Abstract
As we have seen, it was the testicle that first drew the attention of man to the importance of a small organ. Damage to or loss of both testicles due to accidental or deliberate injury had dire consequences. Depending on the age when it occurred, it may mean loss of fertility, of sexual desire, of sexual capacity, or lack of development of secondary sexual characteristics and changes in bodily appearance1. The same applied in the case of diseased or undescended testicles, which had been damaged. It seemed as if nature had attempted to compensate for the vulnerability of this organ, in that it provided a double ration.
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References
Tandler, J. and Grosz, S.: Die biologischen Grundlagen der sekundaeren Geschlechtscharaktere. Berlin, Springer, 1913.
Naso Ovidius P.: Amores, Book III, Song 7; (not in the Ars amandi). Loeb Classical Library. pp. 506–508. London, Heinemann, 1921 (reprinted 1947). (The volume is published as: Heroides and Amores.)
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© 1982 V. C. Medvei
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Medvei, V.C. (1982). L’Envoy to the Ancients. In: A History of Endocrinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7304-6_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7304-6_11
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