THE EFFECTS OF VITAMIN A AND REICHSTEIN’S COMPOUND L ON THE THYROID, ADRENAL AND LYMPHOID SYSTEMS OF THE RAT*

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Abstract
Immature male rats were maintained on a vit. A-deficient diet for 5.5 weeks. Half of the animals received either 0,2,10,25, 50, or 100 I. U. of vit. A daily and injns. of Compound L. The other groups received only the vit. A. At autopsy, wts. of the thyroid, adrenal, thymus, and mesenteric lymph nodes, and thyroidal I131 collection were detd. The results indicate that both compounds decrease the collection of I131 found in the thyroid. Compound L produced a more marked depression than high doses of vit. A. Low or high intakes of vit. A slightly increased adrenal wt. Compound L increased adrenal wt. with the higher levels of vit. A. Increased thymus wt. was observed with increased intake of vit. A. Compound L not only prevented this but decreased thymus size. Thus, there appears to be a direct correlation between vit. A intake and lymph node size. Compound L produced marked hypertrophy of lymph nodes except with the higher levels of vit. A.