THE ATROPHY OF THE ADRENAL CORTEX FOLLOWING THE ADMINISTRATION OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF PROGESTERONE

Abstract

Daily subcut. injs. of 4 mg. of crystalline progesterone in oil were administered for a 15-day period to a series of [male] rats. Some control rats were injected with sesame oil for a similar period, while other rats were carried along as normal controls. Two days after the last inj. body wts. were recorded and the animals sacrificed for wt. records and histological studies of the adrenals. Adm. of progesterone had little or no effect upon normal body wt. increase for the 17-day period. Atrophy of the adrenal cortex was induced by the progesterone adm. This atrophy was especially marked in the fasicular and reticular zones, in which the cells were somewhat smaller and cytoplasmic bodies were much reduced in size. Nevertheless lipid deposits were still in evidence in all adrenals. Atrophy of the thymus gland was induced not only by the adm. of progesterone but also to some extent with sesame oil alone.