THE EFFECTS OF ANTUITRIN S AND SHEEP PITUITARY EXTRACT ON THE FEMALE LIZARD, ANOLIS CAROLINENSIS

Abstract

Between November 1933 and April 1934, 55 females of Anolis carolinensis were injected with Antuitrin S, while 25 were injected with whole gland sheep pituitary extract. Twenty-five females served as controls. The dosage was .02 cc. of either extract diluted with cold-blooded Ringer's solution. Both extracts caused hypertrophy of the ovaries and oviducts but ovulation and egg-laying were induced only with sheep pituitary. Moreover, in many females which received sheep extract the ovaries contained mature ova that were not laid but were slowly resorbed during the ensuing spring and summer. With both extracts the epithelial cells lining the albumen-secreting portion of the oviduct changed from cuboidal to columnar, while those of the epithelium of the uterus were very little affected by the injections. The deep-lying shell glands of the uterus, however, were greatly enlarged. Injected animals ate more, were more active, and moulted oftener than controls.