FURTHER STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF GLUCAGON TO THE ALPHA CELL OF THE PANCREAS

Abstract

The relationship of the morphology of the alpha cell and the amount of glucagon present in the pancreas of dogs and rabbits treated with drugs reputed to be toxic for the alpha cell has been further investigated. A summary is given of several experiments dealing with the lack of alpha cell damage in several species following the administration of drugs reputed to be toxic for the alpha cell. It is concluded that glucagon is produced by the alpha cell of the pancreas, and that much of the confusion on this subject probably results from a failure to recognize the technical difficulties involved in obtaining accurate morphological definition of the structure of the alpha cell at the time the tissue was excised from the body.