The influence of diabetogenic anterior pituitary extracts on the islets of langerhans in dogs

Abstract

It has been shown by Young (1937, 1938) that the daily injection into dogs of large amounts of a crude anterior pituitary extract can induce, in a relatively short time, a clearly defined diabetic condition, which continues after the injections cease and becomes permanently established. These observations have been confirmed by Campbell and Best (1938) and by Dohan and Lukens (1939). An account of the histological changes in the pancreas and other organs of two dogs made permanently diabetic by treatment with crude anterior pituitary extract in this way, has already been published (Richardson and Young 1938). Nine further animals have been available for examination including several that had been treated with fractionated extracts instead of the original crude saline extract. With this additional material it has been possible to confirm and extend our original observations on the effects of the diabetogenic extract on the islets of Langerhans.