EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION OF GIGANTISM BY 



FEEDING THE ANTERIOR LOBE OF 



THE HYPOPHYSIS. 



By EDUARD UHLENHUTH. 



{From the Laboratories of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.) 



(Received for publication, November 29, 1920.) 



Perhaps the most reliable information as to what may be the func- 

 tion of the hypophysis (or any other endocrine gland) may be ex- 

 pected to be obtained through experiments on the extirpation and 

 transplantation of the gland. The majority of these experiments have 

 shown in a rather conclusive way, that growth and development are 

 inhibited in the partial (mammalians) or total (amphibians) absence 

 of the anterior lobe; an increase of the rate of growth ensues if anterior 

 lobes are grafted to the animals. ^ Particularly clear are the results 

 obtained in amphibians. As shown by Smith^ and by Allen,^ the extir- 

 pation of the anterior lobe of the hypophysis results in an inhibition 

 of growth and metamorphosis of the operated tadpoles. Recently 

 Allen* has shown that grafting the anterior lobe of adult frogs on 

 tadpoles causes an acceleration of growth and development in normal 

 larvse, and that it also restores the power of growth and development 

 after they had been lost through extirpation of the anterior lobe. 



These experiments -seem to demonstrate that the anterior lobe of 

 the hypophysis is the organ which makes growth possible during the 

 normal growth period of life. They do not afford, however, any evi- 

 dence as to whether the substance of the anterior lobe can cause growth 

 to continue beyond the period of life in which, under normal condi- 

 tions, the ability of growth is lost and whether in this way the anterior 



^ For a more complete discussion of the literature see Uhlenhuth, E., The rdle 

 of the internal secretions in growth and development, in a book on Internal 

 secretion and metabolism, edited by L. F. Barker and R. G. Hoskins (in press). 



2 Smith, P. E., Science, 1916, xlix, 280; Anat. Rec, 1916-17, xi, 57. 



3 Allen, B. M., Science, 1916, xliv, 755. 

 ''Allen, B. M., Science, 1920, lii, 275. 



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