Sex-Modification in the Chick Embryo Resulting from Injections of Male and Female Hormones

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Abstract
Examination just prior to hatching of the urino-genital system of chick embryos, which had received a single injection of sex hormone solutions directly into the albumen of the egg after 48 hrs. incubation, reveals the following results: Theelin and theelol (0.05-2 mgs.) bring about a transformation of the left testis of genetic [male][male] into a flattened ovary-like body consisting of cortical and testicular tissues (ovo testis). The right testis usually remains unmodified. The gonads of genetic [female][female] appear unaffected with the exception of an occasional exhibition of increased cortex on the right ovary. Oviducts persist in the [male][male] and with high dosages become enormously swollen in both sexes. The Wolffian ducts remain unmodified. Male hormone (10-200 capon units) from human [male] urine (whether or not contaminated with [female] hormone) produces gonad changes like those obtained with theelin and theelol. The ducts, however, respond differently: Wolffian ducts hypertrophied, oviducts inhibited (rudimentary or absent). Male hormone from bull testis (in similar doses) produces no detectable effect on gonads or oviducts of either sex. The asymmetrical difference in the response of the 2 testes is attributed to the germinal epithelium (incipient cortex) which forms in early development only on the left testis.

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