Advances in the Diagnosis of Altered States of Adrenocortical Function

Abstract

GREAT advances in the diagnosis of altered states of adrenocortical function have been made possible by improvements in methods of steroid analysis and by the availability of purified preparations of ACTH and adrenocortical hormones. The development of simple methods for the measurement of blood and urinary 17-hydroxycorticoids has facilitated the estimation of the quantity of hydrocortisone secreted by the human adrenal cortex.^{1 , 2} The availability of ACTH has opened the way to the exploration of adrenocortical reserve in a wide variety of physiologic and pathologic states. It now appears that the intravenous administration of ACTH with the determination of 17-hydroxycorticoids and . . .