THE PITUITARY BODY 



hormone, and the thyroid gland to the metabolism of water 

 is discussed in chapter x. 



In the immature guinea pig the administration of a large 

 dose of vitamin A (i,8oo units daily for lo days) prevents the 

 action of 6 guinea pig units of thyrotropic hormone (Fellinger 

 and Hochstadt, 1936).'^ Elmer, Giedosz, and Scheps (1935) 

 concluded that both vitamin A and ascorbic acid inhibit the 

 action of thyrotropic hormone in the guinea pig but are much 

 less effective than iodide. Vitamin D appeared to be without 

 action/'^ 



According to Eitel and Lexer (1936), the healing of bone 

 fractures in rabbits is facilitated by the administration of 

 thyrotropic hormone or thyroid extract.'^ Likewise the heal- 

 ing of wounds in guinea pigs takes place at a faster rate, if 

 thyrotropic hormone be administered (Eitel and Riecker, 

 1936). Arsenic (as 0.003-0.3 mg. AS2O3 per kg. rat for 20 

 days) or CO (as repeated exposure of guinea pigs to an atmos- 

 phere containing 0.5 per cent CO) was believed to bring about 

 a reduction in the amount of thyrotropic hormone (Kam- 

 pelmann, and Kampelmann and Schulze, 1937). 



The metabolism of thyrotropic hormone. — Fellinger (1936) 

 and Bodart and Fellinger (1936) have undertaken the assay 

 of thyrotropic hormone in the blood of patients. Before the 

 material was injected, an attempt was made to remove thy- 

 roid hormone which would be a source of interference with 

 the assays, as they were performed in guinea pigs. The au- 

 thors concluded that a positive histological response of the 

 guinea pig's thyroid can be secured from the thyrotropic hor- 



''' 1 he authors do not mention whether or not the presence of iodine in the 

 vita:nin-A preparation was excluded. 



" Demole and Ippen (1935) stated that ascorbic acid can prevent death after a 

 fatal dose of thyroxine. 



The experiments of Loeser and Trikojus (1937) indicated that thyrotropic 

 hormone does not alter to any important extent the concentration of ascorbic 

 acid in the liver and the adrenals. The authors found that adrenal hypertrophy 

 followed the long continued administration of thyrotropic hormone. This effect 

 was not prevented by the administration of ascorbic acid. 



'* See also chap. ii. 



[ 190] 



