Eunuchs
Eunuchs are men subjected to castration before pubertal age.
In the past, the removal of the testicles was a relatively common practice for some categories of people.
Castration is a widespread practice in the veterinary field; the eunocoid phenotype in fact translates into more tender meat (less muscle tissue and more fat, as in the capon), with a less decisive taste and smell, and in a more docile temperament of the animal (as in the ox, decidedly more masueto than to the bull).
As for pets, however, castration is carried out above all as a means of containing births and stray phenomena.
In the eastern courts, for example, the eunuchs were entrusted with the custody of the harems; in this case, the males were subjected to the removal of both the testicles and the penis, so as to render them completely unable to perform sexual activity. In the West, on the other hand, pre-pubertal castration was considered an expedient to maintain the high pitch of the voice, a characteristic particularly useful for sopranos and for those who participated in ecclesiastical choirs; in the eighteenth century, for example, the soprano castrato Farinelli became famous (in the registry office Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi).
Physical characteristics
Castration before the age of development ensures the maintenance of a childlike appearance and voice, a flowing hair, a scarce and not very toned muscle mass, a skin that is mostly "hairless" (hairless), a penis underdeveloped, of a submissive behavior, anything but audacious.
In practice, with pre-pubertal castration, the development of secondary male sexual characteristics fails; this is because these characteristics depend on the increase in the levels of circulating androgenic hormones (testosterone and derivatives), which occurs starting from puberty due to the increased testicular synthesis.
Eunucoidism
In medical language, the term eunucoidism indicates the insufficient production of androgens by the testicles. In this sense, eunocoidism can be considered a synonym for male hypogonadism.
A eunocoid subject is therefore a male who has a poor synthesis of androgens at the testicular level.
Consequences of eunocoidism
Some authors use the term eunocoidism to indicate the classic phenotype (external appearance) of hypogonadal men since prepubertal age. In fact, these subjects have a phenotype similar to that of eunuchs, which can be summarized as:
- sexual infantilism: testicles less than 4 millimeters in size, micropenis, voice that does not acquire the male timbre, lack of development of the scrotum and glands, underdeveloped hair;
- macroschelia: the lower (and upper) limbs are much more developed than the trunk;
- submissive behavior: low sexual desire, low spirit of competition, apathy.
If, on the other hand, hypogonadism occurs in adulthood, the secondary sexual characteristics are normally developed; however, female body fat distribution is common; the subject, in fact, tends to have higher concentrations of fat in the breasts (gynecomastia), hips and buttocks. In addition, there is a decline in libido and muscle strength.
Causes
Causes of eunocoid hypogonadism include: cryptorchidism inadequately treated, genetic diseases such as Kinefelter syndrome or Noonan syndrome, congenital malformations of the testicles (testicular dysgenesis), traumatic or surgical castration, irradiation of the testicles, tumors of the pituitary and / or of the hypothalamus.
Treatment
In cases of castration eunuchoidism or irreversible causes (e.g. genetic diseases), the treatment consists of androgen-based replacement therapy: in practice, the subject is periodically injected with doses of artificial testosterone or its synthetic derivatives (anabolic steroids) .
