[Endocrine and sperminogenic testicular function. 8. Relationships between testicular and plasma testosterone concentrations as well as between the number of Leydig cells in testicular tissue and their cell nucleus volume in boars of different ages].

Testicular tissue and blood samples (V. spermatica interna) were taken from 32 boars during castration. The animals were different age groups. Against this background, studies were conducted into the correlations between testicular and plasma testosterone, on the one hand, and the amount of interstitial cells of Leydig in testicular tissue as well as the latters' cell nuclei volumes, on the other. The results seemed to support the conclusion that any age-dependent increase of testicular and plasma testosterone concentrations was caused unambigously by an absolute increase in volume of androgenic testicular tissue, in concomitance with testicular growth, in other words, by rise in the total number of interstitial cells of Leydig.