Unimpaired sexual behavior of male rats after complete removal of the prostate and seminal vesicles.

The ventral and dorsolateral prostate, the coagulating glands, and the seminal vesicles were removed in nine male rats. The rats were tested for sexual behavior 3 to 4 weeks after surgery. The sexual performance of the operated rats was quantitatively and qualitatively equal to that of sham-operated control rats. At autopsy 6 weeks after surgery, no prostatic or seminal vesicle tissue could be found. These studies show that the sexual performance of male rats does not depend on the presence of the prostatic lobes and seminal vesicles.