[Elimination of testosterone and androstendione in the urine of boars in relation to the incretory function of the testes].

The elimination of testosterone and androstendion in the urine was tested in six sexually mature boars. The administration of chorionic gonadotropin to intact animals resulted in a marked, statistically significant, rise of the amounts of excreted testosterone and, in part of the cases, androstendion. The responses were individual. Bilateral orchidectomy caused a statistically highly significant decrease of the elimination of both steroids under study without pronounced adrenocortical compensation. The administration of the adrenocorticotropic hormone to castrated boars did not exert any significant influence on the excretion of the substances studied. The use of chorionic gonadotropin given to the castrated boars did not produce any significant changes in the elimination of hormones. It has been inferred that testosterone as well as androstendion in the urine of boars are almost exclusively of testicular origin and that the response of the values of both steroids to the administration of chorionic gonadotropin is specific after testicular incretion. The discussion concerns the importance of these findings for the evaluation of the incretion reserve of the testes and for the diagnosis of incretion hypogonadism in boars.