In a previous communication we reported2 the unexpected formation of methylene and ethano derivatives 2 and 3 by reaction of 17p-acetoxy-1 lp-hydroxyestr-5 (10)-en-3-one (1) with a reagent derived from methylene iodide and zinc-copper couple (Simmons-Smith reagent). Further work has shown that the reaction is not limited to hydroxy ketones; for example, 50-androstan-3-one (4) was converted into a mixture of 3, 3-methylene-5a- ...