200 Discussion 



Montagna: This is a controversial point. We collected specimens once 

 a month from eight women from about the third month of pregnancy 

 through parturition and lactation, until their menstrual cycle had been 

 restored. We found nothing in the axillary glands that we could say 

 correlates with these changes. 



The only other person who has collected repeated biopsy specimens 

 from the same subjects over the menstrual cycle, is Klaar. We have 

 confirmed his work and we are the only ones who agree with him. We 

 are in disagreement with all others, who have relied entirely upon 

 autopsy material. 



Strauss: Prof. Montagna's magnificent paper is a very important 

 morphological contribution to the understanding of the life curve of 

 the human sex appeal! He mentioned very briefly, but very importantly 

 for the anatomist, that he does not like to call the glands "apocrine 

 glands". I would like to ask him why not? 



Montagna: This is a matter of definition. In apocrine glands the head- 

 portion of the secretory cells should pinch off and disintegrate to form 

 the secretion. Whereas this takes place in some cells, most cells secrete 

 by giving off little globules of secretion at the brush-border. I think that 

 that is the way most of the secretion takes place. 



Strauss: You would call them eccrine glands? 



Montagna: No! Since one cannot combat terminology by creating 

 new terms I stick with the old terms! 



Amoroso: An essentially similar view has been propounded by 

 Richardson in respect of the secretion of milk. 



Huggett: I am interested in certain points. I gather that you have 

 not been able to test these more mysterious portions on animals — you 

 might get animal material. I was wondering what is the distribution 

 of these glands in animals and whether you might not be able to satisfy 

 — shall I say that sex appeal — by getting animals who are prepared to 

 supply their skin? 



Montagna: Although we have done a great deal of work on other 

 mammalian glands, they are not nearly so interesting. Most tubular 

 glands in other mammals are fairly dull ; they secrete very deliberately, 

 with the exception of those of the horse and the pig which secrete fairly 

 profusely. The inguinal glands of the rabbit are large but they secrete 

 only traces of a musky smelling substance. 



Huggett: This is a species story? 



Montagna: I am afraid it is. 



Huggett: And you have not got an animal species you can use as an 

 experimental subject? 



Montagna: No. Even among the Primates, the lemurs and the 

 Platyrrhines have only apocrine, whereas the Catarrhines have both 

 eccrine and apocrine. The chimpanzee has more eccrine glands than 

 apocrine, and the orang has very few eccrine glands. 



Huggett: To what extent is this a sex-distributed characteristic? You 

 spoke of the male as having deliberate changes — now I do not know 

 what the word "deliberate" means in that context. 



Montagna: The change is very much slower. I mentioned that in 



