08 On the Sterilitu of Hie Tortoiseshell Tom Cat 



The abundance of interstitial tissue is also of interest in connexion 

 with the supposed function of this mass of cells. Bouin and Ancel in 

 the paper quoted above (p. 514) write in regard to the function: " Nous 

 admettons done que, chez les Mammiferes, I'instinct sexuel et les 

 caracteres sexuels secondaires (cette expression etant prise dans son 

 sens le plus large) se trouvent sous la d^pendance de la glande 

 intcrstitielle du testicule." This statement has also been confirmed 

 by many authors. In view of this it is worthy of note that in the 

 tortoiseshell male cat investigated, the sexual instincts were exceptionally 

 strongly developed. 



Other cases of a similar character. 



Owing to the kindness of Dr F. H. A. Marshall we were able to 

 examine sections of the testes of an hermaphrodite pig which was sent 

 to him for examination. A full report of the case can be found in 

 a paper by J. Hammond in the Journal of Anatoiny and Physiology, 

 Vol. XLVi. 1911-12, p. 307. 



Only the reproductive organs were sent for examination, but it was 

 afterwards discovered that the testes were undescended. The male 

 organs were the same on both sides and consisted of testes apparently 

 normal, epididymis, and vas deferens which ran into a seminal vesicle, 

 and which communicated with the urethra in the usual way. The 

 female organs were also found on both sides and consisted of bodies 

 presumed to be ovaries, situated just below the testes, but which 

 microscopic evidence showed to be masses of lymphatic tissue, and of 

 Fallopian tubes which ended blindly by the sides of the testes but were 

 connected at the lower ends with the superior ends of the cornua of 

 the uterus, which was well developed and normal. 



The external genitalia were composed of a small penis 2 cm. long, 

 with a small external opening placed on the dorsal side. 



Owing to differences in preservation and staining some of the details 

 are not so clear as in the section of the cat, but it is evident (Fig. 4) 

 that the interstitial ti.ssue was essentially of the same nature as that 

 already figured. Some of the individual cells are more definite than in the 

 previous case, but the nuclei are typical. There are, however, very few 

 of the darkly stained granules lying in the cytoplasm, vvhich were so 

 characteristic a feature of both the normal cat and the tortoiseshell cat. 

 The tubules are smaller than normal and show much vacuolation, 

 but there is no definite lumen. Many cells are situated on the jjeriphery, 



