Sex hormones and mammary gland activity

Abstract

The nourishment of the young animal during the transition from intrauterine to independent life is a function which, in itself, justifies the interest of research workers in the mammary gland. However, the selection of cattle for the production of milk in quantities far in excess of the requirements of the calf gives the mammary apparatus enormous èconomic importance and, at the same time, stimulates investigation of the diverse problems surrounding milk secretion.These problems have been studied by specialists in the fields of pure physiology, of endocrinology, of biochemistry and of genetics, and only by correlation of the work in all these fields will a true picture of mammary function be obtained.The effects of hormones on mammary function have so far been studied only by post mortem examination of the gland or by changes in volume and character of the secretion. The experiments described in this paper were carried out to determine if the more direct index of action of endocrinological factors, namely a measurement of change in metabolic characteristics, could be applied to the mammary gland. The application of the technique of tissue metabolism opens a highly interesting field of research and the experiments reported here are an evidence of the possibilities awaiting study.