PINEAL BODY 391 



4. There are no corresponding changes in pullets. 



These interesting results with cockerels received an important 

 confirmation by Sarteschi, who had previously failed to extirp- 

 ate the pineal body. Following the technique employed by Foa 

 for chickens and first recommended by Lo Monaco (that is to 

 say, by ligaturing the longitudinal sinus), Sarteschi succeeded 

 in extirpating the pineal body in very young rabbits and dogs. 

 In the males which survived the operation there was a notable 

 hypertrophy of the testes, bodily overgrowth and sexual 

 precocity results quite comparable with those obtained by 

 Foa in cockerels. 



More recently Foa reports that pineal extirpation has no 

 effect on female chickens or female rats. But upon male rats 

 there is an effect comparable with that produced in cockerels, 

 viz., a rapid increase in body weight and in size of the testes. 

 He notes also an advanced development both of the sper- 

 matozoa and of the interstitial tissue of the testis, both in rats 

 and cockerels. The premature increase of interstitial tissue, it 

 is suggested, corresponds to the precocity of the secondary 

 sexual characters growth of comb in the cock and increase 

 of body weight in the rat. 



These observations are of the greatest interest and impor- 

 tance, and point very strongly to the view that the pineal gland 

 exercises an inhibitory function upon sexual development before 

 puberty. At this period an involution of the gland occurs. 



5. Effects of Castration upon the Pineal Body 



Although Sarteschi in 1910 had failed to find changes in the 

 pineal body of animals castrated in early life, yet Biach and 

 Hulles report that castration causes atrophy of the pineal. 

 Castration is stated to have the contrary effect upon the 

 pituitary body. 



6. Feeding Experiments 



Pineal feeding was suggested by Kidd in 1913, and the first 

 actual experiments in this direction so far as I am aware, were 

 carried out by Dana and Berkeley in the same year. These 

 authors state that feeding guinea-pigs and young rabbits with 

 pineal gland causes an increase in body weight, but the opposite 

 effect is obtained in children. 



