PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF GONADS 165 



condition (at least in the case of the ovary), a very long time in 

 proportion to the length of life of the animal. And not only does the 

 ovary obtain enough vascularization to persist, but it also pro- 

 ceeds in its most obvious function — that of the development of 

 the ovum from the primordial-follicle stage to the stage of matu- 

 ration or formation of polar bodies; this process of development 

 is going on in a male animal that is functioning as a male with 

 one normal testis present. The demonstration of such a set of 

 facts proves the possibility of a functional hermaphroditic con- 

 dition in mammals. 



A question may arise as to the actual functional condition 

 of the ovarian graft, but beyond a doubt the mosit apparent 

 function of the ovary — that of affording a suitable environment 

 in which the germ cells can grow and become mature — has been 

 adequately demonstrated; failure of ovulation is of secondary 

 importance. 



The writer is entirely unable to account for the consistently 

 negative results obtained by Steinach. On reading his papers 

 one concludes that this investigator has conducted many opera- 

 tions of a similar nature to those described in this paper, though 

 it is very difficult in many cases to ascertain the extent of his 

 actual manipulations. He consistently maintains that a secre- 

 tion from the interstitial cells of a sex gland (Pubertatsdrlise) 

 acts in a double capacity — that of promoting the somatic and 

 psychical characteristics of the animal whose sex is represented 

 by the graft, and at the same time inhibiting the characteristics 

 of the opposite sex. My own observations do not substantiate 

 his assertions that an ovarian graft in a male animal wdll inhibit 

 the growth of the testis or other masculine structures and the 

 psychical nature of the animal; or that a testicle or testis graft 

 prevents the growth of an ovary or inhibits the function of the 

 gland. In a male animal with one testicle intact and uninjured, 

 ovarian grafting has been so successful that both ovarian grafts 

 have persisted for a period of eight months (animal 49 A) in a 

 condition that must be regarded as functional; and these two 

 comparatively large ovarian grafts, though present for this 

 relatively long period, have had no apparent inhibiting effect 



