ESTROGEN ACTIVITY IN THE EVISCERATED RAT1

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Abstract
Estradiol and estrone were in-capable of causing an increase in the uterine water content of the adult ovariectomized, eviscerated rat. This was the case in animals treated with large doses of these natural estrogens (up to 5 [gamma]/100 g. body wt.) administered subcut., intraven. or in divided doses by combined routes, and allowed to act for as long as 24 hrs. This was likewise true when large doses of estradiol were given to animals whose total metabolism after evisceration was maintained by previous thyroid-feeding, or when applied topically to the uterus of the eviscerate. Non-eviscerated rats, otherwise similarly treated, showed large responses in uterine water content. It appears unlikely that poor viability was responsible for the refractoriness of the eviscerate prep. It is concluded that in the rat, the viscera are essential for estrogen activity as measured by the uterine water response.