Effect of Cervical Sympathectomy on the Onset of Œstrus in Ferrets

Abstract

THE view that the hypothalamus controls the functions of the pars distalis of the pituitary by way of a chemotransmitter transported through the pituitary portal vessels does not accord with the fact that female ferrets, when exposed to added light, will come into heat during the winter months, whether or not there is a direct vascular link between the pituitary and the hypothalamus¹. Attention has therefore been turned again to the possibility that peripheral nervous pathways may be concerned in the response.