328 INTERNAL SECRETION 



it into the intestine. The proportion of the alkalies to nitrogen 

 in the urine also increases after the exhibition of pituitrin in 

 the same way as after thyroid. Thus both thyroid and pituitary 

 increase the general metabolism of salt, the larger part of the 

 excess being carried off by the intestines. 



After the injection of pituitrinum infundibulare into dogs 

 with normal nitrogen metabolism, Falta and his co-workers found 

 that, whether the animals were fed on flesh or on milk and white 

 bread, there was invariably an increase in the metabolism of 

 albumin. 



As far as the metabolism of purins was concerned, there was 

 a rise in the excretion of uric acid with simultaneous reduction in 

 the allantoin nitrogen. This is probably due to the increased 

 diuresis, owing to which a larger proportion of uric acid is with- 

 drawn from oxidation to form allantoin. 



A definite influence of pituitary substance upon the metabol- 

 ism of the carbohydrates has not been observed. The sugar- 

 contents of the blood are not augmented; but the exhibition of 

 adrenalin in dogs which have previously been treated with 

 pituitrin is followed by a remarkable increase in the excretion of 

 sugar. 



It is interesting to note that four rabbits, which Delille treated 

 with injections of pituitary extract over a period of fourteen 

 months, became very fat. 



What is at present known concerning the effect of injections 

 of pituitary extract upon the growth of the bones, is insufficient 

 to justify a definitive pronouncement. Caselli was unable to 

 influence the processes of growth in young dogs and rabbits by 

 means of glycerine extract of pituitary. Cerletti found that the 

 subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection of such extract pro- 

 duced backwardness in weight and in the development of the 

 bones; the long bones, especially, were short in comparison with 

 those of the control animal. Taking into consideration the fact 

 that large quantities of the, by no means indifferent, extract were 

 employed in these experiments, the results cannot be regarded as 

 conclusive. 



EXPERIMENTAL STIMULATION OF THE 

 HYPOPHYSIS. 



The changes produced in the general circulation by the 

 mechanical and electric stimulation of the hypophysis were investi- 

 gated by E. v. Cyon. Upon the results of these investigations, 

 together with the known properties of pituitary extract, he based 

 his theory concerning the function of the hypophysis, v. Cyon 

 regarded the hypophysis and the thyroid as protective organs to 

 the brain, whose function it is to prevent a dangerous flush of 

 blood to that part. These organs, acting in concert, regulate the 



