Vaginal Cornification Induced by Swabbing and Its Bearing on the Rat Unit of Estrogenic Substance

The activation of sexual behaviour in cats by the subcutaneous administration of oestrogen

“…These results are in line with those obtained in other species mentioned above, in which it was found that vaginal cornification can be produced by doses of oestrogen too small to SUBCUTANEOUS OESTROGEN AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR 271 confirm that the vaginal threshold is below that of the behavioural responses under conditions of prolonged administration of low doses of oestrogen. Wade & Doisy (1935), Hu & Frazier (1935), Emery & Schwarbe (1935, 1938, have drawn attention to the fact that even gentle trauma will induce stratification in the vaginae of spayed rats in the absence of administered oestrogen. A similar phenomenon was seen in the spayed cat, where fluctuations (20-30%) in the cornification index were observed in control animals, smeared on alternate days for 60 days, to which ethyl oleate only was administered daily.…”

“…The relation between vaginal and behavioural oestrus in ovariectomized cats treated with oestrogens differs from that seen in normal cats showing oestrous cycles. Under natural conditions the appearance of a cornified smear is synchronized with oestrous behaviour (Michael, 1961 (Everett, 1940) and guinea-pig (Young et al 1941 Hu & Frazier (1935), Emery & Schwarbe (1935, 1938, have drawn attention to the fact that even gentle trauma will induce stratification in the vaginae of spayed rats in the absence of administered oestrogen. A similar phenomenon was seen in the spayed cat, where fluctuations (20-30%) in the cornification index were observed in control animals, smeared on alternate days for 60 days, to which ethyl oleate only was administered daily.…”

The Mammogenic Hormones of the Anterior Pituitary. I: The Duct Growth Factor

“…At the most, this could indicate less than one estrogenic mouse unit which would be entirely inadequate to produce a mammogenic mouse unit response. These mice had been smeared for repeated six day periods which may have caused the production of cornified smears as shown by Hu and Frazier (1935) and Wade and Doisy (1935). This is supported by a third trial with a fresh group of spayed females in which the smears were consistently negative.…”