High blood pressure, high pulse rate, bulging 

 eyes, and emotional tension ore characteristic of 

 certain conditions which the individual "feels" 

 and which are often associated with excessive 

 thyroid secretion. Experimental treatment showed 

 that in this case the condition was due to an 

 excess of adrenin 



ACTION OF EPINEPHRIN' 



cortin. Cortin seems to have some relation to the water-and-salt balance of 

 the blood and to the body's resistance to infection. Like insulin, cortin in- 

 creases the oxidation of glucose. Cortin seems also to influence the develop- 

 ment of the reproductive organs, probably by interacting with the hormones 

 of the pituitary gland. 



The Master Gland The most complex of the endocrine organs is the 

 pituitary, which has been called the "master gland" because the several dis- 

 tinct hormones which it produces affect various organs and various proc- 

 esses in important ways. The hormones of the pituitary interact with the 

 other endocrine organs. As a result, they have the effect of maintaining a 

 balance among the various processes of the organism. But, because they 

 interact, a serious disturbance of one endocrine may cause a serious disunity 

 in the growth, development, or activity of the whole organism. As we have 

 already seen, one of the pituitary hormones affects the rate of growth (see 

 pages 308-309). 



Glands of the Reproductive Organs The ovaries and the testes of 

 backboned animals produce respectively the eggs and the sperm (see pages 

 379-381). Among the cells that form sperms or eggs, but apparently not 

 directly connected with them, are other cells that produce special hormones. 

 We might compare these hormone-producing cells of the gonads with the 

 islands of the pancreas. The so-called sex hormones appear to be especially 

 related to the "secondary sexual characters" — that is, the features that dis- 

 tinguish male individuals from female individuals. They include the distri- 

 bution of hairs, pigmentation, horns, the voice, the development of the milk 



^From Lectures on Endocrinology, by Walter Timme, published by Paul B. Hoeber, Inc. 



314 



