Os penis of the rat. V. The distal cartilage process.

The morphogenesis and morphology of the distally positioned cartilage of the os penis, the processus cartilagineus, are described in rats aged from 1 to 100 days. Based on observations of metachromacy of the process stained with toluidine blue it was found that a processus cartilagineus only exists in the period between 35 and 50 days of age. Before 35 days, the structure consists of connective tissue proper, and after 50 days the cartilage starts to calcify partially. The present paper also initiates studies of experimentally caused alterations of the normal development of the processus cartilagineus by subjecting 35-day-old rats to castration, with subsequent sacrifice at 100 days. Castration at that age causes a complete interruption of normal development of the processus cartilagineus as the structure in 100-day-old castrated rats has distinct morphological characteristics in common with those of 35-day-old normal rats. The present paper, thus, confirms that normal development of the processus cartilagineus seems to be male-hormone-dependent.