Serum potassium levels and adrenal hypertrophy in rats, (Rattus norwegicus), infected by Trypansoma lewisi.

One of the most prominent of the recently proposed mechanisms has been the relationship between various stress producing factors, and the secretions of the adrenal cortex. Stress such as infection, cold, hunger, and psychological unpleasantness often has been shown to induce adrenal hypertrophy and increases cortical secretion. This in turn hinders the organism’s resistance to further stress and reduces the reproductive rate as well. Both of these reductions are thought to play important roles in the regulation of population size, especially in small mammals.”2”