Effect of adrenaline infusions on the catechol amine content of cat and rat tissues.

Infusions of adrenaline failed to produce a significant increase in the adrenaline and noradrenaline content of cat uterus and kidney and of rat uterus and spleen, using normal and reserpine-treated animals. The adrenaline content of extracts of the organs was assayed on the isolated rat uterus, which was stimulated electrically; the noradrenaline content was assayed on the blood pressure of the pithed rat. The tissues studied contained relatively small quantities of adrenaline and this was not decreased by reserpine. Our results show a difference between the stores of adrenaline and noradrenaline in these tissues; the noradrenaline stores are larger, they are depleted by reserpine, and they are increased by an infusion of noradrenaline.