THE FUNCTION OF (ESTRIN 121 



have successfully treated ovariectomy atrophy, amenorrhoea, 

 sterility, dysmenorrhoea, infantile conditions of the genitalia, 

 and menopause symptoms. Laqueur (357) reports some 

 success in treating amenorrhoea. 



It is clear that in considering all such clinical work, due 

 attention must be paid to the difficulty of adequately controlhng 

 work'on the human, and also to the psychological factor involved. 

 Little can be deduced from the results at present, but it seems 

 probable that oestrin will have some clinical use, especially in 

 expediting labour (see p. 205). 



Murphey and his co-workers (471) have reported some trials of 

 the value of oestrin in veterinary practice. 



Action on the male. Various authors have investigated the 

 effects of oestrin on the male, particularly upon the testis. 

 Adverse effects were reported by Herrmann and Stein (295) who 

 found that the attainment of maturity was delayed in young 

 male rats and rabbits by injections of ovarian lipoids. Heavier 

 doses produced degenerative changes in the testis similar to 

 those caused by X-rays. Fellner (195) confirmed these 

 results, but found that the administration of testis lipoids had 

 the same effect, which was therefore probably not specific. 

 Gould and Doisy (see Allen and Doisy, 21) arrived at a similar 

 conclusion. Bugbee and Simond (112) failed to find any adverse 

 effects on the male. Fels (204) has described an inhibiting action 

 of blood serum of pregnancy on male genitalia, probably due to its 

 oestrin content. Laqueur and co-workers (345) have recently 

 produced degenerative testis changes with a comparatively pure 

 preparation of oestrin, and some 'anti-masculine' action may 

 therefore occur. It is difficult to reconcile this conclusion with 

 the presence of oestrin-like substances in the male urine (see 

 p. no) and possibly in the testis. 



Action on non-mammals. Riddle and Tange (535-6), and 

 Loewe, Voss and Paas (419) have investigated the action of 

 oestrin in birds, but no definite results have been obtained. 



[c] LIMITS OF ACTION 



Many workers have suggested that oestrin is the one and only 

 ovarian hormone, and that it controls all the changes of the 



