hemphill, 1944; Hemphill, Reiss and Taylor, 1944) and was thought to be caused by this severe mental illness. However, the histopathologic appearance of the testis in schizophrenia is not specific (Blair, Sniffen, Cranswick, Jaffe and Kline, 1952; Tourney, Nelson and Gottlieb, 1953) and it may not be stated that mental illness has any direct or specific action on the human testis.

VIII. The Excretory Duct System

The old concept that vasectomy is followed by hypersecretion of male hormone and rejuvenation has been disproved completely. Recent studies have been concerned with the effects of occlusion of the excretory ducts on the tubular apparatus. Although some reports have indicated that the testes of rats and rabbits decrease to one-half normal size after vasoligation, the majority opinion is that no change in testicular weight occurs (see Young, 1933, for review). Poynter (1939) did not observe any changes in the structure of the rat testis one year after vasoligation. Atrophy of the testes w^as obtained only when vasectomy was performed scrotally; under these circumstances, it resulted from adhesions subsequent to operation. No change was observed in the seminal vesicles, indicating no alteration in secretion of androgen. Also, no changes were evident in the Leydig cells.

Ligation of the ductuli efi'erentes, however, does produce pressure atrophy of the germinal epithelium (Young, 1933; Mason and Shaver, 1952). The testis becomes swollen and tense owing to distention of the ductuli with sperm on the testicular side of the ligature. The rete is also dilated. Peritubular fibrosis occurs, especially in tubules at the periphery of the testis. Degeneration of the germinal epithelium then ensues. Ten weeks after ligation, only Sertoli cells are left in the tubules. The Leydig cells remain unscathed (Harrison, 1953a).

The dift'erence in effect of ligation of the excretory path distal or proximal to the epididymis is attributable to the function of the excretory duct system of reabsorbing fluid needed to carry sperm. Obstructive necrosis of the testis does not occur after ligation of the ductus deferens, because reabsorption of fluid takes place. This would also explain the absence of testicular atrophy in clinical states of inflammatory obstruction along the excretory pathway caused by gonorrhea or of obstruction caused by congenital absence of the ductus deferens.

IX. The Seminiferous Epithelium

Clarification of the spermatogenic cycle in the germinal epithelium is probably the most important development in knowledge of the testis since the second edition of this book. The difficulties in expressing spermatogenesis in quantitative terms were great. Clear identification of each type of cell was not possible. Certain basic information on the transformation of one type of cell into another, on the renewal of certain cells, and on degenerative phenomena was lacking. Despite these difficulties, the time of a complete spermatogenic cycle in the rat was estimated by several investigators using diff"erent methods. These methods were ( 1 ) time of recovery after irradiation of the testis, (2) morphologic studies of the changes in cellular population with reference to a static cell such as the Sertoli cell, and (3) turnover time of organically bound radiophosphorus in the germinal epithelium (Howard and Pelc, 1950). The introduction of the periodic acid and fuchsin sulfurous acid (PAS) stain for glycol groups such as exist in glycogen, mucoprotein, and mucopolysaccharides solved the difficulties enumerated above.

Cytologic studies have shown that the cells of the seminiferous epithelium are organized in similar associations. The development of any one generation of a certain type of cell is correlated with other generations present in the same part of the tubule. The changes in a certain zone of the germinal epithelium between two successive appearances of the same cellular association constitute a cycle. Different investigators do not use the same number of phases, the same classification of cell types, or the same points of reference. Depending somewhat on the cytologic detail and somewhat on the point of reference, the cycle can be divided into 6, 8, 12, or more phases.

Roosen-Runge (1951-1955), RoosenRunge and Barlow (1953j, and RoosenRunge and Giesel (1950) used eight phases to characterize a seminiferous cycle in the rat. In phase 1, no sperm cells are present in the tubule; at the end of phase 8, the sperm cells forming over the intervening phases have disappeared from the lumen. Two types of spermatogonia are recognized; type A is a large cell with a large nucleus and little chromatin, and type B is a smaller cell with a smaller nucleus and masses of chromatin arranged peripherally. Type A spermatogonia divide simultaneously in phase 1 and again at phases 4, 6, and 7, leading to successive doublings. Type B spermatogonia form from type A in phase 6. In phase 8, a total of 98 per cent of all the spermatogonia are type B, leaving a 2 per cent quota of type A to start the cycle over again. When the spermatozoa are floated off the tubular wall, type B spermatogonia rapidly change into prespermatocytes. The prespermatocytes grow rapidly and become spermatocytes. Spermatid formation occurs in the first four phases. Spermatozoa are present from the end of phase 5 through phase 8.

Interestingly, the Sertoli cells show a cyclic variation in volume, being largest at phases 7 and 8 and smallest at phase 1. Retraction and expansion of the Sertoli cells, with cycles of spermatogenic activity, was noted by Rolshoven (1945, 1947, 1951). When the cells retract, part of the cytoplasm is lost, leaving a pars basalis. In expanding, this part of the Sertoli cell forms a fine lattice. The Sertoli cells resorb regressive spermatozoa and probably also the residual bodies during the spermatogenic cycle.

Because PAS-positive material can be traced back to the Golgi apparatus of young spermatids (Leblond, 1950), Leblond and Clermont (1952a, b) have been able to divide spermiogenesis in the rat into 19 stages. In the first 8 of these, the germinal epithelium has old spermatids, which are released when the new crop reaches stage 8. Hence, the new crop of spermatids is alone until they reach stage 15, when another generaation of spermatids appear. Therefore, stage


1 and stage 15 spermatids appear together, and the succession of cells associated with this appearance marks one cycle. These authors have divided their 19 stages of spermiogenesis into four phases (Fig. 5.8).

The first phase is the Golgi phase, which includes 3 of the stages. In stage 1, the idiosome is in the Golgi zone and two centrioles are near the chromatoid body. The fine filament from one centriole eventually becomes the tail of the sperm. In stage 2, one to four granules appear in the idiosome. In stage 3, the fusion of pro-acrosomic granules into one large one is accomplished.

The second phase is the cap phase, which consists of 4 stages. In stage 4, the acrosome granule flattens on the nucleus. In stage 5, a membrane arising from the granule spreads over the nucleus. In stage 6, a cap is formed over the nucleus. The idiosome separates from the acrosome granule, and the two centrioles move closer to the nucleus. In stage 7, the cap reaches maximal size. The proximal centriole adheres to the nucleus, and the flagellum remains attached to the distal centriole. The chromatoid body is loose in the cytoplasm.

The third phase is the acrosome phase, which includes 7 stages. The caudal tube is present, and the head caps are oriented toward the tubular wall. In stage 8, the granule and cap move toward the basement membrane, and the cytoplasm shifts to the opposite pole of the nucleus. The chromatoid body surrounds the flagellum near its insertion to the distal centriole. In stage

9, the acrosome granule elongates. In stage 10, the head cap moves toward the caudal end of the nucleus, and the apical end is pointed. In stage 11, the nucleus and head cap elongate. In stage 12, the nucleus is at its maximal size. In stage 13, the nucleus is thinner, and the distal centriole divides into a dot and ring. In stage 14, the head cap is loose over the nucleus, the cytoplasm condenses, and the sj^crmatid begins to look like a mature spermatozoon.

The fourth phase is the maturation phase, which consists of 5 stages. In stage 15, the head cap has a finlike membrane; the ring centriole separates from the centriole and forms the middle piece. In stage 16, elongation of the finlike membrane occurs. In stage 17. the acrosome and head cap move forward. In stage 18, the perforatorium appears. In stage 19, the staining capacity of the sperm is sharply reduced.



Fig. 5.8. Spermiogenesis in the rat. 1 to 3, Golgi phase. The idiosome produces two proacrosomic granules, which fuse into the single acrosomic granule. 4 to 7, cap phase. The acrosomic granule produces the head cap, which enlarges to cover a third of the nucleus. 8 to 14, acrosome phase. The nucleus and head cap elongate, whereas the acrosomic granule transforms into the acrosome. 15 to 19^ maturation phase. Near the end of this phase, the reactivity of the head cap and acrosome decreases considerably, and the spermatozoon is released into the lumen (19). (From C. P. Leblond and Y. Clermont, Ann. New York Acad. Sc, 55, 548, 1952.)



The behavior of the remaining cells of the germinal epithelium now can be correlated. Five peaks of mitosis occur in the spermatogonia. The first three peaks give rise to type A spermatogonia, the fourth peak to type B spermatogonia, and the fifth to spermatocytes. Spermatocytes, formed in stage 6, undergo the long meiotic division and become spermatids at stage 1 of the third cycle.

This quantitative method has been applied to three areas which are of importance to the experimental or clinical endocrinologist: renewal of stem cells, postnatal degeneration of germ cells, and the effects of hypophysectomy on the germinal epithelium.

The renewal of spermatogonia always has been puzzling. It was postulated that they were renewed from the Sertoli cells, from unequal mitosis of a spermatogonium into a spermatocyte and another spermatogonium or from type A cells which did not difTerentiate into type B cells. Clermont and Leblond (1953) proposed a new theory for the renewal of stem cells. Three types of spermatogonia are present in the rat and mouse (Fig. 5.9). Type A spermatogonia give rise to either intermediate spermatogonia or to dormant type A spermatogonia. The intermediate type of spermatogonia gives rise to the type B forms, which produce spermatocytes. The dormant type A spermatogonia are so designated because they do not divide for 8 stages. At the 9th stage, the dormant type A spermatogonium forms 4 large type A spermatogonia. In the next cycle, one of these 4 type A spermatogonia becomes another dormant type A spermatogonium; the others form 6 of the intermediate types of spermatogonia and eventually 24 spermatocytes. The cytologic details and the alterations in numbers of the three types of spermatogonia are illustrated in Figure 5.10. Full information can only be obtained by consulting the original papers.



Fig. 5.9. Diagrammatic representation of the most probable pattern for the development of spermatogonia (or "stem cell renewal theory"). The Roman numerals on either side of the diagram indicate the stages of the cycle. A, type A spermatogonia; Ad, dormant type A spermatogonia ; In, intermediate type of spermatogonia ; B, type B spermatogonia ; R, resting spermatocyte. In this hypothesis, the two daughter cells of the stage IX mitosis do not divide simultaneously. One of the granddaughter cells becomes a new dormant type A cell (Ad), ensuring the renewal of the spermatogonial population at the subsequent cycle, whereas the three other daughter type A cells divide again to produce intermediate tvpe cells, which in turn produce type B cells, which in turn produce spermatocytes. (From Y. Clermont and C. P. Leblond, Am. J. Anat., 93, 475. 1953.)



Considerable degeneration of the primary germ cells occurs during development of the testis in the mouse and the rat (Allen and Altland, 1952). Degeneration usually ceases on the ninth day of age in the rat. Over the next 4 days, however, considerable multiplication occurs, but from day 14 to day 48 degenerating cells also may be seen in many tubules. Six different types of degeneration are evident — loss of cells in layers (exfoliation or shedding) , necrosis, loss of individual cells, pyknosis, degeneration of leptotene forms, and abnormal mitosis in stem cells and spermatocytes.

