Abstract
A clinical and pathological investigation of a spontaneous and highly fatal intoxication in pregnant rabbits indicated that the disorder was of endogenous origin and that it was analogous to toxemia of pregnancy in women. 1 , 2 The occurrence of the disease in typical form in pseudopregnant and in post-partum animals eliminated the possibility of a toxic factor arising from the products of conception. On the other hand, the presence of productive changes in the pituitary in contrast to the degenerative character of lesions in other organs suggested that an abnormal secretory activity might be a primary factor in the genesis of the intoxication. Accordingly, attempts were made to induce the disorder in experimental animals with various pituitary preparations.
Pituitary extracts were prepared by first grinding the anterior lobes of fresh beef glands with sterile sand to form a paste. After the addition of 3 cc of distilled water per gram of anterior lobe tissue, the mixture was agitated for 6 hours in a mechanical shaker. Following centrifugation, the supernatant fluid was withdrawn and used immediately or stored for a brief interval at freezing temperature.
Subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injections of 5 cc of this extract, 500 rat units of Antuitrin S∗ or 1 cc of Antuitrin∗ made on the 27th day of gestation and repeated on the 29th day induced a disorder which resembled the spontaneous disease in many particulars. On the other hand, control inoculations of sterile saline or fresh and autolyzed extracts of beef muscle and liver failed to reproduce any feature of the condition.
The clinical pictures and pathological changes induced by beef pituitary preparations, Antuitrin S and Antuitrin were similar but, in general, a less severe disorder followed the administration of Antuitrin S than occurred after injections of the other materials.
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