DIRECT ACTION OF MALE SEX HORMONE ON THE ADRENAL CORTEX1

Abstract

THE interrelationship between the adrenals and the reproductive system has been well studied, experimentally as well as clinically, as regards the influence of the adrenals on the sexual organs. The other aspect of the problem, that is, the effect of the gonads on the adrenals, has not been given as much attention. The action of the androgenic substances on the adrenals seems, in particular, somewhat obscure and contradictory. In 1938 Cutuly and McCullagh noted that in hypophysectomized rats an increase of the adrenals resulted from injections of testosterone propionate. They thought that “the unexpected high weight of these glands was probably due to variable quantities of lipoidal material since it has been demonstrated that the medulla does not change greatly in weight after hypophysectomy.” In 1943 Leathern and Brent showed that there was a decreased rate of atrophy of the cortex in hypophysectomized male rats if androgens were injected.