Contractile capacity of seminal vesicles from rats in different hormonal conditions.

Isometric contractions of seminal vesicles excised from normal, castrated, estradiol-, testosterone- or norandrostenolone - treated castrated rats were recorded in order to compare their contractile capacity. When expressed as grams of tension per strip of muscle, the vesicles of the castrated rats exhibited the smallest contractile capacity. The contractile force of the organs taken from estradiol-treated castrated rats was higher than that shown by the vesicles of castrates but smaller than those taken from normal, testosterone- or norandrostenolone- treated-castrates. There was no correlation between the contractile force and previously reported reactivity of seminal vesicles.