Effects of Thyroxin Injections on the Suprarenal Glands of the Mouse

The present investigation was undertaken to test the influence of an added amount of thyroid product on the histological structure of the mouse suprarenal. Beginning with the report of Magnus-Levy (1895), who first found that thyroid feeding may cause loss of weight in an animal, numerous papers have appeared recording an increase in body weight resulting from small dosage in thyroid feeding, and a decrease in body weight or a retardation in growth produced by higher dosages, the latter effect being possibly due, in the opinion of Hoskins (1916), to the toxic effect of the larger amounts. Besides changes in body weight, other effects that have been reported include: (a) Interference with pregnancy by thyroid of probably toxic size (Gudernatsch, 1915), an effect similar to that observed by Stockard (1913) in animals treated with alcohol; (b) hypertrophy of certain organs, including the suprarenals, following thyroxin injections (Cameron and Carmichael, 1921); and (c) sex differences in the response of the suprarenals to thyroid feeding (Hoskins, 1916; Herring, 1917; Hewitt, 1920). A sex difference in the response of the suprarenals to gonadectomy has been reported by Hatai (1915).