ADRENOCORTICAL RESPONSE DURING EXAMINATION

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Abstract
The stressful effect of a written and oral examination was studied in twenty-two doctors sitting a postgraduate examination. The rise in the plasma cortisol was not significant in the written examination and reverted to normal values after an hour. On the other hand, there was a significant rise in the plasma cortisol during the oral examination with a pre-entry rise in blood sugar and a fall in alpha-amino nitrogen. It is concluded that whereas a written examination is not a stressful situation, an oral examination is stressful enough to be comparable to rowing and flying.