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Xerox University Microfilms
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
LD3907
,G7 Tornetta, Prank Joseph, 1916- " i
1943 The effects of low atmospheric pres-
i
.T6 aures on the morphology and physiology |
of the endocrine system with special j
emphasis on the reproductive apparatus,
thyroid, and pituitary glands...
dlew Yorks 1943.
lp.1.,40 typewritten leaves. 2 plates,
tables (1 fold.) 29cm.
Thesis: (Ph.D.) - New/ York university,
Graduate school. 1943. -
Bibliography:. p. 31-34.
B160 w She|f Lis|
Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.
LIBRARY OP
IJ.W YC'l'K UNIVERSITY
UiilVERSIxY HEIGHTS
The Effects of Low Atmospheric Pressures on the Morphology
and Physiology of the Endocrine System with Special Enphasis
on the Reproductive Apparatus, Thyroid, and Pituitary Glands.
April 12, 1943. Frank J. Tornetta
A dissertation in the Department of Biology submitted to the faculty
of the Graduate School of Arts and Science in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Table of Contents
Pages
I. Introduction-----------------------------------1 - A
II. Materials and Methods--------------------------- 4 - 8
A. Pressure Chamber and ExperimentalA nimals 4-6
B. Histological Techniques---------------------- 6
C. Biological Assays-----------------------•----6 - 8
1. Thyrotropic Hormone------------------ - 6 - 7
2. Gonadotropic Hormone --- 7-8
III. Observations and Results------------------------- 9-18
A. Statistical Analysis of Organ Weights----------9-11
B. Histological Observations------------------- 11-16
1. Testis and Reproductive Accessories--------11-13
2. Ovary and Uterus------------------------ 13
3. Thyroid Gland--------------------------- 14
4. Adrenal Gland--------------------------- 14
5. Thymus Gland---------------------------14-15
6. Pituitary Gland-------------------------15-16
C. Biological Assays----------------.---------- 16-18
1. Thyrotropic Content of Blood Sera and
Pituitary Glands--------------------- 16-17
2. Gonadotropic Content of Blood Sera and
Pituitary Glands--------------------- 17-18
IV. Discussion------------- 19-27
V. Summary------------------- 28-30
VI. Bibliography----------------------------------- 31-34
VII. TABLES-----------------------------------------35-38
VIII. Plates and Description of Figures----------------- 39-40
I. Introduction.
The effects of experimentally induced low atmospheric
pressures and oxygen deficiency on the organism have been a subject
of investigation for many years, and various attempts have been made
to compare these with the symptoms occurring during natural mountain
sickness and high altitude flying. The more recent development of
aviation medicine has revived and intensified the interest of inves
tigators in this field as evidenced by such publications as Dill (' 38),
Armstrong (’39), Van Liere (*42), Hoff and Fulton (’42), and Sundstroem
(•43).
Much experimental work has been done on the influence of
low pressures on the nervous system, blood, circulation, and respira
tion. With the exception of reports on the adrenal glands, the litera
ture is sparse concerning detailed experiments centering about the
endocrine glands.
It has now been well established that in animals subjected
to low atmospheric pressures one feature of their acclimatization is an
initial increased adrenal-cortical activity (Glragossintz and Sundstroem
'37, Armstrong and Heim '38, and Langley *42). This increased activity
is reflected in a marked hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex (Armstrong and
Heim '38; Thom et al >41 and '42; Langley *42; Langley and Clarke142;
and Dohan '42), and a reduction in the amount of osmiophilic substance
in this gland (Thom et al *42 and Pomerat and Horvath *43). When the
animfll succeeds in becoming acclimatized to the new environment the
hypertrophy is reduced, lipoid material reappears, and glandular activ
ity then resumes its normal pace. Extremely low pressures cause the
adrenals to become exhausted and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency
appear (Giragossintz and Sundstroem *37).
Although it has been known for many years that the
gonads of people living at high altitudes gradually lose their potency,
a surprisingly small amount of published material is available concern
ing the effects of low atmospheric pressures on the reproductive organs.
Mange (*35, '37, *42) who has vividly described present day life on the
Andes mountains mentions that eggs brought from sea-level to this high
altitude do not always hatch and that sterility is common in rabbits,
cats, horses, and cattle. Two low pressure chamber experiments have
revealed that animals exposed continuously to an oxygen deficiency show
a decrease in testis weight (Dohan '42) and a reduction in the numbers
of spermatozoa (Martin, Loevenhart, and Bunting *17). Furthermore, the
anoxia produced by subjection to carbon monoxide has been found to re
sult in a loss of fertility (Bossiter !28j Buresch *33j Campbell ’34}
Williams and Smith *35; Patterson, Smith, and Pickett *38; and Killick'40).
