On the structure and function of the prostate gland in the red fox / by C.W.G. Rohrer.

  • Rohrer, C. W. G. (Caleb Wyand Geeting), 1873-1952.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the structure and function of the prostate gland in the red fox / by C.W.G. Rohrer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    9/22 (page 7)
    I stimulating the movements and pro- longing the life of the spermatozoa, the prostatic secretion probably assists in providing the spermatozoa with nutri- ment. e. The lubricating function of the siiccus prostaticiis is a highly probable one. This function, moreover, is subservient to the purely sexual function of the prostate gland. As a lubricating organ the prostate is materially aided by nu- merous mucous glands—small glands embedded in the mucosa and continuing on in the membranous portion of the urethra. Moreover, in the membran- ous portions of the urethra these mu- cous glands are relatively scarce, their lubricating function being in large part supplanted by the glands of Cowper, in b. It is well known that the secretion of the prostate is increased in quantity under states of venereal excitement. It may even appear at the meatus urinarius. In human beings an undue amount of sexual excitement may engender a pathological condition of the prostate gland formerly known as prostator- rhea. c. From observations made on these parts in animals killed during or immediately after the completion of the act of copu- lation, we are at least justified in draw- ing the inference that the largest quan- tity of the prostatic fluid is poured into the urethra at the moment of, or prior to, the venereal orgasm. d. That the prostatic fluid is subservient to the generative function may be further Figure 7. Verumontanum and openings of ejaculatory ducts beautifully shown. Red fox’s prostate. a. Verumontanum. b. Ejaculatory ducts. those animals wherein the glands of Cowper are pre.sent. Other Evidexces. The sexual function of the prostate gland is manifestly evident. The prostate is the “bone and sinew’’ of the male reproductive system. It performs no useful function in urination, and is quite or wholly passive dur- ing this act. .Additional evidences to those chronicled above, confirmatory of the sexual function of the i>rostate gland, may he summarized as fol- lows : a. The prostatic fluid is poured into the ure- thra at the commencement of its course, at that point where the secretion of the testes (and vesiculae .seminales.in man ) are received into the canal. Figure 8. Transverse section of entire prostate gland of red fox, made at a point one-quarter of an inch from vesical neck. a. Right lobe. b. Left lobe. c. Prostatic urethra. established by the fact mentioned by John Hunter (1728-1793), that the gland is liable to alterations in size and structure at certain seasons of the year. For instance, in the mole (Talpa euro- paea) in winter the prostate is scarcely discernible, whilst in the spring it be- comes of large size and filled with fluid. The same condition pertains in the hedgehog (Erinaceus curopaeits). In the present paper I have pointed out similar changes in the prostate gland of the red fox. SUMM.ARY OF THE PhVSIOLOGY OF THE PROS- TATE Gland in the Red Fox. It is obviously manifest that the function of the ])rostate gland in the red fox is purely