Production of Atheromatosis in the Aorta of the Chicken by Administration of Diethylstilbestrol. ∗

Abstract

The experimental production of a hyper-lipemic atheromatosis by methods other than the feeding of cholesterol has not hitherto been reported. It is shown here that atheromatosis can be induced in the bird by-the subcutaneous implantation of diethyl-Stilbestrol, a procedure that results in a sustained hyperlipemia. 1 This provides a new and simple procedure for the study of experimental atheromatosis. It has the distinct advantage in that aortic lesions so produced more closely resemble the spontaneous lesions in birds than do those produced by the exogenous administration of cholesterol.

Pellets of diethylstilbestrol, each weighing approximately 25 mg, were implanted into White Leghorn cockerels obtained from a single hatch. A single pellet was injected into each bird when it was 3.3 months old and at the following intervals thereafter: 30 days, 40 days, and 65 days. Blood samples were taken for lipid analyses at monthly intervals during the course of the experiment. All birds used in this study were fed a stock diet, the composition of which has been described elsewhere. 2 The birds were sacrificed by exsanguination and their tissues examined histologically.

Thoracic Aorta. The thoracic aortas of 5 of the 7 birds that were examined from 6 to 7 months after implanation of the first pellet contained lesions that were grossly visible. These were lemon yellow in color and appeared as elliptical plaques that measured from 1 to 2 mm inwidth and from 1 2 to 15 mm in length. I n 4 of the birds these areas wereslightly elevated. They were most numerous on the convex side of the aortic arch, although in one bird they were also found in the brachiocephalic arteries and in the lower thoracic and abdominal portions of the aorta.