THE OCCURRENCE OF COITUS-INDUCED OVULATION IN THE ADRENALECTOMIZED RABBIT*†

There is much evidence to support the contention that ovulation which occurs in the rabbit following coitus or electrical stimulation of the brain or spinal cord is produced by a substance or substances liberated from the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland.1, 2, 3 This coitus-induced or stimulation-induced anterior lobe discharge appears to be mediated by nerves passing to the gland from the hypothalamus by way of the pituitary stalk.4, 5, 6 The cat, like the rabbit, normally ovulates only on coitus, and it has been assumed generally that a similar mechanism operates in the two species. Recently Friedgood7 has claimed that in the cat the adrenal glands are involved in the coitus-induced activation of the anterior lobe of the pituitary. The basis for this belief was his observation that removal of the adrenal glands from cats within 15 to 55 minutes after coitus prevented ovulation, but adrenal ablation 6 hours or more after the occurrence of coitus did not abolish the ovulatory response. He concluded th...