Tissue metabolism of brain cortex and liver after hypophysectomy and treatment with thyrotrophic hormone.

THE experiments described in this paper were carried out to determine the effect of hypophysectomy and hyperthyroidism (induced by the thyrotrophic hormone of the anterior lobe of the pituitary) on the metabolism of the cerebral cortex measured in vitro, and to compare this tissue with another organ, namely liver. Up to now comparatively little work has been done from this point of view and, so far as brain is concerned, we know only the paper of Cohen & Gerard [1935] who reported that 16-19 days' treatment with thyroid powder resulted in an increase in respiratory activity of rats' brain measured in whole brain brei. As regards liver, it has already been found that injection ofthyrotrophic hormone produced an increased 02 uptake of liver and kidney. Hypophysectomy was shown to reduce the 02 consumption of liver slices about 27 % [Reiss et al. 1933, 1, 2]. The latter fact was confirmed by Victor & Andersen [1938].