Chapter XVII 



THE RELATION OF THE ADRENALS TO TOXINS, IN- 

 FECTION, AND IMMUNITY 



Adrenalectomized animals are exceedingly sensitive to tox- 

 ins. 52 - 138 - 155, 394, 479, 629 They are prone to infections and rap- 

 idly succumb to disease processes which have only trivial ef- 

 fects in normal animals. This same loss of tolerance to toxins 

 and infections is manifested in Addison's disease, in which 

 minor ailments may precipitate the patient into a crisis. Be- 

 cause of these oft-observed hypersusceptibilities of the organ- 

 ism in adrenal insufficiency it has been thought that the 

 adrenals are in some way responsible for the production of 

 those immunological bodies which protect the normal indi- 

 vidual. 61 



Further evidence implying a possible relation of adrenal 

 function to infectious processes is found in the changes which 

 the adrenals undergo as a result of various types of toxic agents 

 and infections. Many of the anatomical changes described 

 in the literature as associated with infectious processes are 

 undoubtedly merely artifacts due to an imperfect technique 

 or to post-mortem changes which are particularly marked after 

 death from certain diseases. Nevertheless, there exists suf- 

 ficient valid evidence to substantiate the idea that toxins and 

 many infectious processes induce definitely recognizable 

 changes in the histological appearance of the adrenal glands. 

 It does not necessarily follow, however, that these histological 

 changes indicate an intimate relation between the function 

 of the adrenals and infectious or toxic processes. 



HISTOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF ADRENAL INJURIES 



The adrenal after various forms of injury undergoes changes 

 which differ according to the agent used in producing the in- 



