60 



THE SEX-COMPLEX 



The para- 

 thyroius in 

 relation to 

 pregnancy. 



shall see later that certain disturbances of pregnancy 

 and the puerperium are supposed to be related to in- 

 sufficiency of the parathyroids. 



EFFECTS OF REMOVAL OF THE PARATHYROIDS 



Apparently the removal of some of the parathyroids 

 does not produce any definite symptoms ; and Swale 

 Vincent asserts 1 that the complete removal of the para- 

 thyroids will not give rise to symptoms, unless the 

 thyroid itself or the nerve supply to this organ be 

 damaged. In short, this author considers that, unless 

 the integrity of the thyroparathyroid apparatus be 

 damaged, removal neither of the thyroid nor of the para- 

 thyroids causes symptoms. But such a statement seems 

 a contradiction in terms, and, as a matter of fact, these 

 views are not supported by the results obtained by 

 others, nor by my own experiments ; but I have not 

 myself carried out experiments on the parathyroids as 

 distinct from the thyroid. 



Tetany From the other point of view, probably the work of 



parathyroid- MacCallum and Voegtlin is the best known. MacCallum 2 

 showed that the removal of the parathyroids alone 

 results in tetany and death. Subsequently, he and 

 Voegtlin 3 demonstrated that the tetany produced is 

 connected with the calcium metabolism ; that is to say, 

 there is a depletion of lime salts from the nervous system 

 and blood after parathyroidectomy. Continuing their 

 investigations they found, also, that the injection of 

 calcium salts into the blood-stream prevents tetany 

 supervening after parathyroidectomy. These investiga- 

 tions have been confirmed by Edmunds 4 . 



1 Vincent, S., Internal Secretion and the Ductless Glands, 1912, 

 p. 302. 



2 MacCallum, W. G., Med. News, 1903, vol. xxxiii, p. 820. 



3 MacCallum, W. G., and C. Voegtlin, Bull. Johns Hoplc. Hosp., 

 1908, vol. xix, p. 91. 



4 Edmunds, W., Journ. Pathol and BacterioL, 1912, vol. xvi, p. 481 

 idem, 1913, vol. xviii, p. 52 ; idem, 1916, vol. xxi, p. 23. 



