Recovery from Structural Changes Produced in Adrenal Glands of the Rat by Administration of Cortisone

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Abstract
Intramuscular injns. of cortisone acetate 3 mg.daily were given to 25 male and 25 female rats daily for 11 days. The cortisone-treated rats lost wt. The wt. of the male rats returned to the pre-injn. level 7 days after treatment was stopped, whereas the female rats required 30 days to regain their wt. after discontinuation of cortisone. The adrenal glands of the cortisone-treated rats of each sex weighed 29% less than those of the control animals. Changes in body wt. and the histology of the rat adrenal glands were completely reversible; however, recovery occurred more frequently in the female than in the male rats. The main histological change noticed in the adrenal glands was narrowing of the adrenal cortex and decrease in lipid content.