THE PITUITARY BODY 



tion of hormones. Generally accepted changes in the pitui- 

 tary due to a hormone-deficiency are the appearance of thy- 

 roidectomy-cells following thyroid extirpation and the ap- 

 pearance of castration-cells following gonadectomy. In ad- 

 dition, there is good evidence that a deficiency of adrenal 

 cortical hormone is accompanied by a marked reduction in 

 the percentage of basophils. The morphological changes in 

 the pituitary caused by gonadectomy can be corrected by 

 oestrogenic and androgenic substances, but not by proges- 

 terone. Injected into normal animals, large doses of male or 

 female hormone cause a depletion of the granules of the 

 basophils. Very large doses of an oestrogen like oestrone 

 bring about hypertrophy of the pars glandularis because of a 

 hyperplasia of the reserve cells. This change may culminate 

 in the formation of a reserve-cell adenoma. 



Considerable progress has been made in relating the mor- 

 phology of the pituitary to disease in man. Adrenal insuf- 

 ficiency is clearly accompanied by a marked reduction of the 

 percentage of basophils. The syndrome of Gushing (pituitary 

 basophilism) is invariably associated with hyaline changes in 

 the basophils. xA basophil adenoma is not necessarily present. 

 The best-known syndrome etiologically related to the pitui- 

 tary is acromegaly (and giantism); the change here observed 

 is the development of an adenoma composed of oxyphilic 

 cells. Hence oxyphils are thought to secrete growth-promot- 

 ing hormone. The opinion of the most careful investigators is 

 against the view that pituitary changes (especially in the 

 basophils sometimes in relation to their growth into the pars 

 neuralis) are characteristic of essential hypertension, eclamp- 

 sia, Graves's disease, or diabetes mellitus. 



ADDENDUM 



There appeared to be no great need in this volume for a 

 chapter dealing only with the effects of hypophysectomy, 

 inasmuch as almost all the topics would require reconsidera- 

 tion in the succeeding chapters. All the various effects of hy- 



I30] 



