Effects of Vitamin B12 on the Weights of Certain Organs in the Rat

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Abstract
Comparisons were made between the tissue weight-to-body weight ratios of certain organs in vitamin B12-deficient and vitamin B12-sufficient littermate pairs of rats under both ad libitum and paired feeding conditions. Seminal vesicles, ovaries and uteri were smaller in young vitamin B12-deficient animals, even when their vitamin B12-supplemented littermates were limited to the same food intake and made the same weight gains. Mature males did not exhibit a significant difference in seminal vesicle weight. Thus the effect of the vitamin B12-deficiency was to delay the maturation of the secondary sex glands rather than to prevent the eventual growth of these tissues to maturity. Enlarged thyroid glands were observed in the deficient animals, whether fed ad libitum or pair-fed. Renal and hepatic weights were also greater in such rats. The testes, the adrenals, and the heart were heavier in the deficient animals but only under ad libitum feeding conditions. No consistent differences were observed in the weights of the pituitary gland or of the spleen. No difference was observed between vitamin B12-deficient and supplemented animals in their response to stilbestrol as measured by uterine weights.