HERMAPHRODITISMUS VERUS IN MAN 275 



Every embryo has the anlagen of the efferent ducts for the 

 expulsion of both male and female products of the genital glands, 

 which indicates that the male and female sexual apparatus are 

 rather distinct from one another, thus it does not seem impossible 

 that two distinct regions of the germinal epithelium might exist 

 next to one another, one giving off the male, the other the female 

 primordial cells. Wliy is the Mlillerian duct always laid down in 

 the male if there are no female tendencies in the undifferentiated 

 embryo? It seems that in every embryo there is a trace of a 

 female tendency. Some authors, Benda for instance, go so far 

 as to claim "that the primary anlage of the entire sexual system 

 of the vertebrates must be regarded as female." Waldeyer's 

 view, however, may be correct, that the Miillerian duct alone is 

 the primary efferent duct for the genital glands in both sexes. He 

 believes that in its function it corresponds to the primitive open- 

 ing for the products of the gonads in the lowest vertebrates, the 

 porus abdominalis. This scarcely seems possible, since in some 

 fish adbominal pores and efferent genital ducts exist side by side 

 and thus the second do not replace the first. Benda on the basis of 

 Waldeyer's view may be justified in his conclusion that at no 

 time do both ducts, Wolffian and Miillerian, exist as parallel 

 genital ducts. Yet this is not entirely true, for the Wolffian duct, 

 even in early periods, when it certainly serves as the mesonephric 

 duct, must possess the potential faculty of developing into a male 

 genital duct. This faculty is possessed by the duct in all embryos, 

 whether the further development is male or female. 



In the resulting female the possession of the quality to develop 

 the mesonephric duct into a male sperm duct seems likely, if not 

 proven, by the fact that the remnants of the Wolffian body, the 

 Epoophoron and Paroophoron, closely resembling the structure of 

 some parts of the epididymis, are found to exist. 



The present case is interesting in still another du-ection. The 

 sister of this hermaphrodite also shows irregularities in the forma- 

 tion of the external genital organs. Unfortunately only the 

 testimony of laymen could be secured regarding this. In man a 

 hereditary tendency towards hermaphroditism has never been 

 scientifically proven, though several cases have been supported 



