Fetal ovarian hilar cells and testicular Leydig cells in various complications of pregnancy.

Abstract

The presence of ovarian hilar cells in fetuses and neonates whose mothers suffered from complications of pregnancy such as toxaemia of pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, accidental haemorrhage, hydrops foetalis and multiple pregnancy, has been investigated and compared with the presence of testicular Leydig cells in similar conditions. The examination of ovaries from 62 cases with complications of pregnancy and of 113 controls showed that such conditions did not have an influence on the presence of hilar cells in the fetal and neonatal ovary. These findings are in marked contrast to our previous observations in the fetal and neonatal testis where the mean number of Leydig cells was found to be significantly raised in cases associated with complications of pregnancy as compared with controls. This further confirms our view, already expressed in a previous publication on the ovaries and testes of anencephalic monsters, that fetal and neonatal ovarian hilar cells and testicular Leydig cells are not strictly comparable, at least in their response to hormonal stimuli.