1 32 The Biochemistry of Semen 



human prostatic secretion, are macrophages packed with masses of 

 lipid granules which stain strongly red with eosin. The corpora 

 amylacea are small, soft, concentrically laminated spheroidal bodies, 

 pale yellow to dark brown in colour, frequently, though not invari- 

 ably, doubly refractile. They are usually located in the larger ducts 

 and acini of the prostate and are probably made up of desquamated 

 epithelial cells and prostatic secretion. They have been shown to 

 contain some cholesterol but according to Moore and Hanzel 

 (1936) the double refraction may be due to certain purines, decom- 

 position products of nucleoproteins, and not to lipids. The prostatic 

 calculi are ordinarily not more than a few mm. in diameter but 

 occasionally they may replace the whole prostatic parenchyma. 

 They are firm, calcified bodies, the basic structure of which, except 

 for size and infiltration by calcium salts, is apparently the same as 

 that of the corpora amylacea (Moore, 1936). Wollaston (1797) 

 described them as composed of 'phosphorated lime in the state of 

 neutralization, tinged with the secretion of the prostate gland'. He 

 was also the first to show that they are not urinary products. In 

 recent times, the chemical composition of prostatic calculi has been 

 investigated by Huggins and Bear (1944); a considerable proportion 

 of the prostatic stones was inorganic and consisted of calcium and 

 magnesium phosphates and carbonates but there was also some 21 % 

 of organic matter composed of protein, citrate and cholesterol 

 (Table 20). 



Although characteristic of the human prostate, corpora amylacea 

 are also found elsewhere, particularly among insectivores where 

 their production is considered to be one of the chief secretory 



Table 20. Chemical analysis of prostatic calculi (Huggins, 1947) 



