The Hormones of the Adrenal Cortex

This chapter deals with work on the chemistry of the steroids of the adrenal cortex and of closely related compounds, which appeared during 1937–1942. On account of the war, work from some countries can be included only up to late 1941. Research on the hormones of the adrenal cortex is based on the following facts: (1) the adrenals are vital organs; in nearly all animals, complete bilateral adrenalectomy leads to death in a few days. Numerous postoperational insufficiency symptoms have been observed, but there is no agreement as to which constitutes the primary cause of death. (2) The vital function is connected with the adrenal cortex and appears to operate principally by delivery into the blood of a mixture of substances as by injection of suitable cortical extracts, adrenalectomized animals can be kept alive and the numerous insufficiency symptoms prevented or cured. (3) Investigation of active cortical extracts shows that the activity can be concentrated in fractions containing principally a mixture of relatively heavily oxygen-substituted steroids. A considerable number of such steroids has been isolated as pure crystalline compounds; the structure and configuration of most of these are known in detail, while some have been prepared by partial synthesis. Six or seven compounds have been found to be more or less active according to various methods of assay, in that they either prolong life in adrenalectomized animals, or are able to prevent or cure single insufficiency symptoms.