Adrenal Glands of Mongoose — Tomich 
239 
(1953). Females were classed as immature if 
non-parous and inactive, and as adult if in any 
stage including and following first onset of 
uterine enlargement. Adult females were sub- 
divided into four classes: active ( preimplanta- 
tion), pregnant, lactating, and inactive, in the 
sequence of the breeding cycle. 
Analysis of variance by the approximate 
method of unweighted means (Snedecor, 1956: 
385-386) was the principal test applied. The 
more sophisticated method of fitting constants 
(Steel and Tome, I960: 257-265) was used 
to determine levels of significance between 
years in the combined classes. Duncan’s new 
multiple range test (Steel and Torrie: 107- 
109 ) extended the usefulness of both these 
methods. 
d" i m. 
2 IM. 
O' AD. 
§ AD. 
82 
133 
215 (_ 
354 
4 
20 40 60 
ADRENAL WEIGHT 
ACTIVE 
PREGNANT 
LACTATION 
I NACTIVE 
* 
* 
20 40 60 
ADRENAL WEIGHT 
ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION 
Mongoose adrenal glands are quite regular 
in shape, lacking the acutely angular borders, 
prominent notching, and frequently bi-lobed 
appearance of these glands in the dog as fig- 
ured by Baker (1936). The left gland is some- 
what elongate and flattened compared to the 
right one, which is often blunt and thick with 
slightly angular lateral and ventral borders. 
Both glands tend to narrow toward the pos- 
terior end. They lie closely against the dorsal 
body wall just medial to the anterior poles of 
the kidneys. The right gland is nearly con- 
cealed by the postcaval vein, and this seems to 
enhance its medio-lateral depression and to 
form the angular borders described. The caudate 
lobe of the liver envelopes the free surfaces of 
this gland, the lateral surface in particular, and 
intensifies its crowded position. The left gland 
is freely situated; it lies adjacent to the post- 
caval vein and is lightly pressed against the 
dorsal body wall by the pancreas and stomach. 
One adrenolumbar vein courses along the 
anterior and dorsolateral surfaces of the right 
adrenal, and receives a prominent branch from 
its anterior quarter. The other arches across 
the posterior ventral third of the left adrenal, 
receives a branch from this gland, and fre- 
quently impresses a slight notch in its medial 
border where the vessel enters the left renal 
or the postcaval vein. 
Fig. 1. Mongoose adrenal weights in milligrams 
per 100 grams of body weight, according to age and 
sex {above), and for the adult females classed by re- 
productive condition {below). Means plus and minus 
two standard errors, extremes, and sample size are 
indicated for each class. 
The right adrenal is smaller than the left 
one, as in most mammals. The mean weight of 
the right gland in a series of 20 males was 
793 ± 0.53% (1 SE) of the left one, and in 
20 females it was 79.7 ± 0.66% (P < 0.01 in 
both sexes between right and left glands). 
RESULTS 
In young males (Fig. 1) the mean relative 
adrenal mass is slightly smaller than in young 
females (P < 0.05). In adults this divergence 
is intensified: for males relative mean gland 
size becomes even smaller, and for females it 
becomes much larger (P < 0.01 in compari- 
sons of adults of each sex with all other classes ) . 
Seasonal fluctuations in adrenal size are small 
in adults. Among females (Fig. 1) significant 
change occurs only in lactation, when size is 
greater than in any other adult class (P < 0.01 
for each). Testes of adult males regress only 
slightly in the non-breeding period, approxi- 
mately from August through December. In a 
sample of 126 males older than one year, as 
judged by progressive toothwear, I found no 
significant differences in adrenal size between 
