Effect of castration and oral administration of sex hormones on some specialised integumentary glands of the male musk shrew,Suncus murinus viridescens (Blyth)

Abstract

Effect of castration and oral administration of sex hormones on the specialised apocrine sudoriferous glands of the perineal region and the holoerine sebaceous glands of the flank and oral lip regions of the male musk shrew, Suncus murinus viridescens is investigated. Gonadectomy effected a significant regression and hypotrophy of the sudoriferous as well as sebaceous glandular s(ructures of the shrew. The secretory epithelial ceils were depleted and the tubules were devoid of any secretory material at the end of one month of castration. Subsequent administration of methyltestosterone daily for four weeks reactivated all these glands, whereas the gross morphological features of sebaceous glands did not vary at any significant level after treatment with ethinyloestradiol daily for four weeks. However, partial rejuvenation in the cellular structures was noticed in all these glands of shrews orally administered with this heterosexual hormone.