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From: w.p.coyne@uk.ac.newcastle
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.med
Subject: Re: Eunuchs, Castration and Erections
Message-ID: <1991Apr12.071917.25326@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date: 12 Apr 91 07:19:17 GMT
References: <1991Apr10.074024.7090@newcastle.ac.uk> <19094@cs.utexas.edu>
Sender: w.p.coyne@uk.ac.newcastle
Reply-To: w.p.coyne@uk.ac.newcastle
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.
Lines: 34

turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes:

>-----
>In article <1991Apr10.074024.7090@newcastle.ac.uk> w.p.coyne@uk.ac.newcastle writes:
>You were under a common misimpression.  In some ancient cultures
>where eunuchs mixed with the king's harem, it was perfectly
>acceptable for them to enjoy the king's concubines.  The purpose
>in their castration was to guarantee that any children and
>potential heirs were really the king's.  (Of course, in other
>ancient cultures, eunuchs were made by lopping off *all* the
>standard equipment, and obviously, what one does not have will
>never become erect.)

Would they still experience sexual desire once their testicles were removed?
Or would the sudden change in the homones in their bodies ( caused by the 
removal of the testes) have only minor effect on sex drive, while having a 
bigger effect on other aspects of behaviour, personality etc?

I think I remember reading in an introduction to psychology text book of an
experiment in which rats or mice were castrated.  They then ceased to bother
with sex.  When they were later injected with some sex homone (testosterone
I think) their sex drive went back to its previous levels.  The conclusion of
the experiment being testosterone acted as a switch - provided it was above
a minimum level you had a sex drive of a certain level, but increased 
concentrations had no effect on strength of the drive.


Department of Process and Chemical Engineering,  +
Newcastle University, United Kingdom.            + "If we breed like rabbits,
                                                 +  in the long run we have
JANET: W.P.Coyne@uk.ac.newcastle                 +  we have to die like
UUCP : ...!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!W.P.Coyne         +  rabbits" Carlson on
ARPA : W.P.Coyne@newcastle.ac.uk                 +  population growth.
................ ................................+.......................