Spermatogenesis in Immature Hypophysectomized Rats Injected with Androgens

SummaryTestosterone propionate and dehydroandrosterone acetate when administered daily at a 2 mg level to immature hypophysectomized rats induced sperm head or spermatozoon formation in the seminiferous tubules. Smaller doses were ineffective in this respect, even though they caused marked stimulation of the accessory organs. Testosterone propionate seemed in a few instances partially to prevent the adrenal cortex shrinkage which follows hypophysectomy; it is not known whether this effect was the result of a direct or indirect action by male hormone. An explanation which helps to reconcile the apparently discordant reports on the effects of androgens on spermatogenesis is suggested.