An immediate diuresis has been observed in rats exposed to total-body x-irradiation ranging between 100 and 400 r. Since the highest dosage produced more consistent results, it was used in conjunction with extirpation of various glands and other organs in an effort to determine the mechanism that responds so promptly to x-irradiation. The anterior pituitary and the adrenal cortex are of prime importance in this reaction. Removal of the anterior lobe of the pituitary or removal of the adrenal glands is sufficient to completely inhibit diuresis following 400 r x-irradiation. This diuretic response is not dependent upon the presence of the posterior pituitary since animals having only this gland removed became diuretic following exposure to 400 r. The evidence suggests that the release of antidiuretic substances from tissues other than the posterior pituitary is under anterior pituitary-adrenal cortical control.
THE EFFECT OF ADRENAL CORTEX AND ANTERIOR PITUITARY EXTRACTS AND INSULIN ON THE HEXOKINASE REACTION
