THE ENDOCRINAL ORGANS 



451 



females from which the ovaries have been removed, the estrus which had 

 been lost recurs. 



The follicular hormone, theelin, has the chemical formula C18H2.1O3 

 and is a fatty substance, soluble in alcohol and other lipoid solvents. 

 It is used h}TDodermically to induce puberty and menstruation. It is 

 now sold as Theelin, Progynon, and under other names. Its use may 

 cause abortion. 



One of the names for the corpus luteum hormone is progestin. Its 

 action is antagonistic in some effects to that of theelin, for, while theelin 

 acts as a sex stimulant, progestin prepares the uterus for the reception 

 of the ovum. In animals, experimental removal of the corpus luteum 

 early in pregnancy causes abortion. Progestin prevents ovulation and 

 menstruation in pregnancy. 



HEP. PORTAL V 



BILE DUCT 



HEPATIC A — 

 R. SUPRARENAL VES^ 



ESOPHAGUS 



L INF PI-RENIC A. 



DORSAL AORTA 



R. RENAL VES 



VENA CAVA 



LEFT SUPRARENAL GLANO 



L. KIDNEY 

 L. SUPRARENAL VES. 

 RENAL VESSELS 



SUP MESENTERIC A. 



;\-Y\r-^"^ — URETER 

 SPERMATIC COVARIAN) VES(^ INF. MESENTERIC A 



Fig. 376. — Shows the suprarenals in relation to the kidneys as seen when the fat 

 which normally encloses them is removed. The relations of the blood vessels which 

 supply them are also shown. 



THE SUPRARENAL GLANDS 



Anatomy. The suprarenals or adrenals of man are two small glands, 

 each averaging only four to five grams in weight, and each, as the names 

 suggest, lying like a cap upon the upper end of a kidney, embedded usually 

 in the same mass of fat. Accessory adrenals also occur not infrequently 

 near the kidneys or the gonads. From their relation to kidneys, the 

 adrenals were once assumed to be also excretory. Later discovery that 

 their removal or destruction results in death has made them objects of 

 much interest and research. 



The adrenal gland has a rich blood supply. Arterial blood comes 

 from three sources, phrenic, aortic, and renal vessels, which give off 

 respectively the superior, middle, and inferior suprarenal arteries. The 

 gland is drained by the right and left suprarenal veins, the former con- 

 nected with the postcava, the latter with the left renal. Lymphatic 

 vessels are abundant. 