The degeneration of the germ cells, or gonocytes, soon after birth had given the impression that the spermatogonia arise from the small supporting cells that also form the Sertoli cells in the adult. Gonocytes have a large, light, spherical nucleus, fine chromatin, and a sharp nuclear membrane. The supporting cells have smaller nuclei and coarse chromatin. The fourth day of life in the rat the supporting cells increase in number and form a palisaded layer along the basement membrane. The gonocytes swell and begin to degenerate; however, some of them look like type A spermatogonia. By day 6, most of the spermatogonia are tyi)e A but a few intermediate spermatogonia and type B forms appear. By days 9 to 12, gonocytes are no longer present. Primary spermatocytes appear for the first time in resting leptotene stages. By days 15 to 18, two generations of germ cells are present. By days 23 to 26, the spermatocytes are in meiotic prophase and some spermatids are being formed. By days 33 to 50, the Sertoli cells have matured. Because the supporting cells do not divide after day 15, type B spermatogonia can not arise from supporting cells (Clermont and Perey, 1957).





Fig. 5.10. Diagrammatic drawings of stages I to XIV of the f\cle ul ilie seminiferous epithelium. Drawings made from PAS-hematoxylin stained preparations. Numbers 1 to 19 refer to spermatids at different steps of spermiogenesis. A, type A spermatogonia; B, type B spermatogonia; Bm, mitosis of spermatogonia; R, resting spermatocytes; L, leptotene stage; Z, zygotene stage; P, pachytene, Di, diplotene and diakinesis; SI, primary spermatocytes; Sim, primary spermatocyte metaphase; SI I, secondary spermatocytes; Slim, secondary spermatocyte metaphase; S, Sertoh element; Rh, residual body. (From R. Daoust and Y. Clermont, Am. J. Anat., 96, 255. 1955.)



It was known that, after hypophysectomy, spermatids disappear but spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and primary spermatocytes remain for long periods and spermatogonial mitosis continues. Clermont and ]\Iorgentaler (1955) noted spermatids being phagocytosed by the Sertoli cells within 3 days after hypophysectomy. Young spermatids at stages 1 through 7 are present, but at 10 days after hypophysectomy, no developing spermatid has reached stage 9. A few pachytene spermatocytes are degenerating, but primary and secondary spermatocytes are present during the first week after the operation. By the tenth day, the Sertoli cells shrink but do not disintegrate. Spermatogonial types A and B remain intact. Maximal regression after hypophysectomy is reached within 29 days.


The basement membrane is thick and there are two rows of type A, intermediate, and type B spermatogonia, a few primary and secondary spermatocytes, spermatids at stages 1 through 7, and Sertoli cells. Type B cells form spermatocytes, but the spermatocytes degenerate before and during meiosis, and only 4 per cent of them survive to produce spermatids. The spermatids develop to stage 7 and then disintegrate. Therefore, spermatogenesis up to stage 7 of spermiogenesis can occur in the absence of the pituitary gland but at a greatly reduced rate. As was surmised from early observations on the maintenance of spermatogenesis by androgen, the premeiotic phase of spermatogenesis apparently can take place without gonadotrophins ; meiosis suffers severely from gonadotrophic deprivation; and the postmeiotic phase is controlled by androgen. The observation that testosterone can maintain spermatogenesis if it is administered within a month after hypophyscctomy but cannot if treatment is delayed more than a month may not be so puzzling if it is assumed that androgen protects in some way the serious depletion of spermatocytes at meiosis.



Fig. 5.11. Spermiogenesis of the mouse as seen with PAS-hematoxyhn staining of Zenkerformol fixed testis. Drawings are arranged in a spiral to demonstrate stages which overlap in a cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Orientation of spermatids in relationship to the basement membrane also is shown. ^ to S is the Golgi phase, 4 to 7 the cap phase, 8 to 12 the acrosome phase, and 13 to 16 the maturation phase. (From E. F. Oakberg, Am. J. Anat., 99, 391, 1956.)



The plan of spermiogenesis in many species is essentially similar to that in the rat and mouse. Clermont (1954) found that the hamster shows the same successive stages of spermatogenesis except that five cycles may be represented simultaneously. In the mouse, Oakberg (1956a, b) described 16 stages, the first 12 of which constitute a cycle (Fig. 5.11 and Table 5.2). Four cycles constitute complete spermatogenesis and require 34.5 days. Generally, the same plan of spermiogenesis holds for the guinea pig, cat, bull, dog, ram, monkey (Fig. 5.12), and man (Leblond and Clermont. 1952b; Clermont and Leblond, 1955) , although many differences in cytologic detail exist and have been documented (Zlotnik, 1943; Gresson, 1950; Gresson and Zlotnik, 1945, 1948; Burgos and Fawcett. 1955; Watson, 1952; Challice, 1953).

Application of quantitative studies to human spermatogenesis has, to date, been disappointing. Spermatogenesis does not proceed along a wave, nor are the various stages sharply delimited, as they are in the rat. Further, the testis of the human also differs from that of the rat in that the relative pro})ortion of differentiated germ cells to spermatogonia is less. No helpful findings in cases of human infertility have been obtained by quantitative analysis of the germinal epithelium (Roosen-Runge and


TABLE 5.2

Characteristic cell associations at each stage of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium (From E. F. Oakberg, Am. J. Anat., 99, 391, 1956.)


Stage of Cycle


Spermatogonia

Type A

Intermediate Type B


Spermatocytes I First Layer


Second layer. . . , Spermatocytes II


Spermatids (see Fig. 1)

First layer

Second layer


15


10


Z

Dip


P Dia M-I

S Mil


12


A

In B MI

S


= Spermatogonia type A = Intermediate type sperm; = Si^erniatogonia type B = First meiotic division = Secondary spermatocyte


)goni


M-II = Second meiotic division


R = Resting L = Leptotene Z = Zygotene P = Pachytene Dip = Diplotene Dia = Diakinesis


Primary spermatocytes


Barlow, 1953; Eoosen-Runge, jNIarbergcr and Nelson, 1957).

X. The Interstitial Tissue

Although miscellaneous general information is available on the interstitial tissue of many animals, including the gorilla, the short-tailed manis, and the vampire bat (Popoff, 1947), detailed knowledge comes from common laboratory animals, such as the rat, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit, and cat. With the exception of man, however, the life history of the interstitial tissue of the testis is probably known best for the bull (Hooker, 1944, 19481.

In the 1 -month-old bull, when widely separated, lumenless tubules are present, the intertubular spaces contain only mesenchymal cells. The number of Leydig cells gradually increases up to 2 years of age; after this time, the Leydig cells become vacuolated and increase in both number and size (Fig. 5.13). From 5 to 15 years of age, loss of vacuolation and decrease in size occiu-. After 15 years of age, degeneration ensues.


^Metamorphosis of the Leydig cell begins with nuclear changes. The nucleus acquires 1 to 3 nucleoli, increases by 25 per cent in volume, and becomes spherical. Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the cell occur. The cell still retains its stellate appearance, but becomes polygonal in shape after granules appear in the cytoplasm. After 2 years of age, vacuolation occurs and, with age, the vacuoles become larger. At 5 years of age, vacuolation is present in all Leydig cells. Regression of the Leydig cells begins at 7 years of age; it is manifested by a decrease in vacuolation and mitotic activity (Hooker, 1944, 1948), and ends in cellular disintegration (Fig. 5.14).

In addition to regression, Leydig cells may also dedifferentiate. This occurs in the rabbit. In autografts of testis to the ear, mature Leydig cells show fusion of granules, shrinkage of cytoplasm, loss of nuclear transparency, and finally cannot be distinguished as a Levdig cell (Williams, 1950).




Fig. 5.12. Spermiogenesis in the monkey, i to 3 is the Golgi phase. 4 to 7 the cap phase, 8 to 12 the acrosome phase, and 13 to l-i the maturation phase. (From Y. Clermont and C. P. Leblond, Am. J. Anat., 96, 229. 1955.)


The life history of the Leydig cell in man and monkey is in general similar to that in the bull. In the human, Leydig cells are large polyhedral cells containing a large vesicular nucleus, which is not found in other cells of the interstitial tissue. The cells contain pigment, vacuoles, crystalloids, and granules. The granules vary in density, number, and arrangement within the cytoplasm. These granules contain lipides (Nelson and Heller, 1945) and, like those in common laboratory animals (Pollock, 1942), give reactions of steroids. Various types of Leydig cells can be distinguished on the basis of the size and nature of the granules and vacuoles. The medium-sized granular cells are believed to be vigorous producers of androgen (Sniff en, 1952; Tillinger, Birke, Franksson and Plantin, 1955) . It is difficult to determine the absolute number of Leydig cells. However, rough counts made in testes of men (necropsy material) indicate that the number declines with age (Sargent and McDonald, 1948). In general, the excretion of 17-ketosteroids and the development and condition of secondary sex characteristics parallel histologic and cytologic evidence of secretory activity by the Leydig cells (Fig. 5.15).

It is generally held that the Leydig cell is the source of androgen. Gonadotrophin evokes secretion of androgen from the testis only if the Leydig cells are stimulated. Tumors of Leydig cells produce large amounts of androgen. Testes impaired by heat or x-rays still produce androgen even though the germinal epithelium may be destroyed. The parallelism between the number of Leydig cells, their morphology, histologic appearance, and histochemical properties (Wislocki, 1949), on the one hand, and androgenic secretion as measured chemically or as determined by the behavior of the secondary sex characteristics, on the other hand, supports the conclusion that the Leydig cell produces male hormone (Figs. 5.16 and 5.17).



Fig. 5.13. Life history of Leydig cells of the bull testis. 21 to 2S, calf 1 month old. 2.'^, calf \Vz months old; note threadlike processes extending from angulation of mesenchymal cell. 25 to 21, cells of interstitium; 25 is a fibroblast, and 26 and 21 are pre-Leydig cells. 2S, bull 4 months old. ;^9 and SO, bull 2 years old, with young Leydig cells. SI and S2, bull 28 months old; note vacuoles. SS to 35, mature Leydig cells in a 5-year-old bull. SQ to S8, bull 15 years old. (From C. W. Hooker, Am. J. Anat", 74, 1, 1944.)



Fig. 5.14. Life history of the Leydig cell of the bull. (From C. \V. Hooker, Recent Progr. Hormone Res., 3, 173, 1948.)



Fig. 5.15. Schematic summary of thv life history of the human Leydig cell. (From A. Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N. Lorenz. Proc. Staff Meet., Mayo Clin., 29, 368, 1953; 30, 31, 1955.)



