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Abstract:
The literature concerned with the amount of magnesium in genital organs and products of sexual activity is analysed in the first chapter; these data are compared with those concerning other organs and replaced in a comprehensive view of the body, related or not with the medium. It is likely that magnesium plays a role in ovule maturation, sperm viability and fecundation in Invertebrates and Fishes. In Birds and Mammals, it appears to be necessary for fecundation. In the Discoglossus (Anurian Amphibian), the deficiency and the excess in Mg2+ reduce development and influence the growth of the body and the ovary. In the Rat, the pregnancy cannot be normal, unless the food contains an adequate supply of magnesium. Severe or mild deficiencies affect the site of fetal implantation and, if they are prolonged, lead to abortion in the first instance and pathological disorders in the latter. An ionic determination of sex has been established in various animal species and in Man. In some marine Invertebrates, and in the Discoglossus, changes in ionic concentration of the breeding medium carried out immediately after fecundation induce, at will, a majority of one sex or the other; in various Mammals and in Man, variations in the composition of mineral food administered to the female before fecundation may also induce changes in the sex ratio of the progeny.