Morphology of the neural lobe of the hypophysis in rats treated with furosemide. I. Neurosecretory axons.

The changes found in the neurosecretory axons of the neural lobe of the hypophysis were studied in rats treated with furosemide for three days: over the whole period of treatment, the animals, according to each group, were deprived or not of water. In the animals with free access to water the axons contained neurosecretory granules with scarce content and low electron density; only some of them had vacuoles and autophagic bodies. In the animals deprived of water axon morphology was variable and axons showing vacuoles and autophagic bodies were abundant, as well as those presenting lamellar and dense bodies and also those in which filaments prevailed. The most outstanding modifications in this last group of animals were related to the dehydration and were not found in those animals which were given access to water again and which were in consequence rehydrated.