Dramatic Response of the Chick Oviduct to Estrogen

It is well known that the immature oviduct of the domestic fowl will hypertrophy under the influence of exogenous estrogen. Apparently, Wolff’s (1936) report recorded the greatest degree of stimulation. With doses of 12,000 to 25,000 I.U. of estradiol benzoate he caused a 10-fold increase in the diameter of the oviducts of young chicks. In an earlier study of the comparative efficiency of various estrogens, the authors (1940) found that 0.1 mg. of α-estradiol dipropionate will produce a two-fold increase in the oviduct weights of 17-day-old White Leghorn chicks. Further unreported work in this laboratory showed that the original 0.1 mg. dose was very close to the threshold value and that larger doses would produce much greater responses. Accordingly an experiment was carried out with doses ranging up to 2 mg. Results of the study are shown in Table 1. Contrary to our expectations the results of this study clearly . . .