724 XI. VITAMINS E (tocopherols) 



inyometrium.^^-'^^^'""^'-^^"-^^ Similar but less intense coloration occurs in 

 the smooth muscle of other genital tissues, especially that of the fallopian 

 tubes, cervix, vagina, in the female, and that of the seminal vesicle, prostate, 

 and vas deferens in the male. The smooth muscle of the ureter, trabeculae, 

 and capsule of the spleen, liver, lymph-nodes, small intestine, bronchi, and 

 uterine and pulmonary veins are Ukewise colored. ^^"•-''^•-^^•-^^^•-^'' 



The deposition of the pigment can be prevented if the females are 

 ovariectomized l)efore pregnancy, but it will occur even in operated animals 

 if they are given estrogens. -^^•^'^'' When the pigment is once established, 

 it cannot be influenced to any extent by prolonged tocopherol therapy or 

 by pregnancy, castration or hormone treatment. 



Species appears to be the most important factor in the determination of 

 the locus of the smooth muscle affected in \'itamin E-deficiency. In 

 contradistinction to the results on the rat which are listed above. Mason 

 and Telford"^ report that, in the monkey, the pigment changes are es- 

 pecially marked in the vascular smooth muscle, but that they also occur in 

 the smooth musculature of the small intestine, gall-bladder, urinary 

 bladder, and bronchi. In the case of hamsters, the lesions are largely 

 limited to the urinary bladder, blood vessels, and the small intestine. ^^^ 

 In the dog onlj' the small intestine is involved, while in the cotton rat, no 

 lesions of this nature were noted as a result of vitamin E deficiency.-'^ 

 (July a In-ownish discoloration is present in the uterus of the mouse. -'^ 

 In the fowl no pigmentation in the smooth muscle has been observed as a 

 result of vitamin E deficiency. Turkey poults exhibit patches of hyahne 

 necrosis of the smooth muscle in the gizzard, together with inflammatory 

 reactions and fibrosis. ^"^ Chicks exhibit a milder type of reaction. ^''- 



f. The Role of Vitamin E in Relation to Cardiac Muscle. Changes 



^^^ W. Ruppel, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch, exptl. Pathol. Pharmakol, 206, 584-601 

 (1949). 



29* W. Hessler, Z. Vitaminforsch., 11, 9-29 (1941). 



296 M. M. O. Barrie, Biochem. J., 32, 2134-2137 (1938). 



295" A. J. P. Martin and T. Moore, Chemistry & Industry, 55, 236 (1935); 57, 973-974 

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