Rumplessness of chicken embryos produced by the injection of insulin and other chemicals

✍ Scribed by Landauer, Walter

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1945
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 741 KB
• Volume: 98
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1400980105

✦ Synopsis

Incidental to other investigations it was observed that the injection of solutions of certain chemicals into unincubated chicken eggs led to the appearance of increased numbers of rumpless embryos and chicks. It was decided to make a systematic study of this problem, and the following is a first report on our work.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The experiments were done chiefly with eggs from White Leghorn matings, but in one instance eggs from matings of Creeper fowl were used for a series of tests (insulin). Eggs were collected for periods of 1 week. During this time they were kept in an air-conditioned storage room. Eggs from the same mothers were distributed as evenly as possible into experimental and control groups. Prior to injecting the eggs they were allowed to stand in upright position for about 24 hours. After cleaning with alcohol a hole was drilled into the shell with a dental drill. This was done near the level of the short axis of the eggs. A tuberculin syringe was used for the injections, together with a no. 37, &inch hypodermic needle. The amount of fluid iqjected was always 0.05 cc. The hole in the shell was sealed with Scotch tape. Treated and control eggs were incubated in the same forced-draft incubator.

The particular length of hypodermic needle used was chosen in order to be certain that the solutions would be injected into the yolk of the eggs. Was this actually accomplished and did the injected material not escape through the needle hole in the yolk membrane7 Information in this respect was obtained by injecting eggs with 0 . 0 5 ~~. of India ink, letting the eggs stand for 24 hours, hard-boiling them, and then opening them by a cut through their long axis. It was found that in each instance the major part of the ink was within the yolk, although traces were found along the path of the needle.