Blood, 1955, Vol. 10, No. 6, pp. 633-645.
© 1955 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Relationships of Adrenals, Gonads, and Thyroid to Thymus
and Lymph Nodes, and to Blood and Thoracic
Duct Leukocytes
MARVIN M. SHREWSBURY JR. 1 and
WM. O. REINHARDT 1
1 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California,
Berkeley.
The effects of gonadectomy, adrenalectomy, and thyroidectomy, and of
thyroxine administration on the weight of lymphatic tissues and on the numbers
of blood and thoracic duct leukocytes have been studied over a 40 day period in
young male rats. The results of the present experiment are interpreted to indicate that:
1. Removal of the gonads caused a marked increase in the weight of the
thymus, whereas but slight effect was noted on the weights of the lymph nodes.
Removal of the adrenal glands, however, resulted in a marked increase in the
weight of all lymphatic tissues.
2. Thyroxine administration was demonstrated to exert a hyperplastic effect
on the lymph nodes, an effect which was accentuated by the removal of the
adrenals and gonads. The lymph nodes were more sensitive than the thymus to
the stimulating influence of thyroxine administration in the intact animal.
3. A comparison of the weights of the thymus and lymph nodes to control
values was more indicative of the hypoactivity or hyperactivity of the thyroid,
adrenals and gonads, than were the weights of the thymus or lymph nodes considered separately.
4. The increase in the level of blood lymphocytes following removal of the
adrenals appeared to result from a failure of normal removal of the lymphocytes
from the bloodstream, rather than from an increased delivery of the lymphocytes
to the bloodstream via the thoracic duct. Administration of thyroxine to normal
animals did not produce a blood lymphocytosis, lending further weight to the
suggestion of Marine and others that the blood changes seen its toxic hyperthyroidism are the result of adrenocortical insufficiency.
5. Changes in the weight of the lymphatic tissues were not necessarily reflected
by a proportional change in the number of thoracic duct lymphocytes, nor did
the number of blood lymphocytes necessarily reflect the number of lymphocytes
delivered to the bloodstream via the thoracic duct lymph.
6. The marked increase in the volume and cell content of thoracic duct lymph
noted its thyroxine treated adrenalectomized-gonadectomized animals appears
to be directly related to an increased sensitivity to the effects of thyroxine administration in the absence of these glands.
7. Removal of the thyroid gland vitiated the increases in weight of thymus
and lymph nodes produced after castration and/or adrenalectomy.
8. The eosinophilic leukocytosis consequent on adrenalectomy was markedly
augmented by removal of the thyroid and gonads.
Submitted on August 13, 1953
Accepted on January 1, 1955
