422 



PHYSIOLOGY OF GONADS 



Fig. 6.45. Moil-^c .^einiiial mmcIi- l'li(iiniiiicinmn|ilis x 7UU. C'ain(>\-'- ti\ati\ c-nictliylcnie 

 blue. Top, normal mali' ; in k Idle 7-ila\ ca-tiaN , iMJitoin, intact male ticatcil wil li ic.-tostcionp 

 proprionate for 7 days. Hasoi)lidic inatciial ( ciga-tDplasm) occurs at the hasc and along lat- 

 eral margins of cells; the Golgi zone appears clear; secretory granules are unstained. Baso- 

 philic material and Golgi zone are less evident after castration and more highly developed 

 after testosterone treatment than normal. (From H. W. Deane and K. R. Porter, unjnib- 

 lished.) 



themselves Init to (liiuiniition in <2;onado- 

 trophin titer by way of pituitary inhibi- 

 tion. Moore and Samuels (1931) showed 

 that gonadotrophin or androgen treatment 

 repaired the atrophied accessory glands in 

 vitamin B-deficient rats and in those on 

 limited food intake. Further, Lutwak-Mann 

 and Mann (1950) demonstrated reduction of 

 fructose and citric acid in accessory glands 

 of rats on a vitamin B-deficient diet, but 

 treatment with chorionic gonadotrophin not 

 only restored the levels of these substances 

 to normal but produced hypersecretion. 

 Grayhack and Scott ( 1952 ) reported that the 

 growth response to testosterone propionate 

 of the ventral and posterior prostate in cas- 

 trated rats on reduced food intake, vitamin- 

 free casein, or glucose was little different 

 from normally fed rats at lower dosages, but 

 at higher levels there was less resj^onse in 

 rats on limited dietarv intake. Testosterone 



propionate did not produce normal stimula- 

 tion of the accesisory glands in castrated 

 mice on limited food intake (Goldsmith and 

 Nigrelli, 1950) . In adult rats, a folic acid an- 

 tagonist (Aminopterin) partially prevented 

 the reduction in jirostatic weight produced 

 by estradiol but did not interfere with 

 testosterone stimulation of the prostate in 

 castrated adults or intact immature animals 

 (Brendler, 1949). 



The senile changes which occur in ad- 

 x'anced age in the prostate glands of tlie 

 rat, mouse and of man have been describetl 

 by Moore (1936) and interjireted on tht. 

 basis of decrease in testicular androgen. 

 Presenile variations in histologic structui'e 

 are pr()l)al)ly ivhited to changes in respon- 

 siveness to andi'ogens. In a brief report on 

 electron microscopy (Harkin, 1957b), in- 

 volutional changes in the rat ventral pros- 

 tate were described. With increasing age. 



