The Nature of the Hyperglycemia Associated with Anaphylactic Shock in the Dog

1. Nine unoperated dogs snowed a rise of blood sugar dunng anaphylactic shock. In six of these dogs the rise was 60 mg. or over. 2. Six dogs in which one adrenal had long previously been extirpated and the opposite splanchnic nerve cut, showed a low preliminary level of blood sugar, and a relative rise of blood sugar during anaphylaxis, but of less degree than in the unoperated animals. In no case was it greater than 52 mg. 3. Anoxemia did not appear to be a complicating factor, as evidenced by determination of the oxygen content of the arterial blood before and during shock. 4. The rise in blood sugar, which occurs in spite of the loss of adrenal activity, is probably due to the venous stasis of the liver seen in anaphylaxis in the dog, because this rise in blood sugar can be simulated in a normal non-sensitized dog by mechanically constricting the hepatic veins for a brief interval. 5. There are, therefore, probably two factors responsible for the hyperglycemia associated with anaphylaxis in the dog, sympathetic stimulation by way of the splanchnic nerves involving the activity of the adrenals, and glycogenolysis resulting directly from venous stasis of the liver.