XI. Hormones of the Testis=

The mammalian testis produces androgens and estrogens. Because the chemistry of the hormones is discussed in Villee's chapter, only a brief account will be given here. Testosterone was first obtained from bull testes and later from horse testes (Tagmann, Prelog and Ruzieka, 1946). However, difficulties attended the isolation of testosterone from the testes of pigs. Although not obtained in crystalline form, testosterone was identified bv a characteristic infrared absorption spectrum in extracts of hog testes (Prelog, Tagmann, Lieberman and Ruzieka, 1947). Other steroids are present in hog testes (Ruzieka and Prelog, 1943; Prelog and his associates, 1947). C21ketosteroids, such as allopregnane-3-(^)ol-20-one, allopregnane-3- (a) -ol-20-one, and 5-pregnane-3-(^)-ol-20-one, have been identified. Haines, Johnson, Goodwin and Kuizenga (1948) isolated pregneninolone from hog testes as well as several other unidentified steroids, some of which had estrogenic activity. Ketosteroids have been found in human sperm (Dirschcrl and Breuer, 1955).

The testes of deer, bulls, stallions, and humans contain estrogens. The amount present in deer testes is three times that in bulls (Cunningham, ]\Iay and Gordon, 1942). Estradiol (0.21 mg. per kg. I and estrone (0.36 mg. per kg. ) wer(> isolated from 28 kg. of hoarse testes by Beall 1 1940). Estradiol also has been isolated from hinnan testes obtained shortly after death (Goldzieher and Roberts, 1952).



Fig. 5.16. Frequency of puberty, measurements of testis and penis, and excretion of hormones during puberty in man. (From A. Albert, L. O. Underdahl, L. F. Greene, and N Lorenz, Proc. Staff Meet., Mavo Clin., 28, 409. 1953.)

Fig. 5.17. Stages of sexual development and maturation. (From W. A. Schonfeld, Ai J. Dis. Child., 65, 535, 1943.)


Testicular tissue is able to convert acetate into cholesterol (Srere, Chaikoff, Treitman and Burstein, 1950) and also to testosterone in the hog, rat. and human (Brady, 1951). Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) increases the yield of testosterone from testicular slices incubated with acetate. Estradiol- 17-/? also has been found in the products obtained by incubating tissue slices with acetate. Human testicular tumors incubated with labeled acetate form labeled testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, estradiol, and estrone (Wotiz, Davis and Lemon, 1955). Mevalonic acid, a precursor of cholesterol, yields estradiol when incubated with homogenates of human testis (Rabinowitz and Ragland, 1958). The biogenesis of male hormone as worked out in the stallion, rat, and human (Savard, Dorfman and Poutasse, 1952; Savard, Besch, Restivo and Goldzieher, 1958; Savard, Dorfman, Baggett and Engel, 1956) by means of radioisotopic methods shows a common pathway from 17a-hydroxyprogcsterone -^ progesterone -> 4-androstene3,17-dione —^ testosterone. Testosterone has been identified in the spermatic vein blood of dogs (West, Hollander, Kritchevsky and Dobriner, 1952). Also identified were A^androstcno(lione-3-17 and 7-keto-cholesterone.

In addition to confirming the presence of several biologically active steroids in the testis, the studies made in the last two decades have clarified the biosynthesis of male hormone. The peripheral metabolism of testosterone and its biologic actions in the organism are described in chapters by Villee and by Price and Williams-Ashman, respectively.

In addition to these well-known steroid hormones, the presence of a water-soluble hormone in the testis has been postulated on biologic evidence. Vidgoff, Hill, Vehrs and Kubin (1939) and Vidgoff and Vehrs (1941) induced atrophy of the testis and accessory sex organs in the rat by the administration of aqueous extracts of bull testes. Because the atrophy was similar to that occurring after hypophysectomy, it was claimed that a water-soluble principle in the testis was capable of inhibiting the gonadotrophic function of the ])ituitary. This principle was called "inhibin." The theory was then constructed that the testis secretes two hormones, nnnu'ly a water-soluble hormone responsible for the integrity of the germinal epithelium by regulating the secretion of pituitary gonadotrophin, and a fat soluble hormone (testosterone) responsible for maintaining the accessories. The observations of Vidgoff and his associates were disputed by Rubin (1941). The inhibin concept was supported by McCullagh and Hruby (1949) because testosterone did not inhibit the excretion of pituitary gonadotrophin and was not effective in correcting castration changes in the pituitary of cryptorchid rats at doses that were sufficient to stimulate the accessories. Inhibin was now identified with estrogen, and the source of estrogen was claimed to be the Sertoli cell. The new evidence for this modified concept will now be considered.

McCullagh and Schaffenburg (1952) stated that estrogen is much more effective than androgen in suppressing gonadotrophin and that estrogen is present in saline extracts of bull and human sperm. Estrogen is found in the testes, but localization of its production to the Sertoli cells is uncertain (Teilum, 1956), and is doubted by Morii (1956) and Ballerio (1954). The almost complete absence of Sertoli cells in Klinefelter's syndrome, in which values for urinary gonadotrophin are high, also is considered as evidence that estrogen is manufactured by the Sertoli cells. The high excretion of gonadotrophin in Klinefelter's syndrome can be interpreted, at least in part, by the concept of Heller, Paulsen, ^lortimore, Jungck and Nelson (1952) that the amount of urinary gonadotrophin varies inversely with the state of the germinal epithelium. Utilization of gonadotrophins by the germinal epithelium could explain the levels of this hormone in various syndromes as satisfactorily as the lack of a hypothetic testicular inhibitory hormone. Furthermore, if the Sertoli cells secrete an inhibitory hormone, patients who have germinal aplasia (Sertoli cells only in the tubules) should have normal values for urinary gonadotrophin, whereas it is well known that this hormone is greatly increased in these patients. The proponents of the inhibin theory claim that aqueous extracts of testes prevent the castration changes but do not repair the accessories, whereas testosterone corrects the accessories but does not restore the normal histologic appearance of the pituitary. However, Nelson showed that cryptorchid testes produce less androgen than normal and that the order in which the above structures are affected represents differences in the degree of their sensitivity to the amount of androgen produced. The efficacy of aqueous extracts on the cytologic appearance of the pituitary has not been confirmed. Thus, evidence deduced from cryptorchism that an inhibitory hormone is produced by the germinal epithelium is inadequate.

XII. Effects of the Pituitary on the Testis

Little information has been added in the past 20 years to the effects of acute hypophyseal deprivation on the mammalian testis. Smith (1938, 1939) had shown in the rat that spermatocytes as well as spermatogonia and Sertoli cells remain for a long time after hypophysectomy. However, in the monkey, and possibly in man, all cells of the germinal line except the spermatogonia and the Sertoli cells disappear. Even though hypophysectomy has been employed for several years as a palliative procedure in inoperable carcinoma of the prostate, no data have been obtained concerning the effects of hypophysectomy on the testis in otherwise normal man. In the dog, the testes decrease to about one-third their normal weight after surgical removal of the pituitary. Only a single row of spermatogonia remains (Fig. 5.18). The Leydig cells are reduced in size and contain abundant quantities of fat. The lack of complete involution of the Leydig cells in the dog as a result of hypophysectomy is somewhat unusual, because marked involution of these cells occurs in all other mammals thus far studied. With respect to the behavior of the germinal epithelium, the dog (Huggins and Russell, 1946) seems to be more like the monkey and man than like the rat and mouse. The total relative decrease in testicular weight of the dog is intermediate between that observed in the cat (50 per cent) and that in the rat, guinea pig, and rabbit (75 per cent). With respect to histologic features, the guinea pig and ferret are intermediate between the rat and the monkey, because occasional spermatocytes remain in addition to spermatogonia and Sertoli cells. In the mouse, the testicular weight decreases for 25 days after hypophysectomy. Mess (1952 ( showed that early differentiation of spermatids in the rat is affected first by hypophysectomy. Spermatids degenerate, tubuhir fluid is lost, and atrophy of the germinal epithelium finally takes place (Gothie and Moricard, 1939).


Fig. 5.18. Testis of dog 60 days after hypophysectomy. (From C. Huggins and P. S. Russell, Endocrinology, 39, 1, 1946.)



Some recent studies on compensatory hyi)ertrophy of the remaining testis after unilateral orchiectomy have been made. Old investigations showed that compensatory hypertrophy occurs in boars, rabbits, and hedgehogs. Compensatory hypertrophy does not occur in mature guinea pigs or man (Calzolari, Pulito and Pasquinelli, 1950; Pasquinelli and Calzolari, 1951; Zide, 1939). In the prepubertal guinea pig and rat, however, the remaining testis shows accelerated development. The volume of the remaining testis increases in the adult rat after unilateral orchiectomy (Grant, 1956). Since the compensatory hypertrophy is suppressed by testosterone, it appears likely that the accelerated development of the remaining testis is mediated by gonadotropliins.

The effects of gonadotrophins on testicular structure and function have been studied in many species. Injection of anterior jHtuitary extract or implantation of fragments of the anterior pituitary into the testis of guinea pigs has resisted in pronounced stimulation and hypertrophy of the Leydig cells (Petrovitch, Weill and Deminatti, 1953; Petrovic, Deminatti and Weill, 1954; Petrovic, Weill and Deminatti, 1954; Marescaux and Deminatti, 1955). In hypophysectomized mice, May (1955) found that testicular grafts of anterior pituitary tissue repair the atrojihic tubules and the involuted Leydig cells.

The effects of individual gonadotrophins of both pituitary and placental origin have been reviewed by Greep (1937) and Fevold (1944), and in the chapter by Greep in the present volume. The established concept, as worked out in the rat, is that folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) maintains and repairs the tubular apparatus but does not affect the function or structure of the Leydig cells. Luteinizing hormone (LH) maintains the functional activity of the Leydig cells but does not dii-ectly control tubidar activity.

Urinary gonadotrophin from menopausal women stimulated the tubides (Greep, 1937) and the Leydig cells (Balm. Lorenz, Bennett and Albert, 1953a-d). Hmnan chorionic gonadotropiiin (HCG) has little oi' no effect on tiie tubules, hut it induces ])ronounced stimulation of the Leydig cells. Pr(>gnaiit marc sci'uni (PMS) stimulates spermatogenic and endocrine activities of the testis. Both LH and HCG maintain spermatogcniesis after hypophysectomy.


Neither FSH nor LH hastens the appearance of sperm in the testis of immature animals. No type of gonadotrophin has induced the appearance of sperm in the rat earlier that 35 days of age.

Because interest in the chemical fractionation of animal i^ituitary tissue waned after 1945, new studies on the effects of pituitary gonadotrophins on the testis have not been performed. Instead, HCG has received attention. The well known hyperemia induced in the ovary by HCG, which is used as a pregnancy test, has been reported to occur also in the testis by Hartman, Millman and Stavorski (1950). Hinglais and Hinglais (1951 ) have not confirmed this. HCG causes increased testicular weight in young rats (Rubinstein and Abarbanel, 1939). The effect of HCG on the rat testis has been summarized by Gaarenstroom (1941), who listed the following four main actions: (1) stimulation of the Leydig cells in both normal and hypophysectomized animals to produce androgen; (2) increase in growth of the testis in the normal immature animal; (3) maintenance of testicular tubules in hypophysectomized animals; (4) potentiation of the effects of i^ituitary gonadotroi)hins in either normal or hypophysectomized animals. All effects are interpreted as being caused by the increased liberation of androgen. This explanation probably also holds for the increased fibrosis in and around the tubular wall in hypophysectomized rats after administration of HCG, for the increase in the number of primary spermatocytes (Muschke, 1953; Tonutti, 1954), and for the slight increase in testicular weight (Diczfalusy, Holmgren and Westerman, 1950).

