The prolonged treatment of castrated and ovariectomized rats with testosterone propionate

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Abstract
The effect of testosterone propionate injected alone or in combination with oestrone was studied in 31 [male] and 35 [female] rats and compared with that obtained after the injection of testosterone and of other [male] sexual hormones which had been investigated previously. Testosterone propionate injected into castrated [male][male] produces the following definite effects on the weights of the organs changed by castration: complete recovery to normal of the atrophied sexual organs; decrease in the weight of the "castration" adrenals, and of the thymus, the involution of which is delayed by castration; a slight increase in the weight of the kidneys and liver, which organs decrease in weight after castration; an improvement with small doses in the gain in body weight (anabolic effect), and a lasting decrease (catabolic effect) with large doses. The activity of testosterone propionate is much greater than that of testosterone and the changes produced are to some extent (e.g., sexual organs) or completely (e.g., adrenals) maintained 9 days after the last injection. Exps. on spayed [female][female] showed that the method of vaginal smears (vaginal cornification smear test) when used alone is unreliable and insufficient for the explanation of changes induced by the sexual hormones in the [female] sexual organs, while "the method of weights," advocated by the authors, supplemented by histological investigation of the results obtained in prolonged exps., gives satisfactory and accurate results. The terms "oes-trogenic" or "oestrogens" can be applied only to those sexual hormones or compounds which produce not only specific changes in the vagina (in rodents[long dash]cornification of vaginal epithelium), but also specific changes in the uterus (at least distension of the uterus). The hormones or compounds giving only a positive vaginal cornification test in rodents or some other single feature of oestrus might be termed "pseudooestrogenic," or "pseudooestro-gens," or "vaginal keratinising," or "cornifying" compounds to distinguish them from the ''"oestrogenic" compounds producing complete oestrus. Although all the [male] hormones investigated have a stimulating action on the development of the atrophied [female] sexual organs, testosterone propionate was found to be the most active, having even more effect than oestrone in the doses used. Testosterone propionate increases the weight of the uterus (as judged by weight of cervix) nearly to the normal when injected alone, and to normal when injected in combination with oestrone, produces an abnormally large vagina and [female] preputial glands, both when injected alone or in combination with oestrone, decreases the weight of the adrenals, greatly increases the rate of involution of the thymus and decreases the fat deposition and gain in body weight. The histological changes in the uterus and vagina are similar to those obtained with androstenediol or with testosterone, but are more reminiscent of the changes observed during pregnancy in normal rats, though some abnormal features are seen. The peripheral end of the [female] urethra under the influence of testosterone or testosterone propionate injections develops into a structure having the appearance of a clitoris.