Bilateral extirpation of the ulti-mobranchial glands in Rana pipiens results in a 2-fold increase in urinary excretion of calcium, an effect which is detectable within 24 hr. Hypercalciuria combined with urinary volume excretion rate of 2.0% body weight/hr resulted in a loss of 1.05 mg calcium/week. Urinary pH was unchanged during this period and remained within a range of pH 6.8−7.2. Homeoplastic transplantation of ultimobranchial glands into 14-day ultimobranchialectomized host frogs resulted in a return to normal urine calcium levels within 24 hr which persisted for 4 days. Donor frogs exhibited the typical hypercalciuric response. Results obtained following ultimobran-chialectomy, and presumably deprivation of calcitonin, suggest tha t the gland imposes an inhibitory influence on renal calcium excretion. (Endocrinology84: 1174, 1969)
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Douglas R. Robertson (1969) studied this question.