the cells interspersed between the seminiferous tubules of the testis. They secrete androgen in response to stimulation by luteinizing hormone from the anterior pituitary gland.
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1. Leydig c's (def. 1). 2. a type of cells found more often in other female mammals than in humans, consisting of masses of large epithelioid, lipid-containing cells in the ovarian stroma, believed to have a secretory function; they are derived from the theca interna of atretic ovarian follicles. In humans they are found in infant girls during the first year of life when atresia is proceeding rapidly, but in adult women few to none are present. In other mammals, such as rabbits, they are more prominent. See also interstitial gland (def. 2), under gland. 3. cells with elongated nuclei and long cytoplasmic processes, found in the perivascular areas and between the cords of pinealocytes in the pineal body, regarded by some to be glial elements. 4. hepatic stellate c's.Medical dictionary. 2011.