GONADOTROPIC SUBSTANCES 



about 3 weeks into immature male magots (M. inuus?). 

 Testicular descent was incomplete; but marked changes 

 ("spongiocyte" formation) occurred in the interstitial cells 

 together with hypertrophy of the seminal vesicles and 

 prostate. They observed no effect on spermatogenesis. 



Schapiro (1930) was the first to administer prolan to boys 

 or men; he injected as much as 600 rat-units daily. In cases 

 of cryptorchidism or partial descent of the testis he caused 

 complete descent in 14 cases and partial descent in others. 

 More recently Aberle and Jenkins (1934) injected prolan 

 into four boys with undescended testicles. Partial descent in 

 one case and complete descent in another (both in the 

 inguinal canal at the beginning of treatment) followed the ad- 

 ministration of total doses of 1,700 to 4,500 rat-units. Rubin- 

 stein (1934) reported that descent of the testes from the ab- 

 domen into the inguinal canal followed the injection of pro- 

 lan into a boy suffering from dystrophia adiposogenitalis. 



THE ORIGIN OF PROLAN 



By what organ is prolan secreted? — In the discussion of the 

 tissues and body-fluids from which prolan can be obtained 

 during pregnancy the question of its origin was postponed 

 for later consideration. Zondek particularly has maintained 

 that prolan is secreted by the anterior pituitary; others, 

 among the first of whom was Philipp, believed that the 

 placenta secreted prolan. The evidence for and against these 

 views will be considered in this section and may conveniently 

 be classified as follows: 



1. The gonadotropic effects of the anterior pituitary, placenta, and other 

 tissues during pregnancy. 



2. Analogous or different effects following the administration of prolan 

 or anterior pituitary extract to normal or hypophysectomized animals. 



The distribution of gonadotr-opic substances in tissues of 

 pregnant women. — In their first reports, Aschheim and Zon- 

 dek (1926, 1927) recognized that considerable amounts of 



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