The effects of HCG in normal men are similar to those in animals (Maddock, Epstein and Nelson, 1952; Maddock and Nelson, 1952; Weller, 1954). The Leydig cells become hyperplastic and produce more estrogen and androgen. This is reflected first by an increase in urinary estrogen of some 5- to 20- fold and later by an increase in 17-ketosteroids of about 2-fold. The increased secretion of steroids by the Leydig cells is accompanied by an increase in the frequency of erections and occasionally by gynecomastia. The increased levels of estrogen and androgen induce tubular atrophy. The tubular diameter becomes smaller, spermatogenesis ceases, and there is an increase in necrosis and sloughing of the germinal cells. The basement membranes become hyalinized, and peritubular fibrosis develops. In certain eunuchoidal persons ( hy{)ogonadotrophic hypogonadism ) , use of HCG induces differentiation of the Leydig cells and hastens maturation of the Sertoli cells. Some spermatogenesis is obtained (Heller and Nelson, 1947, 1948; Maddock, Epstein and Nelson, 1952). If FSH also is administered to such eunuchoidal men, complete spermatogenesis occurs (Heller and Nelson, 1947).

PMS acts on the rat testis in a manner intermediate between that of HCG and FSH (Creep, 1937; Kemp, Pedersen-Bjergaard and Madsen, 1943). Tubular growth and hyperplasia of the Leydig cells result. Interstitial cell hyperi)lasia also occurs in mice (Bishop and Leathern, 1946, 1948) , although the testicular weight does not increase after the use of PMS, as it does in rats. In the opossum, PMS does not induce secretion of androgen until the the animals are 70 days of age (Moore and Morgan, 1943). PMS is able to maintain the monkey testis after hypoi)hysectomy l)ut only for 20 days, after which involution occurs. If given to a hypophysectomized monkey in which testicular atrophy already is present, PMS causes formation of spermatocytes, but it does not induce the formation of spermatids or sperm cells (Smith, 1942). In man, PMS causes an increase in testicular weight (Hemphill and Reiss, 1945).

Unfractionated extracts of pituitaries of sheep or horses induce both tubular maturation and androgenic formation (Sotiriadou, 1941 ) . Preparations of FSH in mice produce slightly heavier testes but do not cause androgenic secretion (Moon and Li, 1952). Purified preparations of LH produce atrophy of the tubules and stimulation of the Leydig cells in infantile rats, and maintenance of germinal epithelium and Leydig cells in hypophysectomized rats (Zahler, 1950).


XIII. Effects of Steroids on the Testis

Between 1930 and 1940, rapid advances were made in the understanding of pituitarv and gonadal interrelationships, and the concept of a servomechanism controlling pituitary-testis activities was well established. According to this concept, male hormone was considered to have its major effect on the testis by inhibiting the secretion of pituitary gonadotrophins. However, it was difficult to fit into this concept the report by Walsh, Cuyler and McCullagh (1934) that testosterone was capable of maintaining spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. If testosterone were the medium by which spermatogenesis was maintained normally, the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis would be in jeopardy. As can be imagined, this finding stimulated much research. By 1940 the fact that spermatogenesis is maintained in hypophysectomized rats, mice, and rabbits by testosterone was amply established (Cutuly and Cutuly, 1940) .


A. Androgens

The varied effects obtained by injecting male hormone into normal and hypophysectomized rats depend on the nature of the androgen, the dose, the length of the treatment period, and the age of the animals when injections are begun. Inasmuch as most of the experimental work has been done with the rat and rats of various ages and sizes were employed, it is obvious that the dose of hormone is an important factor. Doses of testosterone of 100 /xg. per day or less can be regarded as small doses, whereas doses of 1 mg. or more can be considered as large. These definitions pertain only to the doses employed in studying the action of androgen on the testis and do not necessarily have any relationship to the physiologic levels of testosterone produced by the rat testis, which is not known, or to the effects of testosterone on the accessory sex organs (Moore, 1939).

In general, testosterone has no action on the undifferentiated gonad of the mouse, rat, opossum, or guinea pig (Moore and Morgan, 1942). In the immature rat small doses of testosterone propionate depress the testicular weight (Zahler, 1947; Dischreit, 1939; Greene and Burrill, 1940). However, if small doses are continued for long periods, incomplete supi:)ression results. Because the testicular inhil^ition induced by small doses of testosterone apparently results from suppression of gonadotrophins, it seems that greater ciuantities of gonadotrophins are formed as rats grow; hence, escape from suppression may occur (Biddulph, 1939). The work of Rubinstein and Kurland (1941) indicates that even small doses of testosterone, as already defined, may produce dift'erent effects in the rat. These investigators compared the effects of administration of 5 and 50 fxg. testosterone propionate per day in young animals. Young rats receiving the former dose showed increased testicular weight without, however, any hastening of maturation of sperm cells. The larger dose decreased testicular weight.

The effect of androgen on mature rats is also dependent on dose. Small doses cause atrophy of the mature testis because of suppression of gonadotrophins. Large doses have the same suppressing effect, but this is overridden by a direct stimulating effect of androgen on the testis, and atrophy does not occur. In both instances, the Leydig cells are atrophic (Shay, Gershon-Cohen, Paschkis and Fels, 1941). Large doses of testosterone have a direct action on the testis as indicated by the protective effect exerted on the experimentally induced cryptorchid testis (Hamilton and Leonard, 1938) and on the transplanted testis (Klein and Mayer, 1942) .

The aftereffects of androgenic administration also depend on the age of the animal and the duration of therapy. Using fecundity, libido, potency, and the state of the reproductive tract as indices of testicular function, Wilson and Wilson (1943) examined rats 3 to 5 months after a 28-day period of injection of androgen. In rats age 1 to 28 days, androgen severely affected the reproductive system. Low libido, absence of fecundity, and atrophic accessories were noted 3 to 5 months after testosterone therapy was discontinued. However, the later this treatment was instituted in the life of the rat, the more normal was the reproductive system 3 to 5 months after administration of the hormone was stopped.

Nelson and Merckel (1937), in a series of extensive experiments, confirmed the earlier finding that various androgens maintain spermatogenesis in the rat after hypophysectomy. Furthermore, they showed that the Leydig cells are atroj^hic in the face of active spermatogenesis in the androgentreated, hypophysectomized rat. Comparing such steroids as testosterone, androsterone, dehydroisoandrosterone, androstenedione, and various isomers of androstenediol, they concluded that the ability of androgens to maintain spermatogenesis is not related to their androgenicity. In fact, the weaker the androgen the better is the maintenance of spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. This observation is important for it shows that maintenance of spermatogenesis is not due to the induction by androgen of a favorable scrotal environment for the testis. In further studies, Nelson (1941) showed that spermatogenesis could be maintained for 178 days after hypophysectomy by testosterone propionate. No difference was observed between spermatogenesis under these conditions and that which occurs normally. Motile sperm were formed, and the animals could copulate with and impregnate females. The only difference was that the testes in the hypophysectomized animals treated with testosterone were only one-sixth normal size.

As is true of other effects of androgens on the testis, the time at which rats are hypophysectomized seems to be a critical factor in the ability of testosterone to maintain spermatogenesis. Leathern (1942, 1944) showed tliat troatmcnt witli tostosterone in rats Itypophysectomized at 27 days of age resulted in the production of spermatids, but spermatogenesis did not occur. However, if the animals were operated on at 33 days of age, testosterone induced the formation of sperm. Furthermore, if the atrophic testes of hypophysectomized rats were stimulated by a gonadotrophin (PMS), testosterone also maintained the spermatogenesis thus induced.


Fig. 5.19A. Effect of testosterone on the testis of the rat. 4, normal rat, 30 days of age. S, normal rat, 60 days of age. 6, 30-day-old rat given 10 ^g- of testosterone propionate daily for 30 days (no inhibition of spermatogenesis). 7, 30-day-old rat given 100 ^ig. of testosterone propionate daily for 30 days (suppression of spermatogenesis).



It is not known exactly how testosterone maintains spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. It seems that the "maintenance type" of spermatogenesis is not the same as spermatogenesis resulting from gonadotrophin, because the seminiferous tubules of the androgenically maintained testes in hypophysectomized rats are small. The effect of androgen is not produced simply by the maintenance of sperm cells already present in the testis at the time of hypophysectomy because Nelson (1941) showed that spermatogenesis can be reinstituted in the testis of a hypophysectomized rat in spite of delaying treatment with testosterone for 3 to 4 weeks after hypophysectomy. This interval of time exceeds the normal sojourn of sperm cells in the epididymis; thus the results in terms of siring young cannot be attributed to sperm cells already present in the accessory duct system at the time of hyjjophysectomy (Figs. 5.19, A and B, and 5.20).

The dose of testosterone propionate necessary for maintenance of spermatogenesis in the rat seems to be around 80 fig. per day.


Fig. 5.19B. 8, 3U-day-old mt given 1000 /ug. of testosterone propionate daily for 30 days (no suppression of spermatogenesis). .9, 30-day -old rat given 8.4 mg. of estradiol daily for 30 days (])ronoun(ed inhibition of spermatogenesis). 10, 30-day-old rat given 8.4 ng. of estradiol and 1000 mS- of lestosterone i)ro])ic)nale for 30 days (no inhir)ition of spermatogenesis). (From D. J. Jjudwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)


Fig. 5.20. Klicct oi Ti-siostcioiic on testis oi li\|M)pli\-,~(i lomi/i d lat //, testis of norm.al rat, 30 days of age. 12, testis of 60-day-old rat li^popli^x ( tomizcd at 30 days of age. 13, testis of 60-day-old rat hypophysectomized at 30 (la.\s of age and given 1000 /lig. testosterone propionate daily for 30 days. (From D. J. Liidwig, Endocrinology, 46, 453, 1950.)


However, larger doses generally have been used in experiments on the maintenance of spermatogenesis. These doses are far greater than those necessary to maintain the accessory sex organs of castrated animals. Tubules can be maintained by much smaller doses of testosterone. Dvoskin (1944) implanted pellets of testosterone intratesticularly; approximately one-tenth of the amount of testosterone needed by the parenteral route was effective by this route.

