THE PITUITARY BODY 



McLean, 1937) alkaline anterior pituitary extract can cause 

 an elevation of 0.9-2,0 mg. per cent in the concentration of 

 Ca in the serum. 



An increased excretion of Ca in the urine following hy- 

 pophysectomy has been observed in the rat by Perla and 

 Sandberg (1936). The change in absolute terms was slight 

 but represented an increase of several hundred per cent. 

 Perla and Sandberg found that the principal loss of Ca oc- 

 curred by way of the digestive tract and that fecal loss was 

 increased after hypophysectomy, Teel and Cushing had 

 found that the urinary loss of Ca by the dog is increased after 

 the injection of anterior pituitary extract. 



Anselmino, Hoffmann, and Herold, who first described his- 

 tological signs of a parathyrotropic effect of anterior pituitary 

 extract have investigated the action of an aqueous extract of 

 acetone-desiccated anterior pituitary powder (ox) in various 

 animals (Anselmino, Herold, and Hoffmann, 1936). They 

 stated that macroscopic enlargement could be produced in 

 the rat and rabbit but not in the cat, dog, or guinea pig. In 

 all the species, histological changes appeared — principally 

 hyperplasia of cells resembling the chief cells of the normal 

 parathyroid. 



MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS 



Perla (1936) investigated the relationship between the 

 spleen and the anterior pituitary and concluded that the 

 gland is required for the normal maintenance of the spleen." 

 However, it is not possible to state that the anterior pituitary 

 secretes a separate spleen-stimulating principle. Hypophy- 

 sectomy in rats is followed by splenic atrophy, which regres- 

 ses considerably if an emulsion of pituitary be injected. Re- 

 generation of a remnant of the spleen after partial splen- 

 ectomy likewise is prevented by hypophysectomy but takes 

 place as a result of administration of pituitary emulsion. The 

 injection of an emulsion of anterior pituitary of the ox into 



3' See also Friedgood (1936J and earlier reports on the effect of hypophysectomy. 



[236I 



