Effects of Ablation of the Submaxillary Gland in Guinea Pigs I

Abstract

1) The nature of the submaxillary gland and appearance of germ cells in the ovaries after ablation of the submaxillary gland were studied in guinea pigs.2) The formation of antrum in the follicles and aberrant ovarian folliclies were found in the females after submaxillariectomy. These changes of ovarian follicles which occurred in the present experiments may be due to changes in the estrogen as the result of the submaxillariectomy.3) The correlated action between the ovary and the submaxillary gland in order to maintain the normal condition of these organs was confirmed as in the case of submaxillariectomized males.4) The occurrence of binuclear ova was observed with rather high frequency in submaxillariectomized females, and these ova undergo maturation division as in case of uninuclear follicles. Their origin may be in the fusion of ooplasm of primodial ova.5) In the dissection of pregnant females after submaxillariectomy, the resorbing embryos and a pair of embryos with a common placenta on one implantation site were found, and abnormal implantation embryos may be accounted for by the occurrence of binuclear ova.6) The occurrence of polyovular follicles was also observed in submaxillariectomized females, and in the biovular follicles maturation may occur. The origin of biovular follicles is thought to be in the massing of primodial ova.7) Three cases of an excessive number of implantation embryos as compared with that of corpora lutea were found in the females produced by the mating of submaxillariectomized females with normal males, and these cases may be accounted for by the occurrence of biovular follicles.8) In the breeding results only one abnormal specimen has been obtained in the submaxillariectomized progeny, and high frequency of the female in the sex-ratio was found in the cross of the submaxillariectomized females with the normal males.