ovum-like bodies in the testis 573 



Description of the Displaced Testis of a Frog. 



A frog, Eana temporaria, was killed in April 1916. It 

 was an adult, measuring 5-2 cm. from the tip of its snout to 

 the symphysis of the pubis, while its accessory sexual apparatus 

 and its secondary sexual characters were entirely and typically 

 male. During the dissection it was noticed that while the left 

 gonad was a testis, normal in every respect, the right gonad was 

 missing. But there was a tumour 10 mm. long and 6 mm. 

 broad, encased in a fibrous tissue capsule and firmly attached 

 to the muscle-sheaths of the m. rectus abdominis and 

 m. triceps fern oris and lying upon and distal to the right 

 groin. Naturally it was assumed that this tumour was the 

 missing testis and search was made for vasa efferentia but 

 none could be found, for the tumour was not connected with 

 any part of the genital system. Further dissection showed that 

 there was a hernia, the sac of which was provided by the 

 abdominal peritoneum and which w^as covered by the stretched 

 fibres of the m. obliquus extern us. The neck of the sac 

 was almost completely obliterated by fibrous over-growth 

 and was adherent to the adjacent surfaces of the m. rectus 

 abdominis and m . triceps f e m o r i s at the site of their 

 origin, while the dorsal surface of the tumour was firmly 

 adherent to the ventral surface of the latter muscle. It is 

 of interest to note that the location of this tumour is very 

 nearly that of a testis in the scrotum : it lay close to where 

 the external ring of the inguinal canal would be. 



On section the left gonad has the structure of the normal 

 testis. The tumour proved to be the missing testis, but its 

 structure is peculiar in that while the tissues near the periphery 

 have the normal structure of a testis, the central parts of the 

 gonad consists of a loose matrix of indefinite tissue amongst 

 which many large bodies closely resembling ova are found. 

 The gonad has the structure of the intermediate gonad as 

 defined by Schmitt-Marcel ^ and of the testis of indirect 

 development as described by Witschi.- The testis is encased 



1 ' Arch, f. mikr. Anat.', vol. 72, p. 516, 1908. ^ j^i^j^ y^i §5, 1914. 

 NO. 264 R r 



