430 INANITION AND MALNUTRITION 



Hibernation. — Valentin ('57) in a hibernating marmot with loss of 8.3 per 

 cent in body weight observed an apparent loss of 39.13 per cent in the suprarenal 

 glands; and in another, with loss of 35.5 per cent in body weight, a loss of 45.65 

 per cent in the suprarenals. Carlier ('93) mentioned a total absence of pig- 

 ment granules in the suprarenal gland of the hibernating hedgehog. In the 

 suprarenal cortex of the hibernating frog (Rana esculenta), Stilling ('98) observed 

 a persistence of the fat droplets throughout the entire winter. A special type 

 of acidophile, finely granular cells, found in the cortex of the summer frogs, 

 disappears in winter. The cells of the suprarenal medulla continue the charac- 

 teristic chromaffin reaction during the winter, although this reaction becomes 

 somewhat masked by the development of unstained vacuoles, especially in the 

 periphery of the cytoplasm. 



In the suprarenal glands of various hibernating bats, Baroncini and Beretta 

 ('01a) described (1) a progressive decrease in the cortical fat; (2) cloudy swelling 

 of the entire gland, especially the zona fasciculata and the medulla; and (3) 

 apparent emigration of the nucleus, in the zona fasciculata. Federici ('03) 

 found no change in the cortical lipoids in hibernating bats and dormice. Bon- 

 namour ('05, '05a) found (contrary to the results during ordinary inanition) a 

 decrease in the fat of the suprarenal cortex in hibernating hedgehogs and 

 marmots, also absence of pigment (confirming Carlier), but no emigration of 

 the nucleolus. Ciaccio ('10) also noted a scarcity of lipoids in the suprarenal 

 cortex of the hibernating hedgehog and dormouse. Mann ('16) found fairly 

 definite seasonal variations in the suprarenal glands of the hibernating gopher 

 (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), but concluded that these are not a specific 

 factor in causing hibernation. 



(B) Effects of Partial Inanition 



The effects of partial inanition upon the suprarenal glands include those of 

 deficiencies in protein (malnutritional edema and pellagra), of salts (scurvy), of 

 vitamins (A, B and C) and of water. 



Protein Deficiencies. — Although malnutritional edema is probably in most 

 cases due to a mixed deficiency, it is classified primarily as a protein deficiency, 

 for reasons stated in Chapter V. Although this disorder has long been known, 

 under various names, the corresponding changes in the suprarenal have only 

 recently been recognized. Paltauf ('17) in malnourished, emaciated adults, 

 with or without edema, noted fat and doubly refractive lipoid substances in the 

 suprarenal cortex. Hiilse ('18) and Schittenhelm and Schlecht ('18, '19) in 

 famine edema and allied conditions noted an enlargement of the suprarenal 

 glands, in striking contrast with the atrophy of the body and of most of the 

 viscera. 



The possible relation of malnutritional edema to the changes in the supra- 

 renals was emphasized by McCarrison ('20a, '21). He found that in pigeons 

 fed autoclaved rice (deficient in proteins, fats, vitamins and salts) edema, as 

 well as polyneuritis, frequently occurs, especially in the younger animals and 

 in those with the greatest enlargement of the suprarenals. The relation of the 



