[De Vesiculis Seminalibus--reflections on the occasion of a 150-year anniversary].

In 1842, F. C. Faye obtained the degree of doctor of medicine. He was the fourth person to do so in Norway. His dissertation was on the seminal vesicles. These were the focus of much attention at that time, when so-called seminal flux was considered both a serious symptom and the cause of many ills, both mental and physical. The treatise, which was in Latin, and the academic proceedings involved serve to illustrate the medical world of his time. They also provide a background for a brief review of today's conception of the seminal vesicles, which is still incomplete and not entirely satisfactory. Newer methods of imaging, such as transrectal ultrasonography, may shed new light on the pathology of these organs.