Roentgen Irradiation of the Hypophysis

IN view of the increased interest in the pituitary body in relation to experimental and clinical endocrinology, and because of the frequent attempts to influence disease through irradiation of the adenomatous or non-adenomatous gland, it has seemed important to study the effects of irradiation of the normal pituitary body of the white rat. During the past twenty years there have been numerous reports on the effects of irradiation of the hypophysis for various gynecological conditions, with varying results. Recently, irradiation of the pituitary has been extended to patients with diabetes mellitus and so-called essential hypertension, again with varying results. The question naturally arises, can the non-adenomatous pituitary gland be influenced with therapeutic doses of x-rays? A partial answer to this question could probably be obtained through animal experimentation. Apparently the first studies on the effects of pituitary irradiation in animals were made by Strauss (1) and Brunner (2), working independ...