The influence of the pituitary on basal metabolism and on specific dynamic action

Abstract

The influence of the pituitary on basal metabolism has been frequently studied in our Institute, papers having been published on the subject in 1930, 1931, 1932 and 1933. In these (1, 9) the bibliographical references on the investigations in different species are to be found. Most of the experiments in this series have been performed in the dog as has been most of our work on the pituitary, as we wished to make a deeper analysis of the facts in one species. The animals were trained to keep quiet and motionless without anaesthesia or being tied during the tests (1, 2, 10, 11, 17). The air expired during 20 to 30 minutes was analyzed with Haldane’s burette. The calories produced were calculated from the oxygen consumed, taking into account the R.Q., and in all cases expressed per square metre per 24 hours. The experimental details are set forth extensively in the papers referred to in the bibliography.