Ovaries and adrenals in murine Schistosomiasis mansoni. III. Morphology and function of the adrenals in acute infection.

In mice with acute Schistosoma mansoni infection lipoid depletion was found in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex without any other major histological alterations of the adrenals. Schistosomiasis did not influence the weight of the adrenals, or the cortisol level of the blood serum as determined by radioimmunoassay. The changes in morphology and function of the ovaries in the same infected animals reported earlier point to the vulnerability of the gonads in schistosomiasis mansoni, which may be a consequence of partial hypopituitarism.