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Essai d'interprétation des résultats obtenus récemment chez les Vertébrés sur l'intersexualité hormonale

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Summary

Hormonal intersexuality has been obtained in vertebrates by two sorts of methods:

  1. (a)

    grafts and embryonic parabiosis, of which “free-martins” are a natural type;

  2. (b)

    injections of sexual hormones into embryos.

Both kinds of methods have given very similar results. In certain groups (Amphibia, Birds), they are nearly identical.

The question arises whether the embryonic hormone acting in parabiosis is of the same nature as the hormonal substances used in experiments with injections.

Two theories have been advanced: some authors assume that the embryonic hormones belong to the same chemical class, sterols, as the sexual hormones of the adult.

Others think that they belong to different chemical groups: the embryonic hormones possibly are protids.

The arguments for both theories are discussed in this article, in which it is shown that the hormones of primary sex-differentiation behave in the same manner and have the same biological effects as the hormones of the adult.

The author finally analyzes the progress of sexual differentiation of the gonads and of the gonoducts induced by hormones in Birds and Amphibia.

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Literatur

  1. E. Witschi, Sex and internal Secretions. Baltimore 1932.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de zoologie et d'embryologie expérimentale de la Faculte des sciences de Strasbourg, Strasbourg

    Etienne Wolff

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  1. Etienne Wolff
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Wolff, E. Essai d'interprétation des résultats obtenus récemment chez les Vertébrés sur l'intersexualité hormonale. Experientia 3, 301–304 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02164239

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02164239

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