GONADOTROPIC SUBSTANCES 



seminal epithelium (Engle, 1929; Kraus, 1930; Neumann and 

 Peter, 1931; and Gostimirovic, 1932). 



Dorfmiiller and De Fremery (1932) reported that typical 

 effects could be produced in rats only 10 days old. The injec- 

 tion of prolan into adult mice and rats may cause a consider- 

 able hypertrophy of the accessory sexual organs without, 

 however, altering the histological appearance of the testis 

 (Brouha and Simmonet, 1929, 1930; Boeters, 1931; and 

 Moore and Price, 193 1). De Jongh and Laqueur (1931) in- 

 jected 5 mouse-units of prolan daily for 2 weeks into "senile" 

 male rats (most of these weighed less than 200 g.) ; as a result 

 there occurred stimulation of interstitial cell activity with 

 hypertrophy of the testis but without an effect on spermato- 

 genesis. The seminal vesicles were often found to be enor- 

 mously hypertrophied. Spermatogenesis did not appear in 

 the cryptorchid testes of adult rats which were given prolan 

 (Nelson, 1934). 



Bourg (1930, 1 931) irradiated (X-rays) the testes of young 

 rats and thus produced degenerative changes in the germinal 

 epithelium. He believed that the administration of prolan 

 hastened the repair of the damaged germinal epithelium per- 

 haps because of some developmental interdependence be- 

 tween Leydig's cells and the germinal epithelium. The meta- 

 bolism of isolated testis of rats after the administration of 

 prolan was investigated by Reiss, Druckrey, and Fischl 

 (1932). The most marked effect — an increase in aerobic 

 glycolysis — was observed after the injection of prolan into 

 immature rats for 3 or 4 days. There were also moderate 

 increases in anaerobic glycolysis and oxygen consumption. 

 No convincing change in metabolism was observed in the 

 testes of injected adult rats. 



The efect of prolan on the genital tract of the male guinea 

 pig, rabbit, hedgehog, and ferret. — Both Brouha and Simmonet 

 (1930) and Papanicolaou and Falk (1934) have commented 

 on the striking hypertrophy of the penis observed in imma- 



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