Abstract

The development of the gonadal primitive medulla in embryonic chick gonads was studied with the light microscope, using serial longitudinal sections from 72 h to 108 h of incubation. The sex of embryos was established from karyotypes. At 72 h, the germinal epithelium in the genital ridges was thickened. The nephrogenic cord was not differentiated into nephrons underneath, although the surrounding mesonephros displayed renal corpuscles and tubules. Clusters and trabeculae of mobilized mesonephric cells piled up under the germinal epithelium, forming the rudiment of the primitive medulla. From 78 h onwards, nephrotome-like structures existed in the mesenchyme underlying the germinal epithelium. Mesonephric cells became detached from their ventral walls and incorporated into the rudiment of the medulla. Finally, at 90 h, when the gonads were constituted, the primitive medulla was definitively formed without any contribution of the germinal epithelium. Adrenal cortical cells, also originating from the mesonephric blastema, showed tight relationships with the gonadal medullarian structures. Our observations support the concept of the mesonephric origin of the gonadal components having male potentialities in birds.