THE EFFECT OF ADRENALECTOMY ON PREGNANCY AND SURVIVAL OF UNTREATED AND SESAME OIL TREATED RATS

Abstract

Normal gestation and parturition can occur in the rat in the absence of tissue of the adrenal cortex, but the number of successful pregnancies is directly correlated with the time of adrenalectomy. Approx. 1% of animals adrenalectomized before mating, 40% of those adrenalectomized on the 2nd day, and 92% of those adrenalectomized on the 17-19th day of pregnancy, bore normal litters. Daily intraperit. injs. of sesame oil did not affect the normal course of gestation and parturition of adrenalectomized rats. These injns. increased the number of successful pregnancies of the animals adrenalectomized before or on the 2nd day after insemination, as compared with the untreated controls adrenalectomized at the same time. Survival time of adrenalectomized animals which had successful gestation was increased, and ability to rear young enhanced by sesame oil, as compared with the survival of untreated controls and their litters. These results indicate that sesame oil is not inert when injected in adrenalectomized pregnant rats.