350 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 



ductless gland in the organism, but that the reaction of the 

 cellular elements, though varying in response to different con- 

 ditions, shows also many characters referable to a common cause. 



It has been shown further that in cases of giantism and 

 acromegaly, in which the pituitary body is enlarged, the sexual 

 organs may be very imperfectly formed. 1 Thus, the uterus 

 is often infantile, the ovaries are rudimentary, or the penis is 

 ill-developed. (See also final footnote, p. 356.) 



It is well known that there is a correlation between the 

 sexual organs and the thyroids. These glands undergo enlarge- 

 ment during menstruation and pregnancy in women, and Freund 2 

 has shown that similar changes occur during the heat periods of 

 many of the lower mammals. He has pointed out further, that 

 swelling of the thyroid, at the time of puberty, often leads to 

 goitre, and that this disease commonly begins at a period of 

 menstruation. These facts are cited by Gaskell 3 as evidence 

 of a special connection between the thyroid and the sexual organs 

 the former being held to represent the uterus of the scorpion, 

 Alquier and Thauveny 4 state that after the partial or complete 

 removal of the thyroids and parathyroids menstruation and 

 conception are very infrequent, but this result may be due to 

 the general metabolic disturbance arising from the absence of 

 the glands. 



There is some evidence of a correlation existing between the 

 sexual organs and the supra-renals. Thus Gottschau 5 states 

 that in rabbits, changes occur in these organs during pregnancy, 

 the outer zone of the cortex becoming twice its normal thickness, 

 whereas the medulla is said to become thinner. Similarly, 

 Stilling 6 states that in frogs during the pairing time, the medulla 



1 Woods Hutchinson, " The Pituitary Gland as a Factor in Acromegaly 

 and Giantism," New York Med. Jour., 1900. 



2 Freund, " Die Beziehungen der Schilddriise zu den weiblichen Ge- 

 schlechtsorganen," Deutsche Zeitsch. f. Chir., vol. xviii., 1883. 



3 Gaskell, The Origin of Vertebrates, London, 1908. 



4 Alquier and Thauveny, "Etat de 1'Ovaire de Chiennes ayant 1'Extirpa- 

 tion partielle ou totale de 1'Appareil Thyro-Parathyroi'dien," C. R. de la Soc. 

 de Biol., vol. Ixvi., 1910. 



5 Gottschau, " Ueber Nebennieren der Saiigethiere," &c., Sitz.-Ber. d. 

 phys. med. Gesell. zu Wiirzburg, vol. xvii.-xviii., 1882. 



6 Stilling, " Zur Anatomic der Nebennieren," Arch. f. Mikr. Anat, t 

 vol. lii., 1898. 



