206 /• /• Christian 



normally important adrenocortical hormones are corticosterone and hydro- 

 cortisone, and their respective ratios vary from species to species (Bush, 

 1953; Nelson, 1955) and possibly with the degree of cortical stimulation 

 (Bradlow and Gallagher, 1957). The ratio of hydrocortisone to corticoste- 

 rone (F:B ratio) may vary from less than 0.05 in rats and rabbits to greater 

 than 20 in monkeys (Bush, 1953; Reif and Longwell, 1958; Dorfman, 

 1959) . Most species lie between these two extremes (Bush, 1953) . However, 

 there is little doubt that in most species studied, exclusive of rats and mice, 

 these two steroids form from 80% to 95% of the total adrenal secretion of 

 corticoids (Jones, 1957). Corticosterone is the principal carbohydrate - 

 active corticoid secreted by mice, rats and, rabbits (Bush, 1953; Hofmann, 

 1956; 1957; Reif and Longwell, 1958; Wilson et al, Bloch and Cohen, 1960) . 

 whereas hydrocortisone is the principal corticoid in other species, including 

 guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, cats, monkeys, sheep, and humans (Bush, 

 1953; Nelson, 1955; Jones, 1957; Peron and Dorfman, 1958, Schindler and 

 Knigge, 1959a, b). The adrenals of house mice and rats apparently secrete 

 large amounts of 1 l-hydroxy-**-androstene-3 , 17-dione ( 1 1-0H4AD) 1 1-hy- 

 droxyandrostene-3,17-dione, and other closely related steroids as major 

 components of their natural adrenal secretory product in addition to 

 corticosterone and very small amounts of hydrocortisone and other corti- 

 coids (Sweat and Farrell, 1952; Bush, 1953; Hofmann, 1956; Bahn et al., 

 1957; Poore and Hollander 1957; Wilson et al., 1958 Bloch and Cohen 

 1960). Probably all species secrete 11-0H4AD and closely related Cig 

 steroids, but usually in proportionately small amounts (Bradlow and Gal- 

 lagher, 1957; Gallagher, 1958). However, it has been shown recently that 

 the adrenal androgen, dehydroepiandrosterone, comprises about 50% of 

 the total secretion of steroids by the human adrenal cortex (Vande Wiele 

 and Lieberman, 1960) . The general problem of the secretion of sex steroids 

 by the adrenal cortex has not been studied until recently in the same 

 detail as the carbohydrate-active corticoids, especially with regard to 

 differences among species, but there is no doubt that they are secreted b}^ 

 the cortex (Gallagher, 1958) . These Cig steroids may be normal products, 

 metabolites, or intermediate metabolites in the synthesis of other steroids 

 (Dorfman and Shipley, 1956; Gallagher, 1958). Apparently there is con- 

 siderable variation with species with respect to the secretion of androgens 

 and androgen precursors (Bush, 1953; Jones, 1957; Gallagher, 1958; Wilson 

 et al., 1958) . In any event, the adrenal cortex is the starting point of C19 

 steroids which may act as weak androgens (Dorfman and Shipley, 1956; 

 Gallagher, 1958) . 



Normally cortisone, hydrocortisone, and corticosterone appear in the 

 urine as metabolites which can be identified and related to the parent corti- 

 coid by the appropriate procedures (Gallagher, 1958; Dorfman, 1960). 



