THE ADRENAL AND EARLY HEPATIC REGENERATION

Abstract

WITHIN twenty-four hours after removing 65 to 70 per cent of the liver of rats, a marked increase in the weight of the remnant takes place which is due largely to an increase in its fat and water content (Brues et al., 1936; Bogetti, 1939; and Collip et aL, 1935). Fasting augments the deposition of fat, but impairs the weight increase (Collip et al., 1935). Adrenalectomy greatly decreases the accumulation of fat (Collip et al., 1935;MacKay, Eaton and Carne, 1938), but an effect on the weight increase has not been reported. During an investigation of the influence of various endocrine glands on fat mobilization in fasted, partially hepatectomized rats, it was noted that the liver remnant in adrenalectomized animals was not only less fatty but also much smaller than that in controls (Berman, 1946). The difference in size appeared larger than could be accounted for merely by decreased fat deposition.