398 CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANISMS 



A number of newer compounds have been investigated for anabolic 

 eflFects in animals and man. Burke and Liddle (1959) have recently 

 reported ll/?-OH-17a-methyltestosterone, 2-OH-methyl-17a-methyl-di- 

 hydrotestosterone, and A^-17a-methyltestosterone to be active in man. 

 Foss ( 1960) has noted A'-17a-methyltestosterone to increase weight and 

 height in children and hypogonadal patients, and a pyrazole derivative 

 of 17-methylandrosterone is reported to be anabolic (Howard et al., 

 1959). 



Estrogens and nitrogen retention. High doses of estrogen can cause 

 nitrogen retention in eunuchoid and normal subjects ( Knowlton et al., 

 1942). Thus the increased output of estrogen in the female at adoles- 

 cence may play some role in increasing body weight at that time. 



Individual organ growth 



The discussion so far has been concerned with the more general 

 aspects of steroids as related to effects on linear growth and weight 

 growth. The end organs have been, respectively, bone and skeletal 

 muscle. Other tissues significantly influenced by steroids are the sec- 

 ondary sex organs of the male and female. The growth and mainte- 

 nance of these structures is directly dependent on the production of 

 androgens and estrogens. 



When castration is performed in mammals before puberty, the 

 secondary sex organs fail to develop. The organs involved in the male 

 are the penis, scrotum, vas deferens, epididymis, seminal vesicles, pros- 

 tate, Cowper's gland, and preputial gland. In the female, the uterus, 

 fallopian tubes, vagina, and breasts are particularly affected. Castration 

 in either sex after puberty causes involution and atrophy of these 

 organs. Treatment with the proper steroid can prevent the secondary 

 effects of postpuberal castration, and if given to the prepuberal cas- 

 trate, it will induce growth of these organs. 



Although these statements refer to mammals, analagous changes 

 have been observed in birds (which have been studied extensively), 

 in reptiles, and in amphibians. A discussion of the growth relationships 

 of all of these organs to steroids is beyond the scope of this paper, and 

 references to other sources should be made. The relationships that do 

 exist will be illustrated by brief reference to the effects of steroids on 

 the growth of the cock's comb, the seminal vesicle, and the prostate 

 gland. 



Growth of cock's comb. As early as 1849 Berthold demonstrated 

 that the cock's comb underwent atrophy after castration. The atrophy 

 could be prevented by transplantation of the testis into a new site such 

 as the abdominal cavity. It was also noted that the comb of the capon 

 remained atrophic after castration, and that testicular implantation 



