Construction of natural appearing female genitalia in the male transsexual.

A surgical technique is presented which gives an excellent appearance and functional result in male-to-female transsexual conversion of genitalia. The complications have been few, and the conversion is done in one operation.     

Experimental esophageal reconstruction in rats, with a free groin flap.

The reconstruction of a functioning esophagus with a free groin flap was performed successfully in 10 rats. A technique is described for the experimental anastomosis of vessels with a diameter of 0.5 mm or less. We also describe a modification of a method to convert a hairy flap before transfer into a hairless one.     

The free iliac flap: a lateral modification of the free groin flap.

A lateral modification of the free groin flap, called the free iliac flap, is presented. By moving the outline of the free groin flap laterally, so that the medial margin lies lateral to the underlying femoral triangle, a flap is obtained which is uniformly slender and which has a long vascular pedicle. The anatomical findings, a method for safe dissection of the superficial circumflex iliac vessels, and the results of 18 clinical cases are presented.     

Evaluation of brushes for removal of fouling from fouling-release surfaces, using a hydraulic cleaning device

A portable hydraulic device has been developed for use in optimizing the design of brushes and cleaning units that may be employed to maintain fouling-release coatings. Laboratory tests showed that characteristics of experimental cleaning brushes, including bristle stiffness, density, and angle, significantly affected the shear and normal forces imparted to the surface and thus, to any encrusting organisms. The standoff distance between the cleaning unit and the surface also influenced the forces generated. The rate of rotation of the brush, however, had little effect on force. The hydraulic device, with its experimental brushes, can also be used to evaluate the cleanability of fouling-release surfaces in situ, or to assess wear of the coating system due to cleaning.     

Reference values for the genitalia of male dromedary before and after puberty using caliper and ultrasonography in subtropics

The aim of the present study was to characterize the dynamic changes of the testes and the pelvic genitalia in vivo in male dromedary. Eighty-one clinically healthy male dromedaries aged 1.5 to 12 years were assigned for the present study. Testicular length, breadth, and depth as well as epididymal head and tail were measured using caliper and ultrasonography. The pelvic genitalia, including bulbourethral gland, prostate, and pelvic urethra were examined using ultrasonography. The results revealed that the three dimensions of the testes and epididymal tail and head showed significant increase with age (P < 0.01). Concerning the epididymal measurements, differences between the pre- and peri-pubertal groups were not significant. Left testes tended to be larger than the right (not statistically significant) although only the breadth of the left testes in the prepubertal group was significantly larger (P < 0.05). The volume of both testes correlated positively with the age (r² = 0.91 for left and 1.00 for the right, P < 0.01). There were no significant correlations between the values measured using caliper and those by ultrasonography between groups, but the correlation was highly significant (P < 0.01) for the total number of the examined animals. There were significant and steady increases of the size of bulbourethral gland in all examined groups (P < 0.01). Pars disseminata of the prostate gland and pelvic urethra were significantly higher in sexually mature compared with prepubertal groups (P < 0.01). It was concluded that ultrasonography is a useful tool in studying the developmental changes of the testes and accessory glands of the male dromedary. The obtained data could provide a reference values for predicting camel puberty and future fertility.     

Glands, muscles and genitalia. Morphological and phylogenetic implications of histological characters in the male genitalia of Fritillary butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Argynnini)

The histology and internal morphology of the male valve in a broad sample of Fritillary butterflies are examined. A large internal ridge to which the extensor of the valve muscle fastens is probably an autapomorphy for the tribe Argynnini. A large glandular pocket is found in the valves of all examined Heliconiinae, but is missing in other examined Nymphalidae. The pocket shows considerable variation between the higher taxa. In the higher Fritillaries (subtribe Argynnina) the pocket probably has an effective closing mechanism allowing the male to store a considerable amount of glandular secretion. It has earlier been suggested that the secreta from the pocket glands are transferred to the female during copulation, where they probably have an antiaphrodisiac effect, preventing other males from mating a once mated female. All examined male Fritillaries also have glands in the anellus, the terminal membrane between the valves. In Boloria these glands are extremely well developed and abundant, a condition that is probably an autapomorphy for that genus. The obtained characters are tested against a known phylogeny of the tribe Argynnini.     

