772 VII. LIPID DISTRIBUTION IN SPECIFIC TISSUES 



occurrence of this unusual sterol in the preputial glands, in the caput 

 epididymis, and in the corpus epididymis, but not in the testes, cauda 

 epididymis, seminal vesicles, coagulating glands, or in the prostate. The 

 presence of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the lipids of the male genital organs 

 seems to be peculiar to the rat. Srere and associates 7 have demonstrated 

 that cholesterol can be synthesized from acetate in the rat testicles. 



{2) Lipids in the Ovaries 



a. The Lipid Composition of Resting Ovaries. In the female, the chief 

 interest has centered in the composition of the lipids of the corpus luteum 

 and placenta. Since the lipid composition differs with the various phases 

 of the estrus cycle, as well as with those of pregnancy, it is difficult to assign 

 a definite composition to the lipids of the ovary. Fenger 374 noted that the 

 phospholipid content of the corpus luteum was comparable to that of other 

 endocrine organs (except the thyroid), and that it was about fifteen times 

 as high as in muscle tissue. Cartland and Hart 375 reported that about one- 

 half of the acetone-soluble portion of the lipids consisted of glycerides, and 

 the balance of fatty acids and soaps. The fatty acids in the total extract, 

 35% of which were saturated and 65% unsaturated, consisted of the fol- 

 lowing: palmitic, 25%; stearic, 11%; oleic, 33%; linoleic, 17%; arachi- 

 donic, 8%; and 4.8% of a new, hexaunsaturated acid of the C 2 o series, 

 having the formula C20H24O2. These workers reported the presence of a 

 considerable quantity of cholesterol, both in the form of the free alcohol 

 and as the palmitic acid ester. On the other hand, considerable variation 

 in the fatty acid make-up of lecithin from that of the triglycerides was 

 noted by Hart and Heyl. 376 Although they found palmitic, oleic, arachi- 

 donic, and another 20-carbon acid having 3 double bonds, in the lecithin 

 from corpus luteum, no linoleic or linolenic acid was present, and stearic 

 acid occurred only to a minimal extent, if at all. The cephalin fraction ap- 

 peared to be similar to that obtained from liver, heart, and brain, and con- 

 sisted chiefly of phosphatidylethanolamine. Swine ovaries contained about 

 0.80% of phospholipids (moist basis), of which approximately 0.4% could 

 be isolated as pure plasmalogens. 40 



b. The Lipid Composition of the Ovaries as Related to the Estrus 

 Cycle. Cholesterol and phospholipids have been shown to undergo marked 

 changes during the estrus cycle. As early as 1912, ChaufTard and his collab- 



374 F. Fenger, J. Biol. Chem., 27, 303-307 (1916). 



376 G. F. Cartland and M. C. Hart, J. Biol. Chem., 66, 619-637 (1925). 



376 M. C. Hart and F. W. Heyl, /. Biol. Chem., 70, 663-674, 675-682 (1926). 



