Abstract
Sixty male rats were treated twice weekly from birth with either oestradiol benzoate (E2B) or sesame oil (controls) to see if oestrogen caused cryptorchidism by inhibition of gubernacular migration between 3 and 10 days after birth. Dissection was carried out at 10, 15, or 28 days, the processus vaginalis measured using a probe, and the weight of the testis recorded. The length of the processus was used as a measure of the length of migration of the hollow gubernaculum. Although E2B affected testicular weight significantly at 15 days, the length of the processus vaginalis was not significantly different from controls during the normal time of gubernacular migration (3–10 days of age). Histology confirmed this observation, with the gubernaculum within but slightly higher in the scrotum in E2B-treated males than in 15-day controls. Similar findings were found in a second group of 10 rats subjected to orchidectomy at birth to remove the androgen source. By 28 days all E2B-treated animals were found to be cryptorchid, although the gubernaculum had completed its migration to mid-scrotal level. It is proposed that pubertal testicular descent in the rodent is inhibited by E2B by mechanisms other than inhibition of gubernacular migration between birth and 10 days of age, which may be preprogrammed before birth.
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Griffiths, A.L., Hutson, J.M. Testicular descent. Pediatr Surg Int 8, 322–328 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173356
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173356