The reproductive processes of certain mammals. Part I.―The œstrous cycle of the Chinese hamster ( Cricetulus griseus )

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Abstract
The rapid growth of experimental work on reproduction has tended to obscure the fact that our knowledge of the foundation of the subject, i. e ., of the comparative morphology of the reproductive processes, is still remarkably meagre. Detailed information as to the morphology of the changes occurring during the œstrous cycle is available for less than a dozan species, of which the mouse, rat, guinea-pig, rabbit, ferret, dog, pig and cow are best known. Some inadequate data on sheep and horses and one or two Marsupials and Primates are also available, but the total is insignificant compared with the wealth of material available even in a country with a restricted fauna (see Marshall, 1922, and Parkes, 1929). at the moment, for instance, we are almost completely ignorant of the cycle of even the domestic cat. Of the species for which information is available, only two (the rat and mouse) fail to differ from every other in well-recognised features, and there is little reason to doubt that the study of further species will reveal new types and variations. At the moment it seems clear that the experimental work of the last few years is rapidly outgrowing its foundations, which have been but little added to during this period. It seemed essential, therefore, that efforts should be made to increase the range of our knowledge of the comparative morphology of the œstrous cycle, and the present paper constitutes the first of a series designed to record the results of work in this direction.

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