AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE CASTRATION CHANGES IN THE RAT PROSTATE

Abstract

REDUCTION of prostatic mass and of the size of the individual epithelial cells of the gland are known to follow castration. With the advent of techniques for thin sectioning and of the increased resolution afforded by the electron microscope, it seemed profitable to study the cells of the prostate with particular respect to changes in the fine structure following various endocrinologic alterations. In this paper the fine structure of the prostate of the normal rat is defined as well as the changes that follow castration. No previous electron microscopic study of the prostate has been reported.