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AGE-DEPENDENT CHANGES IN PITUITARYGONADAL RELATIONSHIPS

Summary.: Pituitary levels of FSH (Steelman-Pohley assay) and LH (Parlow assay) were determined in male rats of various ages. The LH level began to rise by Day 33 of life, reached a peak between Days 43 and 47, and declined in the post-puberal period.

The FSH level (µg/mg and µg/pituitary/100 g body weight) began to rise very much earlier and had already reached its peak around Day 33, when testicular growth was rapid but before full spermatogenesis was established. In post-puberal rats, the FSH levels were much lower than those reached before puberty.

The implication of these findings and the possibility that FSH and LH are sequentially involved in initiating spermatogenesis in the puberal rat are discussed.