Scrotal allografts of fetal ovaries

Fifty allografts of 17 day rat fetal ovaries were placed in the bottom of the scrotal wall of 25 normal and 25 castrated adult male rats. Of these, 5 did not take and 11 were destroyed by the allograft reaction. The remaining 34, which were reasonably tolerated, showed, whether the hosts were castrated or not, suppression of the cortical part of the ovary and stimulation of the medullary part, as evidenced by development of well-organized seminiferous tubules. This is presumably a reaction to the relatively cool environment of the scrotal wall.