THE SECRETING GLANDS 307 



vessels by fascia. In the neck it lies on the front 

 and sides of the trachea beneath the sternohyoid 

 sternothyroid muscles. 



Suprarenal Glands. The suprarenal glands are two 

 flattened bodies, of a yellowish color, found in the 

 epigastrium, lying behind the peritoneum, and above 

 and in front of the upper extremity of each kidney. 

 They are triangular in shape, H to nearly 2 inches in 

 length, less in width, and J of an inch in thickness. 



The Functions of the Suprarenal Glands. They 

 secrete a substance, termed adrenalin (takamine, 

 Aldrich) or epinephrin (Abel), which is absorbed 

 by the blood, and stimulates to increased activity 

 the muscle fibers of the heart and arteries, and thus 

 aids in maintaining the normal blood-pressure. Dis- 

 ease of the suprarenal glands causes a bronzing of 

 the skin and mucous membranes with disturbances 

 of nutrition, muscular weakness, and anemia. Gradu- 

 ally the heart becomes weak; the pulse is soft and 

 feeble, indicating a general reduction in blood-pressure 

 from interference with the secretion of the active 

 physiologic material from the cells of the gland. 

 Addison's disease is the name applied to this condition, 

 as he first described the disease. 



The Pituitary Body (Hypophysis). The pituitary 

 body is a small glandular body situated at the base 

 of the brain, lodged in the sella turcica of the sphenoid 

 bone. It is divided into an anterior and posterior 

 lobe; the former is reddish in color, is larger than the 

 posterior lobe, and is derived from an invagi nation of 

 the epiblast of the mouth cavity, and shows micro- 

 scopically gland tissue; the posterior lobe is yellowish 

 gray in color, and represents an outgrowth from 

 the brain. It is connected by a thin slip to the 

 infundibulum. 



The functions of the pituitary are still under inves- 

 tigation; however, it has been proved by experiment 

 that an injection of the extract made from the internal 



