THE ESSENTIAL DUCTLESS GLANDS 235 
A very different symptom complex is noted in condi- 
tions connected with hyperadrenia, where an excessive 
amount of adrenin is sent into the blood stream. This 
occurs when one or both of the adrenals are attacked by 
malignant tumors. Premature development is the most 
prominent symptom. Children appear to become rapid- 
ly grown-ups, not only in their size, but in their sexual 
development. So Sajous (6) relates of a case, reported 
by Owen Richards, where “a girl of 7 years was as tall 
as a person of 20.”’ Add to it an obese body, enormous 
appetite and thirst, a swarthy or dark-hued skin, a 
harsh and deep voice, and you have the full syndrome 
of the condition known under hyperadrenia. [It should 
be remarked here that adrenin is the active prin- 
ciple of the adrenal medulla, while the rare condition of 
hypernephroma, just referred to, is essentially a hyper- 
trophy of the adrenal cortex, which is an entirely differ- 
ent structure from the medulla, despite its proximity. 
—H. R. H.] 
There is another role, however, that the adrenal 
glands play in the life of the organism, namely, the one 
which is related to the different emotions of the indi- 
vidual. In his excellent work, based upon numerous 
experiments, Cannon (7), the Harvard physiologist, 
established beyond doubt the fact that during emo- 
tional excitement, or painful stimulations, the adrenal 
secretion is increased. The significance of this increase 
becomes clear when we remember that the adrenals are 
antagonistic to the pancreas; that the increased adrenal 
secretion at the same time inhibits the action of the 
pancreas, sugar becomes liberated, which, as we know, 
is so essential in muscular exertion. At the same time, 
the increased adrenal secretion raises the blood pres- 
sure, which does not permit the waste products of the 
fatigued muscles to accumulate and clog its actions. 
Again, the tendency of adrenin to increase the coagula- 
tion of blood becomes an important factor at a time of 
