Abstract
A relation of the anterior pituitary to carbohydrate metabolism has often been suspected on the basis of the frequent occurrence of hyperglycemia and glycosuria in acromegaly, and of anatomical changes in the anterior pituitary in diabetes mellitus, but such a connection was not indicated experimentally until Houssay and Biasotti 1 showed that pancreatic diabetes could be prevented in toads by removal of the anterior pituitary. Subcutaneous implantation of anterior pituitary in such depancreatized toads re-established the diabetes. They were unable to show a similar relation in mammals either by gland implantation or by injections of anterior pituitary extracts, although depancreatized and hypophysectomized dogs survived longer and showed milder diabetes than did depancreatized controls 2 . Evans, Meyer, Simpson, and Reichert 3 reported observations in which they produced glycosuria and polyuria in 2 of 4 dogs by daily injections of the growth hormone fraction of anterior pituitary extracts for 8 or 9 months.
We have made somewhat similar observations in rabbits. Hyperglycemia, polyuria, glycosuria, and lipemia developed after injecting a saline extract of ox pituitary daily for 6 or more days, in some instances of surprisingly great intensity. It occurred in each of the 4 rabbits used, though varying in degree.
The extract was prepared twice weekly from fresh chilled glands, according to the method of Schockaert 4 except for the measures used in sterilization. It produced typical reactions among which were rapid hypertrophy of the mammary glands with lactation, luteinization of the ovaries, hypertrophy of the thyroid and suprarenal cortex.
The rabbits were kept on our stock diet of alfalfa hay and oats. Two were injected with 2 cc. and 2 with 4 cc. daily, equivalent to one-half and one anterior pituitary respectively.
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