822 



THE ENDOCRINE ORGANS, OR DUCTLESS GLANDS 



sexual characteristics, and that these may recede after the removal oJ 

 the tumor. 



As a result of castration, interesting changes have also been observe* 

 in other ductless glands. Thus, the suprarenal cortex and the thymuj 

 become enlarged, whereas the thyroid and pituitary become atrophie< 

 The metabolic functions also become tardy, as is evidenced by a tendency 

 to the deposition of fat. 



When the castration is performed on an adult man, the above chang< 

 in the sexual characteristics are of course not so evident, although the 

 prostate, etc., atrophy. The effect on the metabolic functions is, how- 

 ever, very marked, there being a striking tendency to increased form* 

 tion of fat. It is interesting that accompanying this there should usual] 

 occur a lowering of the assimilation limit for carbohydrate, so that glyc< 

 suria is very readily induced. We can not assume, therefore, as Gush- 

 ing has done in the case of hypopituitarism, that the fat deposition if 

 attendant upon an improper combustion of carbohydrate. 



These remarkable effects of castration have naturally prompted ol 

 servers to study the influence of injection of testicular extract on th( 

 development of sexual characteristics in different animals, but the re- 

 sults have in general been considered to be of a negative character. 



The Female Generative Organs 



It is well known that, besides their function in producing ova, th< 

 ovaries also produce autacoids that have to do not only with the fix* 

 tion of the embryo in utero, but also with the changes that occur during 

 pregnancy in the maternal organism. It is however at present' uncertain 

 as to where these autacoids are produced in the ovary. The two mos 

 likely sources are the stroma cells and the corpus luteum. In the stroma 

 of the ovary of certain animals, groups of cells have been describe( 

 having a different appearance from those of ordinary stroma cell 

 They have been called the interstitial cells of the ovary, and are believe< 

 to be analogous with the similar structures found in the testicle. It i* 

 possible, however, that these interstitial cells are nothing more thai 

 cells derived from previous corpora lutea. The latter are formed 

 proliferation of the follicular epithelium which remains after extrusioi 

 of the ovum, and by the ingrowing into the follicle of the so-called theci 

 cells and blood vessels. The fully ' developed corpus luteum in most 

 animals consists of cells arranged in trabeculse converging toward th< 

 scar which formed at the place where the follicle had burst. The luteal 



