THE PITUITARY BODY 



sugar-tolerance and a diminished sensitivity toward insulin. 

 Diet was without effect in hypophysectomized rabbits which, 

 irrespective of food high or low in carbohydrate, were found 

 to possess a high sugar-tolerance and an increased insulin- 

 sensitivity. However, anterior pituitary extract altered the 

 response of hypophysectomized rabbits to a high-carbohy- 

 drate diet, so that it resembled that of normal animals on a 

 low-carbohydrate diet. Cope (1937) was interested in the 

 effect of hypophysectomy on the rabbit's ability to store 

 glycogen in the liver. There seemed to be no interference 

 with this process after the intravenous injection of glucose 

 into fasting animals. However, unlike normal animals re- 

 ceiving no food for 48 hours, hypophysectomized rabbits 

 stored no glycogen in the liver after the injection either of 

 insulin or of epinephrine. After the intravenous injection of 

 lactate, less glycogen was stored by hypophysectomized rab- 

 bits than by normal rabbits. 



The interrelationship of the pars glandularis and pancreas 

 as revealed by extirpation experiments.'''^ — It is well known 

 that Houssay and Biasotti first demonstrated that the course 

 of diabetes mellitus due to pancreatectomy is greatly amelio- 

 rated by the removal of the pars glandularis. This observa- 

 tion has been confirmed by a number of investigators who 

 have added new data on the manner in which hypophy- 



'* According to Krichesky (1936), the volume of islet tissue in the pancreas of the 

 rat increases after hypophysectomy. The increase in the volume of islet tissue per- 

 haps was less (in terms of body-weight), if hypophysectomized rats were given in- 

 jections of anterior pituitary extract. Hypophysectomy was performed 30-60 

 days before observations were made. 



Fichera and Aldoni (1937) studied the pituitary body of depancreatized cats. 

 The pituitary was hypertrophied (20.80 mg. per kg. body-weight compared 

 with 9.69 mg. per kg. body-weight in normal cats). Histological changes were 

 beheved to be a marked reduction or even a disappearance of oxyphils and a pro- 

 nounced increase of the percentage of reserve cells. 



The observations of Jacobs and Colwell (1936) are believed to have a bearing on 

 the subject matter of this chapter. These authors infused glucose solution intra- 

 venously into non-anesthetized dogs until death occurred as a result of a non-keto- 

 genic acidosis. There was congestion of all the tissues; however, specific, marked 

 hemorrhage and evidences of destruction occurred in the pars glandularis and 

 pancreas. 



[216] 



