Abstract
Anderson and Wolfe 1 point out that previous results of pinealectomy have been almost equally divided among those authors who report premature sexual development, frequently accompanied by increased growth, and those who obtained negative results. In their own work on 30 rats, pinealectomized at 1–3 days with adequate controls, no effect was found on rate of growth, age of puberty or weights of endocrine organs involved in growth and sexual development.
It was thought that by continuing early pinealectomy over several generations, some effect might become manifest. This work was, therefore, intended as a preliminary test with a few animals with the idea that if some change did show up by the fourth or fifth generation, a more thorough and systematic study would be justified.
Four litters of rats of the same age were divided into control and test groups. The test animals of this and of later generations were all operated before reaching 48 hours of age. A diamond shaped bit of skull and dura about 2 mm. on the side and with 2 sides lying directly adjacent and parallel to the transverse sinuses was cut out over the cerebellum. The pineal, in the rat, lies directly beneath the junction of the transverse and sagittal sinuses. It is not exposed by this procedure, but by inserting the points of a tightly closing iris forceps about one mm. beneath the skull and dura at this point, the gland is almost invariably removed when the forceps are closed and withdrawn. Although the pineal is tiny, it is discrete and has a tough capsule, so that when it is removed at the first attempt there is no doubt as to the completeness of the operation.
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