URINARY excretion of 17-ketosteroids in scurvy.

Cholesterol and ascorbic acid of adrenals are significantly diminished in scorbutic guinea pigs (1). As these substances appear to be related to the formation of adrenal cortical hormone (a), it has been indicated that the secretion of this hormone might diminish in scurvy. The urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids in females is said to depend almost entirely on the activity of the adrenal cortex. In Addison’s disease in women the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids either becomes nil or is decreased to approximately one-third of the normal excretion (3). In the absence of adrenals in monkeys 17-ketosteroids excretion is also markedly reduced (4). To furnish further evidence regarding the function of the adrenal cortex in scurvy the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids has been studied in both normal and scorbutic female guinea pigs. As inanition per se reduces the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids (5), the paired feeding technique has been used during this investigation.