The Influence of Androgen on the Male Accessory Reproductive Glands of the Guinea Pig: Studies on Growth, Histological Structure and Fructose and Citric Acid Secretion12

EXTENSIVE studies have been made in the past on the accessory reproductive glands of the guinea pig. Sayles (1, 2) observed that in this species, histological differentiation of the glands of young males was not completely inhibited by castration, and that regression of the glands of adult castrates did not occur in the sudden and striking manner that is typical of the glands of the rat. These findings raised the question of the relation of androgen to differentiation and to functional activity and suggested that a certain degree of normal secretory activity might proceed in the glands in the absence of testicular androgen. The important discovery of fructose and citric acid in the accessory glands of several species and the demonstration that the secretion of these substances is dependent on androgen (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) have made available clear-cut criteria for determining the relation of androgen to the development and maintenance of specific functional activity.