Effect of Adrenalectomy and Hypophysectomy upon Experimental Diabetes in the Cat

Abstract

We have previously reported some preliminary observations upon 5 adrenalectomized-depancreatized cats 1 and upon 2 hypophysectomized-depancreatized cats. 2 In the first series of adrenalectomized-depancreatized animals the operations were performed in 3 stages, but in the present group of 5 animals we have found it possible to remove the remaining adrenal and all the pancreas at one operation. These animals have survived 8, 9, 9, 16 and 28 days respectively. By this procedure we have avoided any loss of weight prior to total adrenalectomy and pancreatectomy, and since the results obtained are substantially identical with the previous ones the criticism of Ring 3 that previous inanition was responsible for the effects observed would appear to be unfounded. In addition, depancreatized cats treated with insulin or cats in whom a pancreatic remnant is left lose considerable weight, but when insulin is withdrawn or the last piece of pancreas extirpated, they do not survive any longer than animals totally depancreatized in one stage.

In the present series of experiments we have compared the urinary glucose, nitrogen and acetone bodies of 3 normal, 4 depancreatized, 4 hypophysectomized-depancreatized and 5 adrenalectomized-depancreatized cats. All these animals were fasting. In the case of the depancreatized cats the observations were made during the remainder of life and in the other animals for 5–7 days from the day of operation. The results are in Table I.

It will be observed that the well known high excretion of glucose and nitrogen is much reduced in the doubly operated animals while the characteristic ketonuria is almost entirely absent. The latter does not become evident throughout life unless steps are taken to induce it. Rietti 4 has reported comparable finding in the hypophysectomized-depancreatized dog, but so far as we know such observations have not been previously made in adrenalectomized-depancreatized animals.