294 CORTEX 



Szent-Gyorgi named the compound ascorbic acid but the name 

 cevitamic acid has been adopted by the Council of the Ameri- 

 can Medical Association to avoid any therapeutic implications. 



Ascorbic acid is present in both the cortex and the medulla. 

 Reduction of silver nitrate to give a black precipitate has been 

 used to indicate its presence but this test is interfered with by 

 the epinephrine of the medulla. 326 Hence the conclusion of 

 earlier workers that ascorbic acid was present in the cortex 

 only is incorrect. The concentration of ascorbic acid differs 

 in different parts of the gland. Glick and Biskind 225 found 1.2 

 to 1.3 mgms. of the vitamin per gram of medullary tissue in 

 beef adrenals. In the fascicular layer of the cortex, it was 

 present in a concentration \\ times as great as in the medulla. 



The structure of ascorbic acid has been determined and its 

 synthesis accomplished. Its distribution in the organism and 

 its chemical, physiological, and therapeutic properties have 

 been widely investigated. 



The ascorbic acid content of the adrenals of various animals 

 ranges from 0.76 mgms. per gram for the beef to 5.2 mgms. 

 per gram for the rat. 607 The ascorbic acid content of the liver 

 varies from 0.08 mgms. per gram for the rabbit to 0.46 mgm. 

 for the sheep and the rat. Considering the relative sizes of the 

 adrenal and the liver it is obvious that the latter organ is the 

 chief store for ascorbic acid in the body. Other organs also 

 contain an appreciable amount of ascorbic acid. Thus 

 Svirbely 607 found the following average values for the ascorbic 

 acid content of the guinea pig, expressed in mgms. per gram of 

 different organs: adrenal, 0.25; liver, 0.02; kidney, 0.02; heart, 

 0.005; spleen, 0.08; leg muscle, 0.005. 



The presence of vitamin C in the adrenals led earlier workers 

 to assume that these glands were intimately associated with the 

 production of scurvy. Experiments were adduced which 

 reputed to show that the administration of the cortical hor- 

 mone ameliorated the symptoms and protected animals against 

 scurvy. It was demonstrated by Grollman and Firor, 247 how- 



