Morphological and pharmacological effects of reserpine, given alone or after iproniazid, on the catechol amines of the adrenal glands of the rat.

Adrenomedullary cells, after fixation with OsO(4), are filled with well formed granules which are considered to represent their catechol amine content. The submicroscopic appearance of these cells was studied in reserpine-treated rats during the late phase of catechol amine depletion and during the period of its restoration. At 3 days after the beginning of reserpine treatment, the granules appeared to be emptied of their content and small vesicles containing scattered, dense deposits of, presumably, catechol amines began to be seen. At 9 days after the beginning of treatment, these deposits had already become granules and the cells had attained a completely normal appearance. The submicroscopic structure of the adrenomedullary cells of rats pretreated with iproniazid (before reserpine), in which a complete inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity had thus been obtained, was similar to that seen in non-treated animals. In numerous cases, however, some characteristic features were noted: the sacs which usually contained a dense granule of catechol amines appeared swollen and many fine granules could be seen around them; the latter were dispersed in a way suggesting that they may represent a partial breakdown of the large granules which, under the inhibitory action of iproniazid, do not release the catechol amines contained within them.