THE OBSERVATIONS of Dougherty and White1 on the effects of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone on lymphoid tissue led these authors to review some of the earlier work on changes which occurred in the lymphocyte count in infections or after the injection of bacterial toxins; Dougherty and White1 concluded that the lymphopenia caused by bacterial toxins was a consequence of the action of adrenal cortex hormones. More recently, however, Lewis and Page2 cast doubt on this concept when they showed that adrenalectomy does not prevent the decrease in the number of blood lymphocytes which results from the injection of typhoid vaccine. On the other hand, there is histologic evidence that reactions to the injection of bacterial vaccines are associated with the same changes in the adrenal gland as are other forms of stress.3 In view of these discrepancies, it was considered of
interest to make studies of the blood leukocytes and of