[The histostructure of the adrenal gland in the Campbell hamster after extirpation of a specific midventral gland].

We studied the histological structure of the adrenal glands within four months after extirpation of the midabdominal gland in newborn hamsters. Structural changes of the cells in all zones of the adrenal cortex suggest development of a compensatory reaction to the midabdominal gland extirpation. Hence, the midabdominal gland was a component of the complex of endocrine glands and synthesizes, in all likelihood, some precursors of steroid hormones and, thus, fulfilled both the exocrine and endocrine functions.