Abstract
The availability of selective β-receptor agonists such as terbutaline is a stimulus to research dealing with various β-receptor functions. The aim of such work is to demonstrate the physiological importance of the hormonal or nervous activation of receptors and to establish a scientific basis for therapeutic trials with β-receptor active drugs. A brief account is given of the therapeutic possibilities as related to certain β-receptor functions in the biliary tract, the urinary tract, the lung and the uterus. It is concluded that many β-receptor functions can be described as therapeutically interesting. The practical importance of β-agonist therapy is at present confined to relatively few organs, in particular the lung and the uterus.