194 The Biochemistry of Semen 



of the accessory glands, frequency of ejaculation, volume of semen» 

 ratio between sperm and seminal plasma, and last but not least, the 

 blood glucose level. Above all, it is essential to bear in mind that 

 profound changes in the composition of semen, elicited in response 

 to drastic experimental procedures like castration or hypophy- 

 sectomy, are unlikely to be equalled in extent by those encountered 

 in hormonally deficient humans or in large domestic animals. 



Having thus come to the end of my discourse, I would like to 

 leave the last word with Leeuwenhoek; when reporting in 1677 to the 

 Rt. Hon. the Viscount Brouncker, President of the Royal Society, 

 upon the progress of his researches on semen, he felt it incum- 

 bent upon him to add: .'If your Lordship should consider that these 

 observations may disgust or scandalize the learned, I earnestly beg 

 your Lordship to regard them as private and publish or destroy 

 them, as your Lordship thinks fit.' 