The concept that testosterone maintains spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats was challenged by Simpson, Li and Evans (1942, 1944) and by Simpson and Evans (1946a, b). These investigators found that gonadotrophins, including interstitial cellstimulating hormone (ICSH), maintained spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats at doses far lower than those needed to maintain the Leydig cells and the accessories. The testes remained in the scrotum, and motile sperm cells were produced. Inasmuch as testosterone propionate can maintain the tubules only at doses effective in maintaining the accessories, it was doubted that maintenance of spermatogenesis occurred by way of the direct tubular action of androgen. In addition to casting some doubt on the accepted mechanism of the spermatogenic action of androgen, this work raised doubt concerning the dualistic concept of gonadotrophic control of the testis. Maintenance of the testis by ICSH after hypoj^hysectomy suggests that one gonadotrophic hormone may be sufficient to maintain testicular function in mammals. However, these findings may be interpreted conventionally; i.e., that ICSH caused the Leydig cells, even though they were not repaired morphologically, to secrete androgen which by virtue of its local action on the tubules maintained spermatogenesis (Ludwig, 1950).

Testosterone maintains spermatogenesis in other species. In hypophysectomized ground squirrels, the testes are atrophic, aspermatic, and abdominal (Wells, 1942; 1943a). Hypophysectomized animals given testosterone propionate (0.5 mg. per day for 15 to 25 days) show growth of the testes, sperm formation, and testicular descent. Leydig cells remain atrophic. Because sperm formation ceases after hypophysectomy in the ground squirrel, as it does in the monkey, rat, guinea pig, mouse, cat, and ferret, it is obvious that androgen initiated spermatogenesis.



Fig. .').21. KIT(H't of .iihlhitiMi HI ,( liypophysoctomized inoiikoj-. 1, biop-x -iniiincn from a normal 8-kg. rhesus monkey. .'. liiii|i-\ specimen from a hypophysectomized monkey .ifici- 56 da.ys, during which 1.4 gm. of testosterone propionate was administered at a daily dose of 25 mg. 3, state of testis 20 days after use of testosterone was discontinued. Note atrophy of tubules. The Sertoli cells and spermatogonia remain. (From P. E. Smith, Yale J. Biol. & Me.l., 17, 281, 1944.)



Testosterone propionate maintains the spermatogenic activity of the testis of the hypophysectomized monkey for 20 to 50 days (van Wagenen and Simpson, 1954). A dose of about 20 mg. per day is required. When medication is discontinued, marked involution of the testis occurs within the ensuing 3 weeks. Testosterone is effective even after a lapse of 50 days between hypophysectomy and the institution of therapy. Spermatogenesis can be restored and formation of motile sperm cells induced. As in the rat, the testes maintained by androgen are smaller than normal. Pellets of testosterone implanted locally exert a strong local action. Thus, the essential findings in the rat are duplicated in the monkey (Fig. 5.21).

In man the effects of testosterone on the testis have been studied by Hotchkiss (1944a), and by Heller, Nelson, Hill, Henderson, Maddock, Jungck, Paulsen and Mortimore (1950). The main effects were disappearance of the Leydig cells, atrophy of the tubules, arrest of spermatogenesis, and pronounced hyalinization of the basement membrane (Fig. 5.22). Complete recovery of the testis occurred 17 months after cessation of therapy. In fact, the testes were histologically more normal than before treatment. The improvement in sperm production after preliminary depression of the testis by administration of testosterone has been used widely in the treatment of male infertility. Heckel, Rosso and Kestel (1951) and Heckel and McDonald (1952a, b) obtained an increase in spermatogenic activity, as determined by sperm counts and biopsy, after cessation of treatment. This increase was termed a "rebound phenomenon"; during it, increased fertility, as determined by an increased incidence of pregnancy among infertile couples, was reported. The improved quality and quantity of sperm following therai)y with testosterone are transient. Furthermore, they occur in only a small i^-oportion of men so treated (Getzoff, 1955; Heinke and Tonutti, 1956). The suppressive effect of androgen on the human testis results from inhibition of pituitary gonadotrophin as evidenced by measurement of the amount of urinary gonadotrophin before, during, and after use of testosterone. The mechanism by which gonadotrophin is inhibited always has been assmned to be a direct effect of androgen on the pituitary. It is interesting in this regard that Paulsen (1952) showed that the use of testosterone, w^iile reducing urinary gonadotrophin, increases the amount of urinary estrogen 20-fold. Estrogen is by far the most powerful suppressant of gonadotrophin secretion known; hence, it is possible that the atrophy of the testis observed during testosterone therapy in man may be caused by estrogen. No reports of maintenance of spermatogenesis in men with pituitary insufficiency or after hypophysectomy are available.


Fig. 5.22. Elluci ul iC5io.stcruiie on the testis of a man with infertiUty caused by adult tubular failure. Testicular biopsies, showing the pronounced degree of sclerosis and hyalinization that occurs when an initially very poor testis is subjected to the administration of 91 consecutive injections of testosterone propionate, 25 mg. each. A, before treatment; B, at end of 91 days of treatment; C, 17 months after cessation of treatment. Note, in C, the disappearance of hyalinization, the increase in size of the seminiferous tubules, and the appearance of fairly orderly spermatogenesis. Leydig cells, not shown here, were present 17 months after treatment was stopped. (From C. G. Heller, W. O. Nelson, I. B. Hill, E. Henderson, W. O. Maddock, E. C. Jungck, C. A. Paulsen and G. E. Mortimore, Fertil & Steril., 1, 415, 1950.)


B. Estrogens

Various natural and synthetic estrogens have been given to rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, bulls, boars, and man. In all forms, estrogen induces atrophy of the male gonad. The histologic appearance of the atrophic rat testis after estrogen therapy has been described by Dischreit (1940). In young rats, estradiol prevents testicular descent, produces atrophy, and inhibits spermatogenesis (Pallos, 1941; Gardner, 1949). Two weeks following atrophy induced by estradiol or stilbestrol, regeneration of the testis begins (Bourg, Van Meensel and Compel, 1952) and is complete wuthin 6 weeks (Lynch, 1952). However, Snair, Jaffray, Grice and Pugsley (1954) noted that the accessory sex organs recover before spermatogenesis resumes. The same inhibiting effects have been obtained with methylbisdehydrodoisynolic acid (Tuchmann-Duplessis and Mercier-Parot, 1952) and hydroxypropiophenone (Lacassagne, Chamorro and Buu-Hoi", 1950). In general the effect of estrogen in the rat is to induce atrophy of the Leydig cells and germinal epithelium, so that only spermatocytes, spermatogonia, and Sertoli cells remain.

Uncertainty exists concerning the general effects of estrogen in guinea pigs. Lynch (1952) noted that the Leydig cells are normal in animals treated with estrogen, but Marescaux (1950) and Chome (1956) noted that the Leydig cells are atrophic. Marescaux, in studying hypophysectomized guinea pigs, concluded that estrogen has a direct stimulating effect on the Leydig cell. Massive tubular damage occurs in the guinea pig after administration of estrogen. In the hamster. Bacon and Kirkman (1955) found that various estrogens induce testicular atrophy. In occasional animals, hyperplasia of interstitial and Sertoli cells occurs and is attributed to direct effects of estrogen. In general, atrophy of the germinal epithelium is nearly complete; only a few spermatocytes remain in addition to the Sertoli cells.

The testis of the immature cat is unaffected by estrogen (Starkey and Leathem, 1939j . Severe tubular atrophy and involution of the Leydig cells are noted in bulls (Ferrara, Rosati and Consoli, 1953) and boars (Wallace, 1949j after feeding with stilbestrol.

Although Haschek and Gutter (1951) found no effect of estrogen on the testis, the consensus is that any kind of estrogen produces profound involution of the human testis. Temporary sterility is induced, of course, as well as impotence and gynecomastia (Heckel and Steinmetz, 1941). Most of the information in man has been obtained from the therapeutic administration of estrogen in cases of prostatic carcinoma (Chome, 1956; de la Baize, Mancini and Irazu, 1951 ; de la Baize, Bur, Irazu and Mancini, 1953; de la Baize, Mancini, Bur and Irazu, 1954; Schwartz, 1945; Schiiltz, 1952, to mention only a few) and from the administration of estrogen to hypersexual and homosexual men (Dunn, 1941). Estrogen induces atrophy of the tubules and the Leydig cells ; the latter revert to fibroblasts. The germinal epithelium shows an increase in lipids and a decrease in glycogen. Unless other disease is present, the atrophy proceeds so that only the Sertoli cells remain in the tubules; even these cells may disappear with the induction of peritubular hyalinization and sclerosis.

C. Adrenal Steroids

Tubular diameter in the testis of the mature rat remains normal despite the presence of severe hypercortisonism resulting fi'oiii administration of 3 mg. cortisone per day for 6 weeks (Winter, Silber and Stoerk, 1950) or of 5 to 10 mg. per day (Ingle, 1950) . A few reports indicate that cortisone stimulates growth of the testes of young rats (Leroy, 1951) or causes degeneration of the germinal ei)ithelium of the rat (Leroy, 1952) and mouse (Antopol, 1950). A careful study by Hanson, Blivaiss and Rosenzweig (1957) showed that the relative growth of the testis is stimulated only slightly by cortisone.

Extremely little infoi-mation is available on the maintenance of spermatogenesis in hypophysectomized rats by cortisone. Leroy and Domm (1952) reported maintenance at doses of 5 mg. per day. The Leydig cells involuted, and the secondary sexual apparatus was atrophic. However, these findings were not confirmed by Aterman ( 1956) , who used 5 mg. hydrocortisone per day after hypophysectomy. The scrotum became atrophic and the testes retracted. The histologic appearance of the testes of the cortisone-treated animals was indistinguishable from that of the hypophysectomized controls. In rabbits Arambarri (1956) reported only small changes in the relative weight after prolonged use of cortisone. In man, fairly large doses of cortisone given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis do not affect the histologic appearance of the testes (Maddock, Chase and Nelson, 1953). Cortisone does bring about rapid testicular maturation in boys who have congenital adrenal hyperjjlasia, but only if the bone age is near the age of puberty (Wilkins and Cara, 1954). This must not be construed as a direct effect of cortisone on testicular maturation. The action of cortisone in this instance is to inhibit the excessive release of corticotrophin (ACTH) from the pituitary, thus reducing the amount of 17-ketosteroids produced by the abnormal adrenals. Removal of the inhibiting effect of the androgenic steroids allow^s the formation of gonadotrophin, with resulting maturation of the testes.

The consensus is that cortisone does not cause any change in the histologic appearance of the testis (Cavallero, Rossi and Borasi, 1951 ; Soulairac, Soulairac and Teysseyre, 1955; Baumann, 1955). Furthermore, it causes no change in the accessory structures, or in the secretion of androgen by the testis. Cortisone has no direct effect on the prostate or seminal vesicles in castrated animals (Moore, 1953). It is doubtful whether cortisone can maintain spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. The bearing of these studies on normal testicular physiologic function is questionable. Cortisone has been the main adrenal steroid studied in the rat but the rat adrenal secretes corticosterone, not cortisone.

