Contractile behaviour of rat seminal vesicle after gonadectomy, testosterone replacement and cyproterone treatment.

The effects of bilateral gonadectomy, testosterone replacement and cyproterone acetate treatment on seminal vesicle contractions were studied in rats in order to contribute new data on the role of androgens in the spontaneous motility of the seminal vesicle. In gonadectomized-testosterone treated rats the glands exhibited a spontaneous rhythmic activity similar to that of entire animals. The seminal vesicles of gonadectomized as well as of cyproterone treated rats also contracted spontaneously but the contractions showed a smaller amplitude. Such decrease could be related with the well-known atrophy and reduction in the number of smooth muscle cells occurring in seminal vesicles after castration. The results reported in this paper suggest that androgens are not required for the normal spontaneous activity of seminal vesicles.