Anatomy. — “On the character of morphological modifications in 
consequence of affections of the endocrine organs”. By Prof. L. Bork. 
(Communicated at the meeting of February 26, 1921). 
By endocrine organs are meant a group of organs whose right 
functioning is requisite for the regular development of the body. 
Besides these organs exercise a regulating influence on the metabolic 
processes in the body. This latter function, although hardly separable 
from the former, bears a more physiological character, and therefore 
is beyond the scope of the following considerations which treat 
mainly of the significance of these glands for morphology. 
The principal of these glands are: Hypophysis, Epiphysis, Glan- 
dulae suprarenales, Glandula thyroidea, Thymus and the so-called 
interstitial gland. 
The influence of these glands appears from the fact that, if their 
right funetioning is disturbed, whether by abnormal development, 
or by affections at a later age, the regular morphogenesis of the 
body is disturbed in some respect or other, or the adult body shows 
characteristic variations in form. These variations differ greatly as 
to their nature, and clinical observations as well as experimental 
research have of late years enabled us to reduce definite metamor- 
phoses to affections of one or more of these organs. The morphological 
modifications are so divergent in character, that any relation or 
connection between them seems wanting. And still, in this commu- 
nication, the facts will be set forth in such a way, that a relation 
will become evident, and at the same time a new perspective will 
be opened on the part that these organs play, or rather have played. 
For the better understanding what follows, it is desirable, in this 
place already, to set forth this perspective, and to announce the 
conclusion, to which the facts point. This conelusion runs as follows: 
with abnormal functioning of the endocrine organs, such morpbo- 
logical properties are developed again in the human body, as it had 
lost during the last phase of its phylogenetic development. The 
latest phase of his phylogenesis was that in which man got his 
morphological specifically human characteristics, such as distinguished 
him from his nearest relations, the Anthropoids and the other Pri- 
