The structure and development of bidder's organ in bufo lentiginosus

At the anterior end of the testis in all of the Bufonidae is the rounded body to which Spengel gave the name "Bidder's organ."Although many of the investigators who have worked on the germ-cells of the Anura have examined this organ and ventured a conjecture as to its nature and probable function, Knappe (IS) is the only one who has studied its development in any detail.In his paper, which appeared over twenty years ago, Knappe gives but a brief account of the early development of this body and he pays but little attention to the nuclear changes in the cells.Those who have more recently worked on Bidder's organ believe, with Knappe, that this body is a rudimentary ovary, and they have been more interested in studying the maner in which the cells degenerate than in trying to determine the reasons for this degeneration.