[Gonadotropin induced steriodogenesis in prepubertal boys (author's transl)]

We examined the capacity of reaction in the endocrine tissue of testes in prepubertal boys. 18 boys were endocrinologically healthy, six suffered from cryptorchidism on one or both sides. After a single dose of HCG (5000 IU/m) we found an increase of pregnantriol excretion in the 24 h urine in all subjects studied except in the case of surgically proved anorchia. In all except one boy we found a sharp increase in testosterone after HCG administration.