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Science 19 January 1973:
Vol. 179. no. 4070, pp. 293 - 295
DOI: 10.1126/science.179.4070.293
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Articles

Gonadal Effects of Vasectomy and Vasoligation

Arthur M. Sackler 1, A. Stanley Weltman 2, Vijay Pandhi 2, and Ralph Schwartz 2

1 Department of Psychiatry, New York Medical College, New York 10022
2 Laboratories for Therapeutic Research, Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York

During a 28-week study, vasectomy and vasoligation of immature male Wistar rats revealed that there was a significant decrease in urinary 17-ketosteroid in the vasectomized group at week 15; at week 28 there were significant decreases in the weights of the testes of the test groups, as compared to those receiving sham operations, with maximum alterations in the vasectomized rats. Small, soft discolored testes with cysts in the cauda epididymis and vas deferens regions occurred frequently in the test groups. The output of 17-ketosteroid in the urine and the findings in the testes indicate significant alterations in the morphology and function of the testes and suggest the need for caution and extensive investigations in man before recommending vasectomy as a simple, innocuous, "physiologic" means to ensure conception control.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Sperm autoantibodies in vasectomized rats of different inbred strains.
P. Bigazzi, L. Kosuda, and L. Harnick (1977)
Science 197, 1282-1283
   Abstract »    PDF »
Testicular Morphology in Rats Vasectomized as Adults.
S. M. Plaut (1973)
Science 181, 554-555
   Abstract »    PDF »


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