IV 
ENDOCRINOLOGY IN EVERY-DAY MEDICINE 
By G. GINSBURG, M.D., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Internal secretions are chemical substances or- 
ganic in nature, elaborated from the food we partake 
of by certain structures within our bodies, called the 
ductless glands. These secretions enter the blood 
stream, and each exerts a certain definite, constant in- 
fluence upon the general economy and well-being of the 
organism. 
We very often wonder why individuals living ap- 
parently under the same surroundings, and partaking 
of the same kinds of food in the same quantities, still 
differ widely in their external and internal make-up, 
7. e., in their external appearance as well as in their 
disposition, temperament, general strength, etc. Some 
individuals are always very thin, no matter how much 
and of whatever rich food they eat; others enjoy pretty 
fair development of body tissues; and still others suffer 
from an excessive deposit of adipose tissue in their 
bodies. Some people are undersized; others are of a 
height proportional to their weight and thickness; and 
still others are very tall, altogether out of proportion 
to the other measurements of their bodies. Some indi- 
viduals are exceptionally cool-minded, and compara- 
tively passive to external impressions and to changes in 
their life; others are fairly well-balanced in their emo- 
tional feelings; while still others are of an extremely 
nervous temperament, and respond to similar impres- 
sions in an unusual, excessive and, therefore, abnormal 
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