Historical Vignette: Attempted treatment of Sigmund Freud's oral squamous cell carcinoma by vasectomy (Steinach Operation) in 1923

AbstractAt the beginning of the 20th century, the Viennese physiologist Eugen Steinach proposed to treat the effects of physiological ageing by vasectomy. He had deduced that the ligation of thevas deferens allowed to increase the level of hormones secreted by the gonads: indeed, thevas deferens being the channel through which the spermatozoa are evacuated, if it is ligated, the spermatozoa can not go out and therefore their accumulation induces a hyper ‐pressure inside the gland which induces a proliferation and a modification of the epithelium, and thus a greater secretion of hormones (1).

Source: Andrology - November 7, 2019 Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Nadia Benmoussa, Philippe Charlier, John ‐David Rebibo Tags: SHORT COMMUNICATION Source Type: research