ABSTRACT
The ease and rapidity with which the whole pituitary or part of the gland can be removed in Xenopus laevis, the low post-operative mortality and the fact that the animals survive the operation for more than two years, suggested an investigation into the relation between the pituitary and several metabolic variables. In a previous paper (Shapiro and Zwarenstein, 1933) the effect of hypophysectomy on the calcium content of the serum was reported. The prominent part played by the pituitary in regulating the water-salt content of the tissues was suggested by the work of Stehle (1926) on the diuretic-antidiuretic action of pituitary extracts. In Xenopus the low level of serum calcium which occurred as a result of pituitary re-moval was never associated with tetanic symptoms. These considerations and the well-known antagonism between calcium and potassium in all biological phenomena suggested an enquiry into the effects of hypophysectomy on serum potassium.
