780 PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION AND SECRETION. 



of the operation was a return of menstruation and sexual desire, 

 and a marked alleviation of the disagreeable symptoms following the 

 artificial menopause. In the natural menopause, as well as in the 

 premature menopause following operations, it is a frequent, though 

 not invariable result for the individual to gain noticeably in weight. 

 The probability of an effect of the ovaries on general nutrition is 

 indicated also by the interesting fact that in cases of osteomalacia, 

 a disease characterized by softening of the bones, removal of the 

 ovaries may exert a favorable influence upon the course of the 

 disease. These indications have found some experimental verifi- 

 cation in a research by Loewy and Richter* made upon dogs. 

 These observers found that complete removal of the ovaries, al- 

 though at first apparently without effect, resulted in the course of 

 two to three months in a marked diminution in the consumption 

 of oxygen by the animal, measured per kilogram of body-weight. 

 If now the animal in this condition was given ovarian extracts 

 (oophorin tablets), the amount of oxygen consumed was not only 

 brought to its former amount, but considerably increased beyond it. 

 A similar result was obtained when the extracts were used upon 

 castrated males. The authors believe that their experiments show 

 that the ovaries form a specific substance which is capable of increas- 

 ing the oxidations of the body. 



Pancreas. The importance of the external secretion, the pan- 

 creatic juice, of the pancreas has long been recognized, but it was 

 not until 1889 that von Mering and Minkowski f proved that it fur- 

 nishes also an equally important internal secretion. These observers 

 succeeded in extirpating the entire pancreas without causing the 

 immediate death of the animal, and found that in all cases this 

 operation was followed by the appearance of sugar in the urine in 

 considerable quantities. Further observations of their own and 

 other experimenters have corroborated this result and added a num- 

 ber of interesting facts to our knowledge of this side of the activity 

 of the pancreas. It has been shown that when the pancreas is com- 

 pletely removed a condition of glycosuria inevitably follows, even 

 if carbohydrate food is excluded from the diet. Moreover, as in 

 the similar pathological condition of glycosuria or diabetes mel- 

 litus in man, there is an increase in the quantity of urine (polyuria) 

 and of urea, and an abnormal thirst and hunger. Acetone also is 

 present in the urine. These symptoms in cases of complete extir- 

 pation of the pancreas are followed by emaciation and muscular 

 weakness, which finally end in death in two to four weeks. If the 

 pancreas is incompletely removed, the glycosuria may be serious, 



* Loewy and Richter, " Archiv f . Physiologie," 1899, suppl. volume, p. 174. 

 t Minkowski, "Archiv f. exper. Pathologie u. Pharmakologie, " 31, 85, 

 1893. 



