Abstract
Summary
This preliminary investigation was designed to determine if thyroxine has any direct observable effect upon the larval lymph gland in vitro. Both lymph glands were aseptically removed from Rana catesbeiana larvae. One gland from each tadpole was maintained in vitro in medium containing 10 μg/ml of l-thyroxine. The contralateral glands served as control cultures and were maintained on the same medium without hormone. After eight days of culture, hormone-treated glands showed signs of degeneration as evidenced by fibrosis and loss of lymphoid cells, but control glands remained intact. Thyroxine, therefore, appears to have a direct effect upon the larval lymph gland in vitro.
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