Inter-generic variation in the male genitalia of the Braconinae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Braconidae)

Male genitalia belonging to representatives of a total of 72 genera of Old and New World Braconinae have been examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. On the basis of features of the volsellae (setosity), the parameres (setosity), the digitus (number of teeth, shape) and basal ring (posterior extension) it was possible to identify certain generic groupings which support the general suprageneric divisions of the subfamily based on other taxonomic characters. The male genitalia are thus shown to provide a potentially useful new set of characters for the higher level classification of the braconine genera.     

Observations on the evolution of the genitalia and copulatory behaviour in male primates

Comparative studies of genital anatomy and sexual behaviour in male primates show that penile morphology and copulatory patterns tend to be more specialized in species which have a multimale or dispersed (non-gregarious) mating system. The penis may be longer and more complex morphologically in such species. Copulatory patterns involving a series of intromissions or prolonged single intromissions are more common than in species with a monogamous or polygynous mating system. Elongation of the baculum occurs in species which prolong intromission into the post-ejaculatory period. Sexual selection may have favoured the evolution of such features in species where females mate with a number of males rather than with a single partner. Relative testis size is also greatest under such conditions and larger testes occur in some non-gregarious or seasonally breeding prosimians, as well as in anthropoids with multimale mating systems.     

No evidence for condition-dependent expression of male genitalia in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus

We examine the condition-dependence of male genitalia in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus by manipulating the quality of dung provided for larval growth and development. We show that the influence of larval nutrition differed considerably across three different trait classes (sexual, nonsexual and genital). The size of all nonsexual traits varied with dung quality but their allometric slopes remained unchanged. Relative horn length and allometry, but not absolute horn length, showed a high degree of plasticity with differences in dung quality. In contrast, both absolute size and allometry of genitalia were largely unresponsive to changes in dung quality. Male genitalia exhibited intermediate levels of phenotypic variation and lower allometric slopes than both horns and nonsexual traits. Thus, our findings provide little support for good genes hypotheses of genital evolution. We use our findings to discuss a developmental mechanism and selection pressures that may prevent the condition-dependent expression of genitalia.     

Comparative morphology of the external male genitalia in Lophogastrida, Stygiomysida, and Mysida (Crustacea, Eumalacostraca)

External organs associated with the male gonopore are described for 29 species covering for the first time all seven currently acknowledged, extant families of the orders Lophogastrida, Stygiomysida, and Mysida, and all ten subfamilies of the Mysidae (Mysida). The gonopores are located throughout on the structures of the coxa of the eighth thoracopods. The three orders are consistently differentiated based on their male genital characteristics. Species of the Stygiomysida genera Stygiomysis (Stygiomysidae) and Spelaeomysis (Lepidomysidae) share a closing apparatus formed by two laminar lobes flanking the genital orifice, an anterior setose lobe, and a posterior bare lobe; no tubular penes are developed. In contrast, the Lophogastrida are characterized by a bare, slot-like orifice without lobes; also, in this taxon, no tubular penes are developed. The gonopore is on the inner wall of the coxa without conspicuous elevation in the species of Eucopia (Eucopiidae) and Lophogaster (Lophogastridae) and on the top of an anvil-like elevation in Paralophogaster (Lophogastridae), or of a dome-shaped elevation in Gnathophausia and Neognathophausia (Gnathophausiidae). In all examined species of the Mysida, the gonopores show a closing apparatus formed by lobes; one or more of these lobes is setose in most species. Within the Mysida, the genus Hansenomysis (Petalophthalmidae) and most subfamilies of the Mysidae have well-developed paired penes with (sub) terminal orifice. Only Rhopalophthalmus (Rhopalophthalminae) lacks penes but has bilobate gonopores located without additional elevation at the inner distal corner of the strongly enlarged coxa of the eighth thoracopods; this coxa contains a large seminal vesicle. Within the variety of external male genitalia in the Eumalacostraca, the structures associated with the gonopores appear to be plesiomorphic in Lophogastrida. In the Mysida, they appear to be apomorphic and support the monophyly of this order with respect to the previously published, competing phylogenetic trees. This requires additional evidence in the case of the Stygiomysida.     