Another gland which has been given relatively little at
tention is the thyroid. The reports on the role of the thyroid gland
during exposures to low atmospheric pressures have been confusing. In
general it is believed that thyroidectomy relieves the 111-effects of
anoxic anoxia, whereas administration of thyroid substance enhances them
(Streuli *18; Duran *20; Houssay and Rietti ’32; Holmquist *34j and
Barach, Eckman, and Molomut *41). However, Campbell (’38) has found that
thyroidectomy neither increases nor relieves the adverse effects of
lowered oxygen pressure, hut that thyroxine injections definitely
accentuate the symptoms. Histological examination of the thyroids
of animals subjected to low pressures show a hyperplasia (Martin,
Loevenhart, and Bunting *17), but a slight hypoplasia has also been
reported (Schubothe *4-0). Basal metabolic studies would seem to
indicate that moderately low pressures have no effect on metabolism
either at rest or during exercise (as reviewed by Van Liere *42).
A search of the literature reveals only two reports
(Schubothe *40, and Pomerat and Horvath '43) dealing with the effects
of low atmospheric pressures on the anterior lobe of the pituitary.
In one of these reports continuous exposures have been found to cause
a decreased eosinophilia (Schubothe '40) and in the other an increase
in the numbers of basophiles (Pomerat and Horvath ’43)• The latter
workers have interpreted these changes in terms of adrenal-cortical
activity.
The current investigation is concerned with a detailed
examination of the effects of low atmospheric pressures.on the mor
phology and physiology of the endocrine glands, with special emphasis
an the gonads, thyroid, and pituitary glands. It is hoped that this
work will clarify some of the previous reports on the subject and that
the findings will yield information as to the role of the glands of
internal secretion in adapting the organism to this change in its en
vironment.
I wish to thank Dr. Harry A. Charipper for valuable
advice rendered to me during the course of the Investigation. I am
also indebted to Dr. A. S. Gordon for generous advice and assistance
in the experimental work, and to Mr. Albert Stenger for technical aid.
II. Materials and Methods.
A. Pressure Chamber and Experimental Animals.
Adult male and female rats of a closely inbred
strain weighing 200-280 gms. were subjected to low atmospheric press
ures in a specially constructed low pressure chamber (described fcy
Dubin, '32) for varying periods of time. As the tank is evacuated,
room air enters through a valve situated at the top of the chamber.
A constant current of air is drawn through the chamber at the rate of
about three liters per minute. The temperature in the tank did not
vary more than five degrees and was similar to the room temperature
as determined by a maximum-minimum thermometer.
Animals placed in the chamber were divided into two
experimental groups. One group of rats, the discontinuous series,
received daily six-hour exposures to pressures of 250-280 mm. Hg. for
14-20 days (equivalent to an altitude of 25,000-27,000 ft. accord
ing to the Altitude-Pressure Tables Based on the United States Stand
ard Atmosphere without temperature corrections). The other group,
the continuous series, was subjected to the same pressures for 18-20
hour periods daily for total durations indicated in the Tables. The
time taken to lower the pressure from 760 to 250 mm. Hg or vice versa
was two minutes.
One group of animals, consisting of eight rats, was
given intra-scrotal injections of 20 I.U. pregnancy urine extract
plus 10 R.U. of pregnant mare serum hormone twice daily for four
teen days during the period of discontinuous exposures to the low
pressures.
Three hypophyseotamized male rats, beginning with
the fourth week after the operation, were similarly treated with
the gonadotropic hormones but were not given the low pressure
treatment.
A control series was brought to a pressure of 250 mm.
Hg over a two minute period, then returned to atmospheric pressure
within two minutes, and kept in the chamber at 760 mm. Hg for 6-10
hour periods once daily for fourteen days.
Untreated controls were litter-mates of the experi
mental animals.
All animals were fed regular laboratory ration both
during the control and experimental periods. The diet was supple
mented daily with liberal quantities of fresh lettuce and carrots.
Fresh water was always available.
At the termination of the desired experimental periods,
the low pressure-exposed and control animals were anesthetized lightly
with ether and the blood withdrawn by cardiac puncture. All blood
from animals in the same group or series was pooled and allowed to
clot in a refrigerator. The endocrine organs and the reproductive
accessories were carefully dissected, freed of connective tissue and
fat, and weighed to the nearest milligram an a torsion or analytical
balance. All these weight data were then subjected to a statistical
analysis for the values of the Standard Error. Pituitary glands to
be tested for thyrotropic and gonadotropic potency were collected
and stored in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator.
B. Histological Techniques.
Organs from representative animals in all groups
were fixed in Bouin's fluid, Zenker-formol, or Champy's fluid and
sectioned at 3-6p.. Some of the tissues were osmicated for the demon
stration of the Golgi apparatus and lipoid material. Staining was
carried out with Harris' hematoxylin-eosin, modified Masson's, and
Dawson's azo-carmlne method.
C. Biological Assays.
1. Thyrotropic content of blood sera and pitui
tary glands.
Sera from the clotted bloods were centrifuged
for five minutes at 3000 E.P.M. and then sterilized by passage through
a Berkefeld filter. In some cases merthiolate (1/100,000) was added
as a preservative. All sera were tested for thyrotropic potency in the
young tadpole (D'Angelo, Gordon, and Charipper *42). Rana pipiens tad
poles were obtained by the experimented ovulation method of Rugh (*35).
These larvae were separated into groups, and given pleuroperitoneal
injections of 0.05cc. of the various sera once every two days.
