Philippa Saunders

Estrogen Effects on Development and Function of the Testis

It is well established that exposure of the developing or adult male to even small amounts of exogenous estrogens can cause a range of adverse changes in reproductive development or function (1, 2). Such effects have been reported in laboratory and domestic animals as well as in man (1, 3). It has been generally presumed that these effects occur primarily as a consequence of the suppression of gonadotropin secretion (4), although there are suggestions in the literature that effects of estrogens within the testis or elsewhere in the male reproductive tract are possible (1, 2, 5).