Desoxycorticosterone has been administcicfl to rats in various doses. Arvy (1942) and Overzici' (1952) reported that the development of the testis of the iiinnature rat was arrested by prolonged injections of this steroid. Effects from desoxycorticosterone are not evident in adrenalectomized animals (Migeon, 1952). Adult rats show atrophy of both the tubular apparatus and the Leydig cells (Naatanen, 1955; Selye and Albert, 1942a, b). Maintenance of spermatogenesis after hy])ophysectomy was described by Overzier (1952).

Because cortisone even in massive doses has little effect on the testis, it would seem unlikely that ACTH would have any dramatic effects. Li and Evans (1947) repoi'ted that ACTH depresses testicular weight and the weight of the accessories in young rats, has no effect in old rats, and does not maintain spermatogenesis or the accessories in hypophysectomized rats. Baker, Schairer, Ingle and Li (1950) reported a small reduction in testicular weight in adult rats, but spermatogenesis proceeded satisfactorily. Large doses of ACTH produced atrophy of the Leydig cells. Asling, Reinhardt and Li (1951) stated that large doses depress the weight of the accessory sex organs. However, Moore (1953) found that administration of 5 mg. ACTH per day for 10 days has no effect on the testis of young or old rats and has no extratesticular effect on the production of androgen.

D. Miscellaneous Steroids and Mixtures of Steroids

Masson (1945, 1946) studied 16 different steroids for their ability to maintain spermatogenesis. Androstenediol, methylandrostenediol, methylandrostanediol, A'^-pregneninolone, and dehydroisoandrosterone are the most active compounds in maintaining spermatogenesis after hypophysectomy. No relationship is apparent between the ability to maintain spermatogenesis and the androgenic activity of the compound as measured by stimulation of the seminal vesicles or the progestational activity (progesterone is effective in maintenance but ethinyl testosterone is not).

One compound, A^-pregneninolone, was studied in detail. It prevents testicular atrophy after hypophysectomy or following therapy with estradiol or testosterone; it does not produce atrophy of the Leydig cells. In doses of 1 to 2 mg. a day, pregneninolone maintains spermatogenesis in young and adult hypophysectomized rats, l)ut it does not repair the tubules or Leydig cells after a 2-week delay between hypophysectomy and therapy. Pregneninolone also exerts a protective effect against the damage evoked by estradiol; however, it does not affect the regeneration that occurs after cessation of estradiol treatment. In this respect, it is different from testosterone, which hastens the recovery from the estradiol-induced damage. In fact, the acceleration of regeneration by testosterone is inhibited by pregneninolone. The chief difference between pregneninolone-progesterone and testosterone-androstenediol is that, whereas spermatogenesis is maintained by either pair after hypophysectomy, the former pair cannot restore spermatogenesis, and the latter can. ]\Iost of these effects of pregneninolone were confirmed by Dvoskin (1949). Progesterone and some new progestational compounds have been studied recently in man (Heller, Laidlaw, Harvey and Nelson, 1958). Progesterone given to normal men produces azoospermia and slight tubular atrophy, abolishes libido, and reduces potentia, but has no effect on the Leydig cells and the excretion of gonadotrophin, estrogen, and 17-ketosteroids.

Certain doses of desoxycorticosterone or estradiol have no effect on the testis singly, l)ut when mixed produce severe depression of testicular weight (.lost and Libman, 1952). The earlier work of Emmens and Parkes (1938), showing that testosterone inhibits the debilitating action of estrone, was confirmed by Joel (1942, 1945). The testes of animals treated with estradiol are one-sixth normal size; however, when testosterone propionate is added to the estrogen, the testicular weight is one-fourth normal. Furthermore, sperm cells are present in the epididymides of the group receiving testosterone. Mixtures of small amounts of androstenediol and estradiol in a constant proportion produce more profound atrophy than large doses given in the same constant proportion (Selye and Albert, 1942a, b; Selye, 1943). Furthermore, androstenediol and pregneninolone prevent the atrophy induced by small doses of testosterone. Plence, this protective action is not related to testoid activity, because the first compound is a weak androgen ; the second has no androgenic action. The protective effect possibly is due to interference with the inhibiting action of testosterone on pituitary gonadotrophin.

XIV. Eflfeets of Altered Endocrine States on the Testis

Apart from the pituitary, alterations in the endocrine system do not have pronounced effects on the testis. The thyroid has been studied extensively with regard to testicular function (Maqsood, 1952). It is difficult to generalize with respect to the total impact of the thyroid on the testis except to state that there is great variability not only from species to species, but also in different individuals of any one species. Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a) suggested that the range of thyroid activity within which normal testicular function is possible is rather wide. This may explain why many effects on the testis of altered thyroid function are marginal and why so many reports are exceedingly conflicting. Furthermore, it seems reasonable that animals having a naturally high level of thyroid activity may be impaired with respect to reproductive performance when made hypothyroid; conversely, species or individuals functioning normally at relatively low levels of thyroid activity may be adversely affected with regard to testicular activity when made hyperthyroid (Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown, 1952b).

In laboratory animals, hypothyroidism is induced by thyroidectomy, by feeding of antithyroid substances, by administering radioiodine, or by combination of these methods. Hyperthyroidism is induced by feeding desiccated thyroid or various artificial thyroproteins, or by injecting thyroxine or triiodothyronine. Because it does not seem to matter, as far as testicular physiology is concerned, how hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are induced, dotails of the method of altering thyroidal status will not be given.

Hypothyroid rats show decreased spermatogenesis and have smaller accessory structures than normal rats (Smelser, 1939a). However, Jones, Delfs and Foote (1946) found that adult hypothyroid rats sire litters. Young animals, made hypothyroid at birth or shortly thereafter, may show delay in sexual maturation (Scow and Marx, 1945 ; Scow and Simpson, 1945) , or may have normal reproductive tracts (Goddard, 1948). Hyperthyroid rats show testicular degeneration associated with a decrease in sperm production and androgen secretion. The deleterious effects of hyperthyroidism are attributed to an incapacity of the testis to respond to gonadotrophin. The atrophy of the accessory structures is attributed to the decrease in androgen production and to their increased requirement for androgen in states of hyperthyroidism (Smelser, 1939b). A nonendocrine explanation offered by Cunningham, King and Kessell (1941) is that testicular degeneration occurs because of the increased body heat of the animals in the hyperthyroid state. Richter and Winter (1947), however, stated that hyperthyroidism has a stimulating effect on the rat testis and accelerates the transfer of sperm through the genital ducts. Lenzi and Marino (1947) wrote that experimental hyperthyroidism causes a decrease in the number and volume of Leydig cells. Mixtures of thyroxine and testosterone in doses that have no effect on the rat testis when given singly, produce severe atrophy in normal rats (Masson and Romanchuck, 1945). Small doses of testosterone augment the debilitating effect of hyperthyroidism; large doses protect the testis (Roy, Kar and Datta, 1955). Changes in thyroidal status also appear to affect the responsiveness of the testis to gonadotrophins. Meites and Chandrashaker (1948) stated that hyperthyroidism decreases the responsiveness of the rat testis to exogenous gonadotrophin (PMS) whereas hypothyroidism increases it. The reverse holds for mice.

In growing mice, sexual development is retarded by hypothyroidism and accelerated by mild liyperthyroidism (Maqsood and R('inek(\ 1950). Moreover, the effectiveness of testosterone on the seminal vesicles of mice is increased by the concomitant administration of thyroxine (Masson, 1947). indicating an increased responsiveness of the accessory reproductive tract to male hormone in the hyperthyroid state.

Hyperthyroid guinea pigs have small testicular tubules and fewer sperm in the seminiferous tubules. As in the rat, Richter (1944) found that hyperthyroidism in the guinea pig was associated with a rapid discharge of sperm through the genital ducts. Hypothyroidism was found to have no effect on the structure of the testis, on the structure of the sperm cells in the ejaculate, or on fertility (Shettles and Jones, 1942). Young, Rayner, Peterson and Brown (1952a, b ) , however, observed that the degree of fertility of hypothyroid guinea pigs was slightly reduced but in general the strength of the sex drive was not altered significantly by either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.

Other laboratory animals studied include the rabbit and the dog. Hypothyroidism in beagle puppies has no effect on spermatogenesis (Mayer, 1947j, whereas Maqsood (1951b) found atrophy of the seminiferous tubules and signs of decreased sexual drive in hypothyroid rabbits.

In male farm animals, alterations in thyroid function are associated with variable effects on the reproductive system. Atrophy of the tubules and Leydig cells occurs in the hypothyroid ram. Reduction of libido is noted in the hypothyroid ram, goat, and bull (Maqsood and Reineke, 1950). "Summer sterility" of sheep is explained as being due to depression of thyroid activity brought about by hot weather. Feeding thyroidal materials increases libido and spermatogenesis in bulls (Reineke, 1946; Petersen, Spielman, Pomeroy and Boyd, 1941). The reduction in testicular activity during hypothyroidism is attributed to an altered secretion of trophic hormones by the pituitary ; the excess secretion of thyrotrophin induced by thyroid deficiency in some way reduces the secretion of gonadotrophins (De Bastiani, Sperti and Zatti, 1956).

In man, Marine (1939) reported atrophy of the Leydig cells in a case of myxedema and atrophy of the tubules in a case of exophthalmic goiter; however, examination of the accompanying photomicrographs is not convincing. Many conflicting claims of the effect of thyroidal materials in infertile men have been made (c/. Dickerson, 1947) but these studies are uncontrolled and deserve no further comment. A recent study by Farris and Colton (1958), if verified, indicates that the nature of the thyroid substance used may be important after all. Thyroxine and triiodothvronine were administered to normal and subfertile men. Thyroxine depressed the number and activity of the sperm cells in the ejaculate, whereas triiodothyronine had a beneficial effect on the quality and motility of the spermatozoa.

Very little can be found on the effect of altered adrenal function on the testis. During the alarm reaction induced by the injection of formalin, no changes are evident in the testis when the adrenal cortex is undergoing its usual response (Croxatto and Chiriboga, 1951, 1952). Chronic hyperadrenalism produced by injections of epinephrine is accompanied occasionally by testicular atrophy and usually by regression of the accessories (Perry, 1941). Adrenalectomy in dogs, cats, and man is not followed by alteration in testicular structure (Morales and Hotchkiss, 1956) .

In rats rendered diabetic by removal of 95 per cent of the pancreas, a slight decrease was observed in testicular weight. In the final stages of diabetic cachexia, however, severe testicular atrophy occurs (Foglia, 1945). Horstmann (1949, 1950) concluded that the impotence of diabetic men results from the combined effects of decreased androgen production and of increased androgen destruction. This conclusion was, however, denied by Bergqvist (1954). Impotency and loss of libido are encountered frequently in association with uncontrolled diabetes; both may be corrected by adequate therapy. However, men more than 35 years of age whose diabetes is well controlled may have irreversible loss of libido and potentia. Histologic evidence of atrophy in the testes of such diabetic men can be found in the literature. The atrophy described seems no greater than that which may occur spontaneously in normal men at various ages, however.

