Reversal of Effects of Stress in Adrenalectomized Animals by Autonomic Blocking Agents

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Abstract
Adrenalectomized dogs and rats were subjected to the following types of stress : formalin, hemorrhagic shock, forced muscular work and cold. Survival time, blood pressure and the state of the blood vessels of the rat mesoappendix were used as criteria of the effects of these stress agents. Atropine, Banthine, Dibenamine and Thephorin, which block activity of the autonomic nervous system at various points, protected adrenalectomized animals against the effects of the above stresses. The hypothesis is presented that the cortical steroids serve to maintain a normally responsive effector vascular bed to autonomic nervous regulation. In the absence of the steroids, continued production of the autonomic neuro-humours during environmental stress, leads to irreversible vascular reactions fatal to the organism. Simultaneous removal of both the steroids (adrenalectomy) and the neurohumours (chemical blockade) actually protects the animal by creating a new, though precarious balance.