The penis: a new target and source of estrogen in male reproduction

In the past decade, interest and knowledge in the role of estrogen in male reproduction and fertility has gained significant momentum. More recently, the cellular distribution and activity of estrogen receptors (alpha and beta)(ER) and aromatase (estrogen synthesis) has been reported in the penis, making the penis the latest "frontier" in the study of estrogen in male reproduction. ER and aromatase are broadly and abundantly expressed in various penile compartments and cell types (erectile tissues, urethral epithelia, vascular and neuronal cells), suggesting the complexity and significance of the estrogen-ER system in penile events. Unraveling this complexity is important and will require utilization of the various resources that are now at our disposal including, animal models and human lacking or deficient in ER and aromatase and the use of advanced and sensitive techniques. Some of the obvious areas that require our attention include: 1) a comprehensive mapping of ER-alpha and -beta cellular expression in the different penile compartments and subpopulations of cells, 2) delineation of the specific roles of estrogen in the different subpopulations of cells, 3) establishing the relationship of the estrogen-ER system with the androgen-androgen receptor system, if any, and 4) characterizing the specific penile phenotypes in human and animals lacking or deficient in estrogen and ER. Some data generated thus far, although preliminary, appear to challenge the long held dogma that, overall, androgens have a regulatory monopoly of penile development and function.     

One-stage reconstruction for defects of the mouth using a sternomastoid myocutaneous flap.

The sternomastoid muscle has 3 blood supplies: the occipital artery superiorly, the superior thyroid artery in the middle, and the thyrocervical trunk below. We report the use of a myocutaneous flap consisting of a "paddle" of skin on the end of a pedicle of sternomastoid muscle--with the latter based either on its superior or inferior blood supply. Fourteen such flaps have been used successfully in 13 consecutive patients for one-stage reconstructions of defects of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Although there was partial epithelial loss of the skin "paddle" in 7 cases, in each case the surviving dermis became resurfaced with epithelium.     

Inhibition of testicular development and feminization of the male genitalia by neonatal estrogen treatment in a marsupial

Differentiation of the mammalian gonad is thought to be constitutive, occurring independently of and not significantly altered by gonadal hormones. In this study, estradiol benzoate (EB) and testosterone propionate (TP) were administered to newborn gray opossums (Monodelphis domestica) during the first week after birth. It was found that males and females treated with TP and females treated with EB developed normally. In males treated with EB on both Day 1 and Day 3 of postnatal life, gonads did not differentiate and internal and external genitalia were feminine. These findings are discussed with respect to current theories of mammalian sexual differentiation.     

When morphometry meets genetics: inferring the phylogeography of Carabus solieri using Fourier analyses of pronotum and male genitalia

Population differentiation is a crucial step in the speciation process and is therefore a central subject in studies of microevolution. Assessing divergence and inferring its dynamics in space and time generally require a wide array of markers. Until now however, most studies of population structure are based on molecular markers and those concerning morphological traits are more scarce. In the present work, we studied morphological differentiation among populations of the ground beetle Carabus solieri, and tested its congruence with genetic population structure. The shape of pronotum and aedeagus was assessed using Dual Axis Fourier Shape Analysis. manova on Fourier coefficients revealed highly significant morphological variation between populations and a similar geographical pattern of differentiation for both structures. On the whole, morphological and genetic patterns were also found to be congruent. Our analysis confirms the phylogeographical scenario proposing that two entities of C. solieri differentiated during the last glaciation events before recolonizing the actual range of the species. It also indicates a large introgression between the two differentiated entities in the centre of the range.