The effects of cortisone and of estradiol given to pregnant rats on the structural differentiation of the adrenal cortex and the ovary in their offspring.

Abstract

Administration of estrogens to neonatal rats has been reported by Gorski (1) to inhibit the maturation of their ovaries, leading later to sterility. Estrogens in high doses injected into pregnant rats may cross the placenta and lead to sterility in the female young. The ovaries of these female offspring, according to Adams-Smith (2,3), exhibit structural changes resembling those seen in the human micropolycystic ovary. Similarly, administration of corticosteroids to pregnant rats or to neonates adversely affects the early differentiation of the adrenal cortex (4). However, the structural damages occurring in the fetal adrenal and ovary by the transplacental effect of estrogens or corticoids have not been described.KeywordsOvarian TissueAdrenal CortexFemale OffspringTreated MotherZona FasciculataThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.