Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
March,  1915.  J 
The  Pineal  Gland. 
121 
Below  are  recorded  some  findings  from  experimental  work  that 
are  entirely  in  accord  with  the  results  obtained  by  Dana  and  Berkeley.0 
Contrary  to  the  view  that  precocious  development  is  due  to  pineal 
deficiency  (hypopinealism) ,  the  same  precocity  in  development  has 
been  brought  about  by  the  oral  administration  of  pineal  gland  tissue. 
Experimental  Data. 
The  general  plan  of  work  entailed  in  this  study  has  been  to  feed  to 
very  young  animals  minute  quantities  of  pineal  tissue  and  to  record 
the  weight  changes/  sexual  differences,  and,  in  the  case  of  dogs, 
increased  mentality,  over  control  animals  maintained  under  other- 
wise identical  conditions.  One  hundred  and  ten  guinea-pigs,  eighteen 
puppies,  fourteen  adult  dogs,  and  sixteen  chicks  have  been  under 
observation. 
Fresh  pineal  glands  from  cattle  have  been  employed.  These  were 
in  part  from  veal,  in  part  from  young  adults  approximating  three 
years,  and  in  part  from  the  general  run  of  cattle  from  the  abattoirs. 
The  glands  averaged  in  weight  (on  weighing  sixty  glands)  2.14 
grains.  There  were  in  the  many  thousand  glands  making  up  the 
several  pounds  that  have  been  used  marked  variations  in  size,  shape, 
and  melanopigment.  This  pigment,  which  was  present  in  a  high 
percentage  of  glands,  involves  chiefly  the  encapsulating  tissue. 
For  feeding  experiments  the  glands  were  prepared  for  permanent 
use  in  the  following  manner :  The  fresh  glands  were  rinsed  free  of 
blood  and  stripped  of  adherent  tissue.  They  were  ground  to  a  fine 
paste  in  the  Latapie  grinder,  and,  without  drying,  the  paste  was 
admixed  with  milk-sugar  in  such  quantity  that  y2 -grain  milk-sugar 
represented  10  mg.  pineal  tissue.  The  mass  was  made  into  y2 -grain 
tablets  and  quickly  dried  at  room  temperature. 
Early  in  the  work  it  was  apparent  that  the  more  striking  results 
were  being  obtained  from  the  animals  fed  with  pineal  substance  from 
cattle  not  having  reached  adult  life.  ErTorts*were  then  made  to  estab- 
lish quantitatively  the  activity  and  the  identity  of  the  various  ex- 
perimental lots  of  pineal  preparations  by  employing  the  methods 
commonly  used  in  testing  the  activity  of  endocrinous  derivatives. 
Although  certain  cardiovascular  changes  regularly  follow  the  intra- 
venous administration  of  pineal  extracts  to  dogs,  the  extent  of  these 
changes  is  not  a  measure  of  the  activity  of  the  gland  as  a  stimulator 
of  growth. 
9  Dana  and  Berkeley :  Med.  Rec,  New  York,  1913,  lxxxiii,  835. 
