INFLUENCE OF OVAKY ON GENERATIVE TRACT 617 



as the operation in the cases observed seems to have been, not a genuine 

 castration, but merely a mutilation of the external organs. Tandler and 

 Grosz quote Miklucho Macley (reference not given) as reporting a case of 

 castration in early girlhood occurring in Queensland. The breasts were 

 described as only slightly developed and there was little subcutaneous 

 tissue. The buttocks were lean and there was hair upon the chin. No 

 mention was made of any disproportion in the development of the 

 skeleton. 



The results of animal experiments, as reported by Hegar (d), Alter- 

 tum, Pfister, Glaevecke, tBucura and others, seem to show that removal of 

 the ovaries in early life causes a retardation of the entire genital apparatus, 

 the uterus and tubes remaining rudimentary. It seems fair to conclude 

 that the results of castration in the girl before puberty are probably of a 

 similar nature. 



The experimental studies of Sellheim (&) (1899) upon female animals 

 are of interest in this connection, in that they demonstrated that castra- 

 tion in early life is productive of skeletal changes analogous to those 

 observed in human eunuchism the disproportionately long extremities, 

 the retardation of epiphyseal closure, etc. 



The well-known work of Tandler and Grosz (b) upon the results of 

 castration as observed in the Russian religious sect known as the Skop<zi 

 led to the division of eunuchs into two principal types. In one, the 

 individual is tall and thin, with smooth, and, in males, beardless face, 

 the countenance being round and rather wrinkled. In the "fat" type of 

 eunuch, there is a marked adiposity, especially in the lower abdominal 

 region, the mamma9, the buttocks and hips. 



In both types it seems to be agreed that there is a loss of sexual 

 feeling, while it is common to observe such symptoms as loss of energy, 

 poor memory, and various actual psychoses, in the case of neuropathic 

 individuals (Goodell, Pfister, Glaevecke, etc.). 



Agenitalism Due to Castration in Later Life. The complete surgical 

 removal of ovarian tissue 1 is an operation now so frequently performed that 

 the resulting clinical picture is well known. It does not differ in any 

 material way from the syndrome presented by the normal menopause. The 

 impression has been current among gynecologists that the symptoms of 

 the artificial menopause are more severe the earlier in life the ovaries 

 are removed. The statistics of Culbertson, however, do not bear out this 

 idea, and I have myself been impressed with the slight degree of disturb- 

 ance often following castration when this is made necessary in very young 

 women. The personal equation appears to be the prime factor in regu- 

 lating the severity of the symptoms, just as in the case of the normal 

 menopause. The symptoms of the surgical climacteric are so similar in 

 character to those of the natural menopause, next to be discussed, that one 

 description will suffice for both. 



