FAT CONTENT OF THE LIVER IN FETAL RATS

OBSERVATIONS IN DECAPITATED, ADRENALECTOMIZED OR THYROIDECTOMIZED FETAL RATS

Abstract

On the 20th day of pregnancy in the rat, decapitation, adrenalectomy or thyroidectomy of a fetus was performed in utero. Some decapitated fetuses were given a subcutaneous injection of cortisone acetate or extract of bovine thyroids. On the 22nd day of pregnancy, the fat content of the fetal liver was determined by the weight of crude fat extracted with chloroform-methanol. Remarkable increase of the fat content in the fetal liver followed decapitation. This increase was prevented partially by injected cortisone, but not by injected thyroidal extract. The increase of liver fat, though less than the recorded increase in decapitated fetuses, also followed adrenalectomy. The increase did not follow thyroidectomy. The observations suggest that the effect of decapitation on the liver fat involves in part the adrenal deficiency.