Effect of bilateral adrenalectomy on the ovary of the five striped Indian palm squirrel, Funambulus pennanti (Wroughton)

Abstract

The effect of bilateral adrenalectomy on the ovary of the five-striped Indian palm squirrel Funambulus pennanti has been reported. The histology of the ovaries of animals adrenalectomized during the active or regressed periods resembles that of an anestrus ovary. A new tissue, adrenocortical like (ACL) in appearance develops in the ovaries of adrenalectomized squirrels. The three easily recognizable types of ACL tissue are (a) nodules of ACL cells in the hilar region, or extraovarian embedded in the mesovarium, (b) follicular bundles surrounded by a clear theca externa in the ovary, and (c) syncytia of six to eight cells in the cortical region of the ovary among the oocytes. Evidences to support the concept that the ACL tissue simulates the adrenal cortex in function after adrenalectomy, and the probable origin of these three types of ACL tissue are discussed.