Zinc Content of the Genital Organs of the Rat

Abstract

IN a recent review, Vallee and Altschule¹ have suggested that though many workers have estimated zinc in living tissues, the methods used have often been inaccurate. We have estimated the zinc content of certain tissues of the Collip hooded rat by the dithizone method of Vallee and Gibson². Mature animals were used which were fed on a diet of fox chow containing about 75 µgm. zinc per gm., supplemented with carrot and cabbage. Most tissues contained about 15–30 µgm. zinc per gm.; but certain male genital organs showed wide deviations from this range. The literature contains few references to the zinc content of the genital system, though Bertrand and Vladesco³ reported high results in herring's and horse's testis, pig's seminal vesicle, rat's epididymis and in the prostate of the bull and of man. Kadota⁴ mentioned briefly that zinc could be detected by a relatively insensitive histochemical method in the rabbit prostate. The figures given by Leiner and Leiner⁵ for rat's testis and by Eggleton⁶ for human testis were within the usual range for soft mammalian tissues.