Introduction

Abstract

From the dawning of civilised time, when man forsook the life of the nomadic hunter and adopted the mantle of the communal farmer, his interest in androgens or, more correctly, testicular secretions, has continued unabated. As early man strove to establish his supremacy over the animal world, the extirpation of certain organs from domesticated birds and beasts was widely practised. The capon was recognized as a palatable culinary delight, the ox provided an exceedingly strong but biddable beast of burden and the gelding possessed advantageous features as a dependable yet fast mode of transport. Despite the gradual acquisition by man of an ever-thickening veneer of civilisation and sophistication, these castrated animals remain a feature of life even today. As man developed a more inquisitive and perceptive attitude toward himself, his environment and his procreation, interest in the gonads escalated in the form of complex sexual taboos and fertility rites. In attempts to heighten libido and reproductive prowess, extracts of moulds, plants, and molluscs achieved a measure of mystique as aphrodisiacs and the gonads of slain adversaries were often ingested in the hope of perpetuating sexual activity. Contemporary man tends to place himself above such misguided beliefs, yet for these very reasons the white rhinocerus is nearly extinct and the enigmatic Yeti, the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, was claimed to have removed the gonads from its victims. All aspects of this bizarre affair remain to be substantiated, however.