The pineal body has long been thought to be involved in the regulation of the testis. The following conflicting statements have been made: (1) administration of pineal extracts inhibits testicular development, (2) pinealectomy causes testicular hypertrophy, (3) the concentration of cholesterol esters in the testis is lowered by administration of pineal extracts, and (4) none of the above results are obtained (Simonnet and Sternberg, 1951; Simonnet and Thieblot, 1951 ; Alcozer and Costa, 1954, Alcozer and Cliordano, 1954; Bailo, 1955). The reader is referred to a recent book which summarizes the literature on the pineal body (Kitay and Altschule, 1954 ) . Extensive hepatic disease is associated with testicular atrophy. Morrione (1944) induced cirrhosis in male rats by means of carbon tetrachloride. The testes of the cirrhotic rats were not affected. However, when estrogen was administered, severe testicular atrophy occurred, much greater than that induced by the same amount of estrogen in control, noncirrhotic animals. Testicular atrophy is said to occur in 70 per cent of men who have cirrhosis of the liver (Bennett, Baggenstoss and Butt, 1951). There is no critical information from which one could conclude that the atrophy of the testis in cirrhotic men is caused by failure of the diseased liver to inactivate estrogen.

XV. Non-neoplastic Disorders of the Testis

Study of certain hypogonadal disorders of man has provided information of general interest and bearing on the physiology of the mammalian testis. For an index to the large clinical literature on pituitary-testis relationships, the reader may consult Heller and Nelson (1948) and Albert, Underdahl, Greene and Lorenz (1953-1955). A group of spontaneously occurring disorders shows clearly the control of the testis by gonadotrophin. In pituitary dwarfism, the testis remains infantile even as late as 30 or 40 years of age, and perhaps for the entire life span of the individual so afflicted. Leydig cells are not jirescnt, and the tubules contain only undifferentiated cells and occasional spermatogonia. Pituitary dwarfism is a form of hypopituitarism in which all hormones of the anterior lobe may be absent. Anotiiei' type of hyi)ogonadism in man is restricted to the loss of only the gonadotrophic function of the pituitary. In this syndrome, the testis does not contain mature Leydig cells or mature tul)ules. This syndrome represents a condition that cannot be duplicated in lower animals. A few instances of a selective type of gonadotropliir insuflficiency have been described in which tubular maturation proceeds, with differentiation of the Sertoli cells and the formation of sperm. However, Leydig cells are not present. This syndrome ("fertile eunuchs"), if interpreted in terms of the dualistic concept of pituitary control of the testis, is explainable on the basis that formation and secretion of FSH have occurred but that LH is absent. If pituitary lesions occur before puberty, the testes remain immature. Pituitary lesions occurring after maturity cause atrophy of the seminiferous epithelium, not immaturity. The adult tubule of man cannot dedifferentiate as does the mature Leydig cell following hypol^hysial deprivation. The atrophy may vary in severity from hypospermatogenesis to complete sclerosis. Lack of gonadotrophin in the adult also results in thickening of the tubular wall and atroph}^ of the Leydig cells.

The most common defect in the human testis is failure of the seminiferous tubules. In contrast to the pituitary deficiencies, which generally result in both tubular and androgenic failure, disorders of sj^ermatogenesis lead only to infertility. The Leydig cells are normal, and androgenic function is unimpaired. The disordered spermatogenesis and the presence of cellular debris in the lumen are reflected by an abnormal spermogram. Depression of the sperm count to the point of azoos]M'rmia, abnormal sperm cells, and poor motility are characteristic findings. Another type of primary testicular disorder associated with azoospermia is germinal aplasia, in which the tubules contain only Sertoli cells. The Leydig cells are normal; hence, androgenic function is normal. Klinefelter's syndrome also is associated with azoospermia but the function of the Leydig cells is variable, ranging from severe insufficiency, in which the afflicted persons are eunuchoidal, to mild insufficiency, in which the liabitus is normal or almost so.

Testicular disorders are not restricted to man. They occur in common laboratory animals and in veterinary practice. Their similarity to some of the clinical entities just described will be evident.

A genito-urinary abnormality occurs in 20 per cent of males of the A x C rat (Vilar and H(n-tz, 1958). On one side, the testis is atroi)hic and the kidney, ureter, ductus deferens, epididymis, and seminal vesicle are absent; however, the coagulating gland is |)r('scnt. The testis is normal preepubertally u}) to 10 days of age. The lumenlcss tubules contain two types of cells; one is a small cell with one nucleolus; the other is a large round cell containing two or three nucleoli. Oval cells resembling Leydig cells are present in the interstitium. At 19 to 24 days of age, both testes are ecjual in weight. The diameter of the tubules increases, a lumen is present, and the tubular wall becomes differentiated. Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, and spermatocytes are evident, and the Leydig cells are maturing. At 30 to 38 days of age, the testis on the abnormal side is noticeably smaller. The Leydig cells remain normal, but the tubules are decreased in size. Between 45 and 47 days of age, spermatogenesis ceases and the tubules become atrophic. Thick collagenous and elastic fibers are found in the tubular wall. This disorder seems to be an inherited defect with delayed somatic manifestations. In some aspects, the pathogenesis of this testicular disorder in rats resembles that in Klinefelter's syndrome.

Congenital spermatogenic hypoplasia occurs in guinea pigs (Jakway and Young, 1958) . It ranges from germinal aplasia in most of the seminiferous tubules to a condition in which the appearance of the tubules is almost normal and the percentage of fertile matings is only slightly reduced. When sterility is present, the testes are smaller than those of normal males. The hormonal production, as reflected by the size of the penis and seminal vesicles and by sexual behavior, is normal.

The mule has a J-shaped chromosome which is contributed by the ass (Makino, 1955). Spermatogenesis in the mule does not proceed beyond meiotic prophase, degeneration occurring without formation of the metaphase of the first division. Hence, sperm cells will not form. The testes become atroi^hic, and only a few^ spermatogonia remain. The Leydig cells are normal.

Different types of hypogonadism, some of which are inherited, are encountered in bulls. Hypoplasia associated wuth urate crystals in the semen probably results from disintegration of the seminiferous epithelium (Barron and Haq, 1948) . Idiopathic necrosis of the tubule also may cause massive testicular calcification (Barker, 1956). Seven cases of hypogonadism in Belgian bulls were reported as a form of congenital sterility (Derivaux, Bienfait and Peers, 1955) ; photomicrographs of the testes in these cases are similar to those of germinal aplasia in the human. Testicular hypoplasia occurs also in goats (Rollinson, 1950).

Captive wild animals become sterile. Bushman, the famous gorilla at the Chicago Zoo, died at the age of approximately 22 years. Necropsy revealed neuropathy, cardiopathy, hemosiderosis, and testicular sclerosis (Steiner, Rasmussen and Fisher, 1955). No cells of the germinal epithelium were present except occasional Sertoli cells. The Leydig cells were normal. The testicular atrophy of Bushman was similar to that of Bobby, at the Berlin Zoo. Whether this degenerative testicular lesion is caused by nutritional deficiency or by the "stress" of captivity is not known.

XVI. Tumors of the Testis

Testicular tumors are more common among lower animals than in man (Innes, 1942). Spontaneously occurring Sertoli-cell and Leydig-cell tumors of animals have been studied more than seminomas presumably because of the greater endocrinologic interest attached to them. Huggins and Pazos (1945) found 64 testicular tumors in 41 dogs; of these, 33 were Leydig-cell tumors, 19 were seminomas, 9 were tubular adenomas, and 3 were undifferentiated tumors. Zuckerman and McKeown (1938) found tumors in 35 of 243 dogs. A few of these were Sertoli-cell tumors which were associated with metaplasia of the prostate. The life span of dogs varies from 8 to 15 years, and testicular tumors occur most frequently at 7 years of age or older; in fact, more than half of old dogs are found to have such tumors (Scully and Coffin, 1952). The most common tumor of the dog testis is a Leydig-cell tumor. Five per cent of testicular tumors in dogs occur in undescended testes. The neoplasms in cryptorchid testes are usually Sertoli-cell tumors (Greulich and Burford, 1936; Coffin, Munson and Scully, 1952; Mulligan, 1944).

The veterinary diagnosis (Blum, 1954) of Sertoli-cell tumors is easily made, because the dogs become feminized. For this reason, the chief comjilaint of the owners is that normal male dogs, after a brief olfactory reconnaissance, attempt to mount their afflicted pets. In addition to the feminization, evidence that Sertoli-cell tumors produce estrogen comes from the finding of estrogen in the urine of tumor-bearing animals and from the extraction of estrogen from the tumor itself (Berthrong, Goodwin and Scott, 1949). In terms of estradiol, the concentration of estrogen extracted from a Sertoli-cell tumor (Huggins and Moulder, 1945) was twice that found in the ovary from an estrous bitch. Sufficient estrogen appears to be produced to cause such changes as loss of hair, depression of libido, cystic hyperplasia of the mammary glands, and atrophy of the testis.

Interstitial cell tumors in dogs are usually nonfunctional, but they may produce estrogen (Laufer and Sulman, 1956; Kahan, 1955). Leydig-cell tumors have been reported in the mule, the Brahma bull, and the saddle horse (Smith, 1954). Significantly, in the last instance, an interstitial cell tumor occurred in the undescended testis of a 7-year-old horse, the descended testis having been removed early in life.

In man the proportion of various types of testicular tumors is different from that in lower animals. Seminomas and embryonal carcinomas are the most frequent neoplasms. Interstitial cell tumors have been recorded in less than two dozen instances in the world literature. Several cases of Leydig-cell tumor have been studied by Venning (1942) , Cook, Gross, Landing and Zygmuntowicz (1952), Hertz, Cohen, Lewis and Firminger (1953), and Jungck, Thrash, Ohlmacher, Knight and Dyrenforth (1957). This tumor causes isosexual precocity in boys. Signs of androgenic activity are evident in the large penis ; scrotal maturation ; the appearance of pubic, facial, and axillary hair, and acne; increased bodily growth; maturation of the larynx; and increased excretion of 17-ketosteroids. All these findings occur when sufficient amounts of testosterone are injected into normal prepubertal boys. This tumor cannot conceivably be related to the secretion of LH (see subsequent material on experimental tumors), because the neoplasms are usually unilateral and the contralateral normal testis shows no activation of the Leydig cells.

Neoplasms classified as Sertoli-cell tumors are rich in lipids and are thought to secrete estrogen (Teilum, 1950). However, the histogenesis of these tumors is not clear, and there is doubt that Sertoli-cell tumors actually occur in man.

Testicular tumors have been induced in rats by transplantation of immature testes to the spleen of castrated adult animals (Biskind and Biskind, 1945) and by radiation, carcinogens, and other means (Peyron and Samsonoff', 1941). Transplantation of day-old rat testes to the spleen of castrated adult rats, normal male rats, and castrated adult female rats resulted in the formation of encapsulated and sharply circumscribed tumors. Of 29 tumors thus produced, 16 were composed entirely of interstitial cells and 13 contained other testicular elements as well. One of the tumors was transplantable into the spleen of a castrated animal. Because hyperplasia of the interstitial cells was seen in most of the transplanted testes, it was thought that the neoplasia followed the hyperplasia induced by the excess of gonadotrophin in the castrated host (Twombly, Meisel and Stout, 1949). Such Leydig-cell tumors produce estrogen (Fels and Bur, 1956).

