ABSTRACT
The effects of cortisone administration and whole body irradiation by X-ray upon mesenteric mast cells of intact and adrenalectomized albino rats were studied. In intact rats, the administration of cortisone (50mg./kg) and whole body irradiation by X-ray (800r) caused severe degranulation and disruption of mesenteric mast cells within 24 hours. However their degranulation and disrupting effects upon mesenteric mast cells were markedly inhibited after the removal of the adrenal gland. Although the adrenalectomy alone hardly caused these morphological changes of mesenteric mast cells of the albino rats. According to this experiment it is fairly clear that the effects of cortisone and whole body X-ray irradiation inducing degranulation and disruption of mesenteric mast cells of the albino rats, were not direct phenomena but they indirectly affected the mesenteric mast cells through some special mechanism mediated by the adrenal gland.