Sexual Dimorphism in the Submaxillary Gland of the Pig

A biochemical sexual dimorphism exists in the submaxillary gland of the pig. Patterson (1968) identified 5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol and 5α-androst-16-en-3-one in the submaxillary gland of boars but found none in the female pig. Booth (1972) isolated testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone from the submaxillary glands of boars only. These observations suggest that the submaxillary gland of the boar, like that of the male mouse (Berkman & Kronman, 1970), may be a target organ for androgen. In the mouse, hypertrophy of the granular serous tubules in the submaxillary gland is known to occur under the influence of androgen (Berkman & Kronman, 1970) and the possibility that a similar situation might exist in the pig was therefore examined. In addition, the activity of Δ5-3 β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the gland was studied histochemically. Submaxillary glands were removed from nineteen Large White X Essex pigs of different ages, and weighed within 30 min of slaughter (see