Abstract
A. Effect of oestrus on the life-span of the adrenalectomized dog not receiving adrenal cortical hormone. Rogoff and Stewart 1 first demonstrated that the bitch, if adrenalectomized when in heat, could survive in normal health and without treatment of any kind, for as long as 65 days. This observation has been repeatedly confirmed in this laboratory by withholding hormone from the animal in heat. 2
During the past 2 years we have studied 5 dogs in heat. The span of normal health varied, but in all cases it was greatly in excess of the longest time interval we have observed to intervene between cortical extract withdrawal and onset of adrenal insufficiency. The dogs were maintained without cortical hormone as follows: One dog 60 days; one 57 days; one 47 days; one 45 days; and one 40 days. At the end of these intervals adrenal insufficiency symptoms were evident and cortical hormone was injected. The arterial pressure, serum sodium, chloride, blood urea nitrogen, hemoglobin and glucose remained within normal limits throughout the period of good health.
Oestrus was experimentally induced in one adrenalectomized bitch by injections of extracts of menopause urine containing folliclestimulating hormone of the anterior pituitary, followed by Follutein (pregnancy urine extract, E. R. Squibb & Sons). The animal came into heat 10 days following the first injection. Cortical hormone was then withheld while the injections of gonadotropic factors were continued. The dog remained free from symptoms and in good health for 25 days.*
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