Effect of Sympathetic Denervation on the Noradrenaline and Adrenaline Content of the Spleen, Kidney, and Salivary Glands in the Sheep.

Summary. Sectioning of the periarterial nerves to the spleen in the sheep was accompanied by a fall in the noradrenaline content from 3–4 μg per g to less than 0.1 μg per g and in the adrenaline content from 0—0.14 μg per g to 0.02 μg per g or less. By 3–4½ months after denervation the noradrenaline had increased to 0.2–0.4 μg per g indicating some functional regeneration of the nerves. A corresponding reduction in the noradrenaline and adrenaline was also observed in kidney, parotid and submaxillary glands, and in liver. A rise in noradrenaline was observed in the kidney 4 1 / 2 months after denervation. The relative decrease in adrenaline after denervation was in many cases less than that of noradrenaline, a result which would be expected if adrenaline derives from chromaffine cells in the organ.