THE MALE HORMONE 



the sex hormones through damage to the tissues of various 

 organs. Finally, whatever improvement is gained by treatment 

 will wear off fairly rapidly if the drug is discontinued. In one 

 feature only, so far as known, the improvement is permanent; 

 that is in the skeleton, for the growth of the long bones will be 

 permanently stopped by closure of the epiphyseal junctions. 

 Even this requires care and forethought, for if the treatment 

 is begun too early, the epiphyses may be closed prematurely 

 and growth stopped before the boy reaches full stature. 



I have no doubt said enough to make it clear that the use of 

 androgenic hormones to correct testicular hormone deficiency 

 is very decidedly still in the stage of exploration, and that 

 every case so treated is an experiment. This does not mean 

 that the attempt should not be made by properly trained 

 physicians and scientists who are in a position both to guard 

 the welfare of the patient and to study the results with rigid 

 scientific standards for future guidance. We have, of course, 

 been considering an extreme case, one in which there is per- 

 manent total deficiency. The androgenic hormones are cer- 

 tainly going to be useful in many disturbances of less intensity 

 and as collateral treatment. To make up for partial deficien- 

 cies, to tide over the acute deprivation which follows surgical 

 removal of the testicles, to supplement the treatment in vari- 

 ous cases of sexual disability and impotence — for such pur- 

 poses the androgenic substances will no doubt be helpful in 

 competent medical hands. 



At any rate, the contemplation of these distressing defi- 

 ciencies of the sex hormones must have impressed the reader 

 anew with the thought that the normal processes of repro- 

 duction involve a remarkable series of linkages and coordina- 

 tions within the body. It is indeed a subtle and potent chem- 

 istry by which the reproductive glands create the egg and the 

 sperm cell and surround them with all that is needful of nour- 

 ishment and protection to carry them through their critical 

 journey from conception to birth. In this book we have traced 



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