328 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 



dog which showed every sign of senility and decrepitude, but after 

 the operation of bilateral vasectomy was rejuvenated and restored to 

 a state of robust vigour. 



Voronoff has made a similar claim for the interstitial tissue of the 

 testis and appears to regard the hormone secreted by this gland as 

 the veritable "elixir of life." The body is pictured as a battle- 

 ground in which there is a prolonged struggle between the " primitive 

 cells" (represented by those of the connective tissue) and the 

 " specialised cells " which show an intenser metabolic activity, and 

 senescence indicates the progress of the former, with death as their 

 complete victory. The internal secretory organs exercise a regulating 

 influence on the combat, and more especially the interstitial gland, 

 for the atrophy or loss of this leads to a rapid victory by the 

 connective tissue cells. The eunuchs of Egypt are cited as evidence 

 of the truth of this view, and a number of experiments upon animals 

 are referred to or described, and, as in Steinach's memoir, photographs 

 and other illustrations are shown representing animals (sheep, goats, 

 etc.) displaying all the signs of senescence, and then later after a 

 successful testicular graft had had a sufficient time to work its 

 rejuvenating influence upon the metabolism. 1 A possible fallacy in 

 all such experiments is the effect of nutritional or any environmental 

 influence other than that of the graft, and the conclusions reached 

 must at present be accepted with caution. 



Lichtenstern 2 states that the prejudicial effects of castration in 

 man may be remedied by a successful testicular graft, and this is 

 believed to be due to the influence of the puberty gland. 



Steinach 3 had previously found that in rats in which the testes 

 were removed and successfully transplanted into the abdominal 

 cavity the penis and accessory male organs developed normally. 



Poehl 4 claims to have prepared from the testis a substance having 

 the chemical composition represented by the formula C 5 H U N 2 . He 

 believes this substance, which he calls spermine, to be the active 

 principle of Brown-Sequard's testicular extract, stating that it has 

 a beneficial influence over the metabolism of the body and acts as 

 a physiological tonic (see p. 299). 



1 Voronoff, Vivre, Paris, 1920. This work contains reprints of histological 

 papers by Retterer as an Appendix. 



2 Lichtenstern, " Behebung von Kastrationsfolge beim Menschen durch 

 Transplantation von cryptorchen Hoden," Munch, ined. Woch. (19), 1916. See 

 also Steinach and Lichtenstern, " Umstimmung der Homosexualitat durch 

 Austausch der Pubertatsdrusen," Munch, med. Woch. (21), 1918. For further 

 testicular transplantation results in man, see abstracts of papers by Stanley and 

 Kelker, and others in Endocrinology, vols. i.-iv., 1918-21. 



3 Steinach, " Geschlechtstrieb und echt sekundare Geschlechtscharactere," 

 Zent. f. Physiol., vol. xxiv., 1910. 



4 Poehi, " Weitere Mitteilungen iiber Spermin," Berliner Jclin. Wochenschrift, 

 1891. 



