THE SUPRARENAL SYSTEM 293 



fat, but much of the double refractive substance; by the finding of 

 fatty spheroids furnished with a double refractive cap ; and by other 

 phenomena indicative of a developmental cycle on the part of 

 the lipoid substances. Bardier and Bonne, who investigated the 

 structure of the suprarenal cortex after tetanizing the muscles, 

 found that there was an increase in the number of the cell 

 vacuoles, together with an increase in the volume of the cortical 

 granules; they interpreted these changes as the signs of an in- 

 creased secretory activity. Not only the lipoid granules, but the 

 pigment granules and other cell contents, were at that time re- 

 garded as products of cortical secretion. 



A further consideration of the arguments in favour of secre- 

 tion led, however, to the conclusion that they were insufficient 

 to establish the existence of a secretory process occupied with the 

 elaboration of certain definite substances. The evidence merely 

 shows that the cortical cells are the locality in which certain 

 substances, more particularly the lipoids, are formed, and that 

 these lipoid granules form cell-contents of a kind subject to con- 

 siderable variation in the matter of number and size ; but it does 

 not show that these cell contents are destined to pass into the 

 blood-stream. Comparative chemical examination of the supra- 

 renals and of the blood lends no support to this theory in so 

 far as the lipoids are concerned. Bonnamour's own experiments, 

 together with a critical survey of the literature of the subject, 

 led him to the conclusion that the findings which, up to now, are 

 forthcoming, do not justify the assumption of a secretory activity 

 on the part of the interrenal tissue. 



Bonnamour regarded the suprarenal cortex as an organ 

 which, owing to its high lipoid contents, is peculiarly suited to 

 the absorption and neutralization of the toxic products of meta- 

 bolism. 



The earlier investigators ascribed an antitoxic activity to the 

 suprarenal as a whole. According to the brothers Marino-Zucco, 

 the suprarenals neutralized neurin ; Abelous and Langlois believed 

 that they rendered harmless those products of muscular activity 

 which produce the symptoms of fatigue. The antitoxic activity 

 of the suprarenals was believed to extend also to exogenous toxins, 

 and there are a number of communications (Oppenheim and 

 Loeper, Bernard and Bigart) which describe the effects of supra- 

 renal and of suprarenal extract in reducing the activity of various 

 toxins. In so far as these results are concerned with toxins- 

 such as phosphorus, strychnine, cyanide of potassium, &c. the 

 effect of which is antagonistic to that of adrenalin; the apparently 

 antitoxic action is sufficiently explained by the slowing of re- 

 sorption which, as A. Exner showed, is a property of adrenalin. 

 It may be mentioned here that the neutralization of strychnine 

 by adrenalin which Falta and Ivcovic described, is, in 

 Jaunschke's opinion, partly accounted for by this property of 

 adrenalin and is in part the result of adrenalin stimulation. 



