628 VI. OCCURRENCE OF LIPIDS IN THE ANIMAL 



hypertrophy of the gastrointestinal tract occur. Conspicuous abnormali- 

 ties in kidney function and structure have been noted, which result in al- 

 buminuria, in the presence of erythrocytes and casts in the urine, in hyalini- 

 zation of the renal glomeruli, in dilation and necrosis of the tubules, and 

 also in a generalized increase in the amount of connective tissue around the 

 nephrons. 379 In addition to the physical symptoms, abnormalities in be- 

 havior have been reported. These are particularly concerned with hyper- 

 excitability and hyperirritability. 530 



a'. Metabolic Aspects of Hypothalamic Obesity: It is a moot question 

 whether or not the obesity resulting from hypothalamic injury is to be as- 

 cribed solely to increased food intake. This accumulation of fat might con- 

 ceivably occur without augmentation of the energy intake but with a de- 

 cline in basal metabolism, a decrease in spontaneous activity, or a reduc- 

 tion in specific dynamic action. 



Experimental results indicated that the excess fat deposition resulting 

 from hypothalamic injury is largely if not entirely ascribable to increased 

 food consumption. In 1933, Keller, Hare, and D'Amour 531 first called at- 

 tention, to the "enhanced appetite" of cats and dogs subjected to hypothal- 

 amic lesions; this increased appetite was later associated with the result- 

 ing obesity by Keller and Noble. 377 Since these first experiments, the 

 "enhanced appetite" has been shown to be a prominent symptom in the 

 ratj 277,519,520,532 the ^521,522 the dog, 533 and the monkey. 523 Brobeck et aZ. 379 

 coined the term, hyperphagia, to connote the increased appetite. They 

 consider that this term is preferable to the terms "hunger," "appetite," 

 "satiety," "bulimia," and "polyphagia." 



According to Brobeck, 380 rats have an entirely abnormal attitude toward 

 their food almost immediately after hypothalamic injury. They continu- 

 ously exhibit symptoms of extreme hunger, and are described as "attack- 

 ing" or "devouring" food instead of eating it normally. Wheatley 521 de- 

 scribes how cats with hypothalamic lesions "wolfed" their food, in contra- 

 distinction to normal cats which ate their food slowly. Ingram 522 likewise 

 calls attention to the fact that the operated cats had "a high degree of vor- 

 acity, eating their meals in a fraction of the time taken by most normal cats 

 or by cats with control lesions." 



630 A. W. Hetherington and S. W. Ranson, Am. J. Physiol, 136, 609-617 (1942). 



531 A. D. Keller, W. K. Hare, and M. C. D'Amour, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 30, 

 772-775 (1933). 



532 J. Tepperman, J. R. Brobeck, and C. N. H. Long, Am. J. Physiol, 133, 468P-469P 

 (1941). 



533 P. Heinbecker, H. L. White, and D. Rolf, Am. J. Physiol, 141, 549-565 (1944). 



