MAMMALIAN OVARY 



46.- 



Vu,. 7.S. Aticiic lolliric in immature rat gi\en progesterone for 3 day: 

 and second metaphase si>indle. (Courtesy of Dr. J. T. Biadbury.) 



mones and are among the most important 

 hormones participating in the regulation of 

 reproductive physiology. In the present 

 hook, as in editions 1 and 2, the discussions 

 of their many actions consititute one of the 

 central themes. 



Relaxin is a protein rather than a steroid 

 hormone and has always been considered 

 more or less apart from the latter. The steps 

 in proving its existence were reviewed by 

 Hisaw and Zarrow in 1950, and the present 

 status of the subject is discussed in the chap- 

 ter by Zarrow. Unlike the other ovarian hor- 

 mones, its clinical value is still uncertain 

 (Swann and Schumacher, 1958; Stone, 1959). 



Ovarian androgens present a perplexing 

 problem. Evidence for their production is 

 abundant (Guyenot and Naville-Trolliet. 

 1936; Hill, 1937a, b; Deanesly, 1938a; Brad- 

 bury and Gaensbauer, 1939; Greene and 

 Burrill, 1939; Chamorro, 1943; Price, 1944; 

 Katsh, 1950; Desclin, 1955; Johnson, 1958). 

 l)ut the extent to which they are produced 

 l)y the ovaries of normal females, and the 

 nature of their action in normal females are 



uncertain (Parkes, 1950). It has been pos- 

 tulated that they are produced during the 

 normal cycle in the rat. Payne, Hellbaum 

 and Owens (1956) suggested that the inter- 

 stitial androgens produced at estrus are re- 

 sponsible for the postovulatory atresia of 

 the partially developed follicles. The pro- 

 duction of ovarian androgens has been dem- 

 onstrated most effectively under abnormal 

 conditions of stimulation. The newborn rat 

 ovary will produce androgens when stimu- 

 lated by human chorionic gonadotrophin 

 (Bradbury and Gaensbauer, 1939). The 

 treated infant rat shows a marked enlarge- 

 ment of the clitoris and may even develop 

 the cartilage anlage of the os penis. Female 

 guinea pigs are masculinized by injections 

 of HOG (Guyenot and Naville-Trolliet, 

 1936). Ovaries transplanted to the ear of 

 the castrate male mouse will produce enough 

 androgen to maintain the prostate and semi- 

 nal vesicle (Hill, 1937a, b). Ovarian trans- 

 l^lants into the seminal vesicle may exhibit 

 a localized androgenic stimulation of that 

 tissue (Katsh, 1950). Ovaries of a rat in 



