The Influence of the Adrenal Glands on Resistance. I. the Susceptibility of Adrenalectomized

One of the early theories in regard to the function of the adrenal gland was that it acted as a detoxifying agent (1, a). While no convindng proof of this hypothesis was presented, many scattered facts have been brought out which show that the adrenals are involved in the reaction of the organism to infection and intoxication, and which suggest that these glands play an important r61e in the protective mechanism of the organism. In severe infections and intoxications pathological changes in the glands occur regularly, varying in intensity from congestion and edema to hemorrhages and foal of necrosis (2, 3) and the characteristic lipoids in the cortex show striking alterations in distribution and amount (4, 5). Chronic infections and intoxications in animals are accompanied by a marked hypertrophy of the cortex (6, 7). These effects of acute and chronic infections and intoxications on the adrenals invite the consideration of the influence of these glands on the resistance to such conditions. In addition to the pathological changes mentioned, the early literature dealing with this relationship of the adrenal confines itself chiefly to three lines of argument: (1, b) the resemblance of the effects of adrenal ablation to a progressive intoxication (1) ; (2) the toxic properties of blood and tissue extracts from adrenalectomized animals, and conversely the protective properties of normal blood in adrenalectomized animals (8, 9, 10) ; and (3) the protection afforded by mixtures of the adrenal gland or its extracts with various toxic agents 01, 12).