What is the acth plasma stimulation test?

Inject syn. ACTH: Hi. It's a test for primary adrenal insufficiency (where the adrenal glands themselves have failed) where synthetic ACTH(1-24), the N-terminal 24 amino acid peptide of native ACTH, is injected IV, and the adrenal response in making cortisol is measured at 0, 30, and 60 minutes. Dead adrenals don't respond. The ACTH-stim test does not reliably test for pituitary disease.