THE THYROID GLAND IN MEDICINE. 



485 



meeting of a medical society in England a woman witli myxoe- 

 dema whom he said he intended to treat by subcutaneous injec- 

 tions of the extract of the thyroid gland of the sheep. When 

 about six months later he showed the same patient, improved in 

 every way, the success of the treatment was established. 



The success which followed this experiment was so immedi- 

 ate and complete, and was so speedily substantiated by physi- 

 cians the world over, that thyroid therapy at once became the 

 recognized means of treating myxoedema and allied condi- 

 tions. 



The results of the treatment are very striking; the oedema 

 rapidly disappears, leaving the skin soft, smooth, and moist ; the 



Fig. 1. Myxcedema. Before treatment. 



Fig. 2. Same patient after treatment. 



mental dullness gives way to cheerfulness and hope ; strength is 

 returned to the weakened muscles, and the patient becomes once 

 more, to all appearances, a normal individual. A large number 

 of cases of myxoedema have been recorded as cured by thyroid 

 feeding, and these reports are usually accompanied with photo- 

 graphs of the patient as he appears before and after treatment, 

 which present most striking contrasts. Through the courtesy of 

 Dr. John Woodman, of New York, I am able to give the repro- 

 ductions of the photographs (Figs. 1 and 3) of a case successfully 

 treated by him. A common history of the early cases treated in 

 this way is somewhat as follows : A woman has had myxcedema 

 for years, and has been told by many physicians that her condi- 

 tion is incurable, and she is indifferent and skeptical as to the 

 value of the treatment proposed for her. In a few months it is 



