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AN ARBORACEOUS CRYSTAL PATTERN IN AIR-DRIED SEMINAL FLUID

The characteristic palm-leaf-like crystals in dried human cervical mucus, first observed by Papanicolaou (1933), occur abundantly around the day of ovulation, but are uncommon or even completely missing during other parts of the menstrual cycle (Rydberg, 1948). An analogous variation of the crystallization pattern of cervical mucus is also seen during the menstrual cycle of the rhesus monkey (David & Mastroianni, 1968) as well as during the oestrous cycle of the cow (Gram & Skjerven, 1952). In women, the crystals are composed of sodium chloride, their forms being determined by a proteinaceous matrix (Rydberg, 1948).

As early as 1921, similar crystals were observed in semen from cattle, horses, and rabbits (Yamane, 1921). The existence of a male sexual cycle corresponding to the oestrous cycle of female animals is strongly indicated by a number of investigations carried out