MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve patients with liver diseaseand eleven normal subjects were studied. Of the twelve patients with liver disease, therewere nine with cirrhosis, two with hepa-titis and one with metastatic carcinoma. Serial studies were carried out in the patients with hepatitis to note the effects of improvement in liver function. The" nor-mal subjects" were hospital personnel or convalescing hospital patients whowere free of liver disease, fever, and endocrine abnormalities. These subjects were given intravenously a solution containing 0.02 per cent hydrocortisone (free alcohol), 5 per cent dextroseand 1 per cent alcohol. A sufficient quantity of this commercially-prepared solution. 2 was administered to give the subject 1 mg. of hydrocortisone for each kilogram of body weight. Control bloods were drawnshortly after 8 AM, following which the infusion was administered over a 30-minute period. Blood samples for the estimation of the 17-hydroxycorticosteroid level of the plasma were drawn at 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after the beginning of the infusion. After the infusion, the subjects were allowed to have breakfast and to be up and about, if they were ambu-latory.