AN IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF PHENYLETHANOLAMINE-N-METHYLTRANSFERASE(PNMT) IN THE ADRENAL-MEDULLA OF 4 BIRDS

Our study indicates that in pigeon, crow, owl and wood-pecker the PNMT reaction of the adrenal medulla is more or less uniform. In sharp con trast to what is known in mammals where distinct PNMT positive indicat ing epinephrine(E) and negative indicating norepinephrine (NE) cells h ave been identified, such cytoenzymologic classification could not be obtained in the above four species of birds. Hence it may be conjectur ed that at least in these birds, PNMT does not act as a marker enzyme in differentiating the E and NE cells.