352 C. M. JACKSON 



a i)r()^i'essive decrease in staining capacity (granules and plasmo- 

 sonies) with vacuolization of the cytoplasm. The final appear- 

 ances are described as follows: 



Nejili animali inorti di fame, uso lesprcssionc nel senso il piu lato, 

 le cellule sono tutte, o presso che tiitte, ridotte come in vesicolc, quali 

 piu e quali meno gonfie, con nucleo, anch'esso, un po' vuoto e rigonfio 

 e il protoplasma ridotto ad un velo, interrotto qua e la di qualche 

 vacuolo e con appena una traccia di granuli o di plasmosomi. 



In several dogs and rabbits (both young and adult) subjected 

 to chronic inanition, however, Guerrini found no apparent change 

 in the secretion (specific staining reactions) of the hypophysis 

 cells. Unfortunately no details are given as to the exact charac- 

 ter and extent of the chronic inanition. Possibly his negative 

 results may be due to the comparative mildness of the inanition. 

 His findings in the later stages of acute inanition are in general 

 agreement with mine, excepting that he describes the nuclei as 

 vesicular rather than pycnotic in structure. 



It is a noteworthy fact that most of the changes above de- 

 scribed in the cells of the hyj^ophysis — arrested mitosis (resumed 

 on refeeding), shrinkage in cell volume, nuclear pycnosis and loss 

 of specific cytoplasmic staining reactions — are strikingly similar 

 to those found in the hypophysis of the hibernating marmot 

 (woodchuck) by Gemelli ('06) and by Gushing and Goetsch 

 ('15). Mann ('16), however, points out that if such changes 

 are the cause of hibernation, they should appear well-marked at 

 the beginning of hibernation, since later they might be merel}' 

 a result of the long continued torpid state. He finds these 

 changes inconstant in the hibernating gopher (Spermophilus) . 

 In view of the striking similarity of the cell changes in the two 

 conditions (hibernation and inanition) , it seems highly probable 

 that the changes described in the hypophysis during hibernation 

 are simply the effects of the chronic inanition involved. 



Since the rapid growth of the body in young rats upon refeed- 

 ing after a period of maintenance precedes the reestablishment of 

 the specific cell-granules (acidophile or basophile) in the hy- 

 pophysis, it is evident that their function can not be the cause 

 of the body growth. It is, however, at least theoretically, possi- 



