SEX STUDIES VII. CYSTIC DEGENERATION OF THE OVARIES. 7/ 



the ab'sence of luteair tisisue. T'hisi cow probably ovulated for 

 the last time aibout November i6, 19 12 (see page 69 supra). 

 At least she ceasecli at that itime toi sbow signis of oes'truim, 

 which tin the cow are associialted with ovulation. By thie follow- 

 ing summer, supposdng ovulation itO' have stojpiped at the date 

 suggested, lutear tissue in the ovary woidd either liave entirely 

 disaippeared or been reduced lO' a very simall amount. But it 

 was at ithis time (isummer of 1913) that the oow began visibly 

 to take oin the secoinJdary dharaoters of the male. On the whole, 

 the evidence seems as complete as it is possible to make it froim 

 observational data (in the albsence of experimental) that the 

 absence O'f lutear substance in the ovaries was^ causally con- 

 nected with the assumption of male siecondary characters. It is 

 greatly to be regretted that this: cow was not injected with 

 corpus luteum insteaid oif piituitary body sulbstance. 



The view above oiutlined suggesifcs that the corpus luteum 

 is one of the chief active ovarian agents in mammals in main- 

 taining the "femalleness" of the individual, in addition to its 

 other functions of inhibiting ovulation, etc. There is a good 

 deal of evidence that such is in fact the case. 



One line of evidence of this soirt is furnished by the clinical 

 data following administration of corpus luteum material in one 

 form or another in cases lof arrested' sexual dcveloipment in the 

 female. It is not the place here to review this literature in 

 deibail. One very dlear-cut auid definite case may be cited, how- 

 ever. This case, from the standpoint of the biologist, is par- 

 ticularly favorable anidl pertinent in the present coninedtioni, 

 since it is free from any associated pathological disturbances 

 wihich so frequently -make the interpretation, from a theoretical 

 Qtandpoinit, of clinical data very difficult or imipossiible. 



The case referred to- is one repo^rted by Elliott". The essen- 

 tial facts are as follows: I have italicized the parts of partic- 

 ular initeresit from the (present standlpoint. 



''Patierut. Mrs. M., white, aged 27, married five years, has 

 never been pregnant, and isi anxiouis tO' bave a child. 



"Examination. General condition good, muscular, not fat; 

 figure like thait of a boy of 18; narrow hips, undeveloped 



"Elliott, H. R. A 'Case of Infantile Uterus and Appendages with Result 

 of Treatment. Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, Vol. LXII, pp. 1085-1086, 1914. 



