Inhibin: from Hypothesis to Clinical Application

WE are used to thinking of the gonads as sites for the production of steroid hormones, spermatozoa, and ova. It is now clear that the testes and ovaries produce many other substances, some of which, such as growth factors, may be important in controlling physiologic functions within the gonads themselves, whereas others, such as inhibin and activin, may have important hormonal roles. These substances could be important in the development of new methods to control human fertility and treat infertility. The measurement of inhibin in serum is likely to assume clinical importance as an indicator of gonadal function and, as . . .