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THE EFFECTS UPON GROWTH AND METABOLISM OF THE ADDITION OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF OVARIAN TISSUE, PITUITARY, AND THYROID TO THE NORMAL DIETARY OF WHITE RATS
Author(s) -
Schäfer E. A.
Publication year - 1912
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0370-2901
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1912.sp000115
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , thyroid , excretion , urine , metabolism , pituitary gland , chemistry , ovary , biology , hormone
The experiments related in this paper have been carried out on groups of white rats fed on a normal diet of bread and milk, to which, after a certain preliminary period, small quantities of the glandular substance of the ovary, pituitary body, or thyroid were respectively added. Determinations were made in each group of the rate of growth, the amount of food consumed, the amount of nitrogen excreted and retained, and the amounts of P 2 O 5 , Ca, and Mg excreted. The following are the chief results obtained:— 1. Addition of ovarian or pituitary tissue in small amounts to the normal dietary of growing rats has little or no effect on their growth or metabolism. 2. Addition of similar amounts of thyroid tissue causes a great increase of food consumption, especially in quite young animals, with acceleration of growth and retention of nitrogen in the body. At the same time, the nitrogenous metabolism is greatly increased, as is indicated by the large augmentation of nitrogen in the excreta—especially in the urine. 3. Certain differences are observable in the two sexes. 4. The excretion of phosphorus appears to be uninfluenced by ovarian or pituitary addition, but there is an increase with thyroid when the addition of this to the food is increased beyond a certain amount. 5. There appears to be an increased excretion of Ca and Mg in pituitary‐ and thyroid‐fed animals as compared with those to the food of which ovarian tissue is added. But the variations in different experiments are considerable, and render this result doubtful.