AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLYURIA INDUCED BY HYPOPHYSECTOMY IN MAN*†

Abstract

Diabetes insipidus has been the subject of extensive animal investigations during the last twenty-five years, but the clinical counterparts of these studies have been few. This is due, not only to the rarity of the disease and its variable pathology, but also the considerable difficulty attending the diagnosis in its milder forms. We have had a unique opportunity to observe the delveolpment of diabets insipidus in several patients who have undergone hypophysectomy for metastatic cancer. We shall discuss the alterations in water exchange following surgery, and some of their physiologic implications.