Effect of hypophysectomy on tissue glycogen concentrations in the fetal pig

The glycogen content was estimated in the liver, lung, cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscle of fetal pigs which had been hypophysectomized between 69-84 days of gestation, decapitated between 35-42 days of gestation or left intact. Comparisons made preterm (103-108 days) or at term (112-114 days) indicated that both liver and skeletal muscle glycogen content were significantly lower in the absence of the fetal pituitary, whereas concentrations in the fetal lungs were significantly higher. There were no significant differences in cardiac glycogen content between hypophysectomized and intact fetuses. Plasma glucose concentrations in both umbilical artery and vein were similar, but plasma arterial fructose concentrations were significantly higher in the hypophysectomized fetuses.