The effects of testosterone and testosterone propionate on adult male rats (compared with those on female rats)

Abstract

THE effects on castrated rats of injections of testosterone and of testosterone propionate have been studied in our previous papers [Korenchevsky & Dennison, 1936; 1937; Korenchevsky et at. 1936; 1937]. In the present paper we have studied the effects of both these hormones on normal male rats and of testo- sterone on normal female rats. The effect of testosterone on the body weight, the weight of the testes, seminal vesicles with prostate, epididymis, adrenals and pituitary and the development of the mammary glands has also been investigated in young male rats by Selye et al. [1937] and by McEuen et al. [1936; 1937]. In their last ex- periment [1937] a daily dose of 2 mg. was injected for 22 days. The authors found that there was no inhibition of the somatic growth or change in weight of the adrenals and pituitary, but that the weight of the testes decreased considerably, while the weight of the seminal vesicles and prostate increased. The mammary gland developed slightly. In the present experiments we used large daily doses of the hormones (500-S1500y) in order to overcome any possible antagonistic influence of another hormone or other hormones, which might be present in the organism. Technique