AIM: To investigate the ultrastructural changes of penile corpus cavernosum and tunica albuginea in @entity35 treated with castration or @entity585 . METHODS: Eighteen male @entity35 of nine weeks old were randomly divided into three groups with 6 @entity35 each. Group A served as the control, Group B was castrated and Group C, treated with @entity585 . Four weeks later, @entity35 were anesthetized and blood samples obtained for the determination of serum @entity251 (T) and @entity586 ( @entity587 ) levels; penile tissues were taken for scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: The T, free T and @entity587 levels in Group B and the @entity587 level in Group C were significantly lower than those in Group A (P<0.05). The tunica albuginea was significantly thinner in Group B than that in Group A (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between Group C and Group A (P>0.05). Elastic fibers in the tunica albuginea of Group A were very rich and arranged regularly and undulatedly, but in Group B, most of the elastic fibers were replaced by collagenous fibers. In Group C, the tunica albuginea was mainly composed of thick and irregular-arranged collagenous fibers. In Group A, there were abundant smooth muscle fibers in the trabeculae of corpus cavernosum, but they were much less in Group C and scarce or even disappeared in Group B. In Groups B and C, the diminished/disappeared smooth muscle fibers were replaced by irregularly arranged collagenous fibers. CONCLUSION: In @entity35 , @entity342 is essential for maintaining the normal structure of penile tunica albuginea and corpus cavernosum.

Effect of XXXX deprivation on penile ultrastructure.

@entity251 :: ('MESH:D013739', 'Chemical') :: ['testosterone'] @entity586 :: ('MESH:D013196', 'Chemical') :: ['dihydrotestosterone'] @entity585 :: ('MESH:D018120', 'Chemical') :: ['finasteride'] @entity342 :: ('CHEBI:50113', 'Chemical') :: ['androgen'] @entity35 :: ('10116', 'Species') :: ['Sprague-Dawley rats', 'rats'] @entity587 :: ('CHEBI:16330', 'Chemical') :: ['DHT']
@entity342 :: (CHEBI:50113,Chemical) :: ['androgen']