In contrast with the rat, experimental tumors in the mouse are not induced by any of the methods already mentioned (Gardner, 1953). Spontaneous tumors of the testis in mice do occur, however. Slye, Holmes and Wells (1919) found 28 testicular tumors in some 9000 male mice. None formed metastatic lesions. Hummel (1954) reported a spontaneous tumor in an 18-month-old mouse of the BALBC strain; this neoplasm was transplantable for three generations in normal or gonadectomized adult males or females. This was a functioning tumor as evidenced by masculinization of the submaxillary glands, mucification of the vagina, hypertrophy of the clitoris, and an increase in size of the uterus of the female host and of the accessory sex organs of the male host. All these findings indicate estrogenic and androgenic secretion. In general, however, interstitial cell tumors in mice are strainlimited, occurring particularly in the AC and JK strains. Spontaneous interstitial cell tumors also occur in hybrids and are associated with mammary tumors (Gardner, Pfeiffcr, Trentin and Wolstenholme, 1953).

This association indicates that estrogen is involved in the formation of the tumor; indeed, it is chiefly by the use of estrogen that experimental tumors in mice have been provoked.

Various natural and synthetic estrogens are effective. For example, Hooker, Gardner and Pfeiffer (1940) and Hooker and Pfeiffer (1942) using estradiol and stilbestrol have been able to produce interstitial cell tumors in the A and C strains of mice, with an incidence of 50 and 90 per cent respectively. Treatment for 8 months with 16.6 to 50 fjig. of estradiol dibenzoate or 0.25 /xg. stilbestrol weekly produces tumors, some of which metastasize to the renal, lumbar, and mediastinal lymph nodes. These tumors are transplantable if the hosts are given estrogen. They are inhibited by the simultaneous injection of testosterone. Tumors also may be induced by implantation of pellets of stilbestrol and cholesterol. The implantation of a 4- to 6-mg. pellet of 10 to 25 per cent stilbestrol in cholesterol induced tumors within 5 months (Shimkin, Grady and Andervont, 1941). Of the various natural and synthetic estrogens the triphenylethylene derivatives appear to be the most potent. Bonser (1942) and Gardner (1943) produced transplantable tumors in the JK, the A, and the C 3H strains by triphenylethylene. Tumors thus induced are generally composed of interstitial cells. They are transplantable only in the same strain of mice and only when the hosts are given estrogen. After several generations, however, the tumor may be transplanted without administration of estrogen in normal and in hypophysectomized mice (Gardner, 1945; Andervont, Shimkin and Canter, 1957).

The tumors arise from hyperplastic interstitial cells. The Leydig cells enlarge, become foamy, and degenerate. JMacrophages or, at least, cells containing a brown pigment appear and phagocytose the exhausted Leydig cells. A new crop of interstitial cells appears from the mesenchyme. These may grow faster in one zone than in another. The faster-growing Leydig cells thus constitute a nodule. The Leydig cells in the nodule also become hyperplastic and foamy. These nodules appear as white spots and cause pressure atrophy of the tubules. Leydig cells in the tumor thus result from three generations, since the second crop of Leydig cells is followed by a third generation containing small primitive and hyperchromatic cells. These contain brown pigment and hence give the brown color to the tumor. At this stage, the tumor may become necrotic, may metastasize by way of lymph or blood, or may invade locally. Such tumors secrete both estrogen and androgen. The consensus is that estrogen induces interstitial cell tumors in mice by liberation of LH (Gardner, 1953).

The assumption that LH induces interstitial cell hyperplasia and finally a tumor has received support from studies by Simpson and van Wagenen (1954) on young monkeys. These investigators gave ICSH for 53 days. Hyperplasia of the Leydig cells took place and nodules resulted. These nodules were composed of concentric laminated peritubular cells and arose from the same type of mesenchymal cell that yields the Leydig cell under normal conditions. Under the influence of HCG, the nodules secreted androgen.

XVII. Conclusion

The postnatal development of the mammalian testis follows a fairly definite pattern. Development is slow for the variable period of prepubertal life. The testis then undergoes rapid evolution during puberty, remains fairly constant in adult life, then regresses somewhat in old age. The rapid development of the testis during puberty is brought about by the onset of gonadotrophic function of the pituitary. This developmental pattern is fixed for each species, but can be modified by genie and environmental factors. Once the adult status is attained, secretory controls of androgenic and spermatogenic functions are established. A steady state of testicular function is maintained in continuously breeding species. In those mammals which show a seasonal breeding cycle, these secretory controls, particularly those of the pituitary gland, are periodically activated and deactivated.

The testes of many eutherian mammals migrate from the abdomen during fetal life to the scrotum. This migration is regulated by hormones of the fetus, presumably arising from the fetal testis. It is not clear just why the testes occupy the scrotum. The explanation that scrotal residence provides "optimal testicular temperature" is not satisfying because one then wishes to know why the male gonad requires the cooler environment afforded by the scrotum. Failure of the testes to descend may occur as a consequence of defects in the testes, probably of genie origin ; or because of anatomic obstacles, representing embryologic defects, inadvertently placed along its prescribed narrow path. In either event, the testis is damaged, mildly in its endocrine function, and seriously in its spermatogenic function. Impairment of spermatogenesis of the misplaced testis is due to the relatively high temperature of the abdomen. Temperature affects the germinal epithelium directly. It also affects the testis indirectly through the circulatory system. The effect of temperature, or for that matter, of any type of injurious agent whether it be chemical or physical, is atrophy of the seminiferous epithelium. The response of the germinal tissue to deprivation of pituitary gonadotrophin likewise is atrophy. Quantitative variation among different species does of course exist, but qualitatively, atrophy is the universal response to injury. Obviously, a common denominator must exist for this fairly general reaction on the part of the germinal epithelium. If various chemical and physical stimuli act on the testis by means of suppression or interference with the action of gonadotrophins, atrophy of the Leydig cells would also result. However, many chemical and physical agents affect only the germinal epithelium, leaving the Leydig cells unscathed. Thus, the germinal epithelium can be damaged directly and the variable damage to the components of the spermatogenic epithelium must be due to different sensitivities of its cellular components. The Sertoli cell is much more resistant than the cells of the germinal line, and of the seminiferous elements, the type A spermatogonia are the most resistant. Of great importance in the interpretation of the damage induced by many substances or occurring as a result of disease is the characteristic of the germinal epithelium to reproduce in a fixed order and sequence. It follows that the extent of injury to spermatogenesis as a whole would be determined by the relative susceptibility of the various germinal cells as well as by the nature of the noxious agent. If only sperm cells are affected, spermatogenesis will proceed through the formation of spermatid. However, if spermatogonia are injured, full differentiation of the germinal epithelium will fail, and only Sertoli cells will be found in the tubule. Thus, it is possible that all sorts of injury to the testis, if sufficiently great, may result in the same end stage of testicular atrophy. In spite of this common reaction pattern to severe injury, many substances induce what seem to be specific lesions in the testis. However, these represent intermediate or partial injuries, and do not necessarily constitute exceptions to the general pattern of testicular response to injury. As more is learned about the biochemistry of the germinal epithelium, it may be possible to induce specific lesions.

Quantitative studies on spermatogenesis have greatly clarified the role played by the pituitary gland. Spermatogenesis does proceed in hypophysectomized animals but only at a low rate. Also it appears that androgen, not gonadotrophin, is responsible for the maturation of the spermatid. However, it must be remembered that the formation of androgen is dependent on pituitary gonadotrophic function. Thus spermatogenesis is regulated entirely by pituitary gonadotrophins, which exert direct supervision over the rate of the mitotic and meiotic activity of germ cells and indirect supervision by way of the Leydig cell over spermatid maturation, or spermiogenesis. The effectiveness of androgen in sperm formation is hardly equal to that of the pituitary. Addition of trophic hormones (except gonadotrophin) or of hormones of the target glands (tliyi'oid, adrenal cortical hormone, etc. I will ])robably not improve the effectiveness of androgen. The best evidence that this surmise may be correct is obtained from jnitients with hypogonadotroi)hic hyl)ogonadism. These i)atients have normal function with respect to the other trophic hormones of the pituitary and, therefore, normally functioning peripheral glands, but do not have sperm.

The quantitative studies on the spermatogenic cycle have important bearing on other |)i'o]»lciiis wliicli have been i)uzzling to endocrinologists. jMany unsuccessful attempts have been made to induce precocious sperm formation in the rat by chronic or massive use of various gonadotrophins. The time of a complete spermatogenic cycle is not accurately known. Estimates ranging from 20 to 40 days have been given, which reflects the difficulties and errors of present methods. If one adds to the time at which sperm formation normally occurs in common strains of the laboratory rat (around 35 days of age ) , about 10 days borrowed from fetal life, the time of a complete spermatogenic cycle is probably between 45 and 50 days. Hence, no amount of exogenous gonadotrophin could be expected to produce precocious spermatogenesis, because a certain irreducible minimum of time may be recjuired for the series of divisions which in toto constitutes a spermatogenic cycle. However, if the interval between birth and maturity is much longer than the time of a complete spermatogenic cycle, precocious spermatogenesis could be experimentally achieved, as is again indicated by an example from clinical endocrinology, i.e., the spontaneous occurrence of isosexual precocity in boys.

In another clinical area, the application of quantitative techniques to the study of testes of iKitients afflicted with infertility has so far not yielded helpful information. Restoration of fertility in men with adult seminiferous tubular failure has not been accomplished. Infertility, however, is receiving increasing attention, especially from the standpoint of genie factors. It is in this area that the only startling development of knowledge on the testis in the past 20 years has occurred, i.e., the discovery that men with Klinefelter's syndrome are "genetic females." One may, with good reason, question the suitability of the term "genetic females." It arose from the application of Barr's discovery of sex dimorphism in the heterochromatin of somatic cells (Barr, 1956; Barr and Bertram, 1949; Moore and Barr, 1955) . Normal females are "chromatin positive"; normal males are "chromatin negative." This, however, may not be absolute. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome are chromatin positive, and if chromatin positivity reflects genie constitution, it is likely that the sterility of men with this syndrome (one of its outstanding features) represents an abnormality of chromosomal division or number during gametogenesis of one of their parents. Generally similar situations may occur in lower animals; hence, the role of genie factors in fertility can be studied experimentally.

Great advances have taken place in knowledge of the biosynthesis of male hormone by the testis. Illumination of the chemical pathway over which simple precursors (acetate) or more complex ones (cholesterol) are transformed to testosterone represents a major contribution in biochemistry. The enzymatic control of the various chemical steps will undoulitedly be disclosed before long.

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