Adolescent Sterility (Concluded)

Abstract

The evidence for the existence of a period of adolescent sterility, i.e., the period following menarche or first oestrous during which the individual is incapable of conception or procreation, is examined in detail for mouse, monkey, anthropoid, and man. Such a period of adolescent sterility is characteristic of the greater number of all the mammals thus far investigated. The actual duration of the adolescent sterility interval in mouse, monkey, anthropoid, and man, would appear to be of the order, respectively, of 1 mo., 12 mos., 13 mos., and 2-3 yrs. In all these groups there is considerable variation in the duration of this interval among individual animals. Physiologically the condition of adolescent sterility may be explained by the fact that the endocrine glands which must pour their hormones into the blood stream before ovulation and reproduction can take place, do not normally do so during the menarchial or immediately post-menarchial period, but only at a later stage of development, when ovulation occurs and the individual is nubile.