Regulatory Features of Seminal Vesicle Development and Function

Abstract

This chapter discusses the regulatory features of seminal vesicle development and function. Seminal vesicles or vesicular glands are a special type of secretory organ of the male genital tracts in many but not all mammalian species. These structures differentiate in the fetus from the caudal portion of the Wolffian ducts. The Wolffian duct also serves as the embryonic precursor of the epididymis, the ductus deferens, and, in certain mammals, of the secretory enlargements of the caudal terminus of the vas deferens known as the ampullary glands. Vesicular secretions exhibit great species variations in their chemical compositio, and contain high concentrations of substances that are present in only much smaller amounts in all other body fluids. The fetal morphogenesis of seminal vesicles and their growth and functional differentiation at puberty are strictly controlled by androgens, and are influenced by several other hormones. Testosterone secreted by testicular Leydig cells is the prime hormonal regulator of the fetal morphogenesis of seminal vesicles, of the growth and functional differentiation of these organs at puberty and the maintenance of their adult dimensions and secretory activities.