SOME EFFECTS OF PROGESTERONE ON THE RESPONSE OF THE IMMATURE PULLET TO ESTROGEN, AND SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE EFFECTS OF GONADAL HORMONES ON THE AVIAN SPLEEN AND KIDNEY

Abstract

Progesterone depressed the hypertrophy of the immature pullet's oviduct evoked by estrogen, but did not significantly affect the responses of liver weight, total liver crude protein, and serum calcium level evoked by estrogen. These effects are in some respects the converse of previously recorded effects of thiour-acil on the response of the pullet to estrogen. Progesterone did not affect the increases of liver pentose nucleic acid and desoxypentose nucleic acid evoked by estrogen. Testosterone propionate by itself, at the levels used, did not affect the amounts or ratios of liver pentose nucleic acid and desoxypentose nucleic acid. Estrogen reduced spleen weight to a highly significant degree, and progesterone significantly reduced this effect of estrogen. Testosterone did not affect spleen weight. In the experiment described estrogen increased kidney weight to a highly significant degree; progesterone tended to reduce this effect, but the tendency did not attain significance at P = 0.05.