THE MALE HORMONE 



could not refer to the testicles by name in the newspapers, and 

 introduced the expression "monkey glands," which became a 

 byword and finally a joke. Some of the patients reported 

 hopeful results. The grafts may indeed have yielded a little 

 of their hormone to the body before they disintegrated and 

 disappeared. More often, no doubt, the benefit was entirely 

 psychic. It is now clearly established that tissues from one 

 species of mammal cannot grow in another species, and indeed 

 it is practically impossible to secure a permanent transplant 

 from one human to another. Grafting of the testis has there- 

 fore not been adopted as a sound procedure. 



While we are on the subject of rejuvenation, we may as 

 well mention the Steinach operation. Eugen Steinach of 

 Vienna, a scientist of good reputation, came forward about 

 1920 with a proposal based on two premises. The first of 

 these, which has even yet not been proved, was that the testis 

 hormone is made entirely by the interstitial cells. (The ques- 

 tion will be discussed more fully below.) The second premise 

 has since been proved incorrect; it was that if the seminal 

 duct is tied off, the seminiferous tubules will degenerate leav- 

 ing more room for the interstitial cells, and these will increase 

 in number and presumably make more hormone. Steinach 

 believed that such a ligation of the seminal ducts of man 

 (vasectomy) would restore vitality of body and of sexual 

 function to elderly men. He brought forward apparently 

 strong evidence from animal experiments to support the 

 idea. The operation made a strong appeal to men who were 

 yearning to regain their lost youth. It has been tried widely, 

 but the medical profession remains unconvinced, and the 

 scientific basis for it as outlined above has been disproved. 



Meanwhile, through all this period of sensationalism and 

 premature publicity, the slow implacable attack upon the 

 problem by inconspicuous investigators has gone forward to 

 notable success. The important thing in endocrine research is 



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