A RAPID METHOD FOR THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE ADRENAL CORTEX1

Abstract

IT IS apparent to investigators interested in the physiology, pharmacology, or physiological chemistry of the adrenal cortical hormones that a rapid method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the hormonal secretions of the adrenal cortex would be of considerable value. It is the purpose of this communication to describe such a procedure and to present preliminary data resulting from the application of these techniques. experimental For this particular study, dogs were chosen for the experimental animal. The dogs were sacrificed by an intracardiac injection of a lethal dose of nembutal. The adrenal glands were quickly removed and placed in ice. After removing the connective tissue and fat, the tissues were blotted, weighed, and slices prepared with a Stadie slicer. An aliquot was reserved for nitrogen analysis. The remainder of the slices were incubated in a large Warburg flask containing 20 ml. of the animal’s own serum along with 10 mg.