In Vivo Observations on the Seminal Vesicles of Adult Neonatally Castrated Rats Before and After Intravenous Testosterone

¹ From the Departments of Medicine and Anatomy, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina

In vivo microscopic observations were made on the seminal vesicles of 12 neonatally castrated rats. After 30 minutes of study, during which the degree of vascularity and the visible linear rates of blood flow were noted, and the duration and frequency of contractions had been timed and recorded, an intravenous injection was made. The eight experimental animals received 300µg water-soluble testosterone (17-B diethylaminoethyl-carbonate hydrochloride) in 0.15 cc normal saline and the controls received 0.15 cc normal saline alone. No alterations were seen in the seminal vesicles of the controls following the injection except a decrease in the average total contraction time. At varying intervals following the injection of testosterone, there was an increase in the diameters of some of the small blood vessels, a concomitant increase in the visible linear rates of blood flow in these vessels, and a marked reduction in the frequency, duration and apparent strength of the contractions of the vesicles.

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