156 THE THYROID, THE THYMUS, AND THE ADRENALS. 



the supposed physiological function cannot occur; it also sug- 

 gests, when considered with the other data adduced, that 

 excessive thyroid secretion, by overstimulating the cerebral 

 centers of the suprarenal glands, as would any equally active 

 agency, gives rise to the symptoms of suprarenal overactivity 

 followed by symptoms of suprarenal insufficiency that have 

 been termed collectively "exophthalmic goiter." To establish 

 this view on a solid footing, however, other features of the 

 problem must be considered. 



What is the nature of the agency through which these 

 phenomena are produced? Whether it be Baumann's iodo- 

 thyrin, E. Hutchinson's colloid substance, which, by the way, 

 is very soluble in dilute alkaline fluids, such as the blood- 

 plasma, FrankePs so-called thyreo-antitoxin, Oswald's more 

 recently introduced thyreoglobulin, or any of the thyroid de- 

 rivatives, the one agent upon which all their advocates depend 

 for physiological effects is the iodine which all effective ex- 

 tractives contain. Yet the well-known untoward effects of this 

 halogen when administered therapeutically in large doses 

 such as would be deemed necessary to produce exophthalmic 

 goiter would seem to suggest that there should be present 

 in organic combination with it an agent capable of antagonizing 

 iodism. 



To counteract iodism we use arsenic. In a valuable paper 

 Professor Armand Gautier 14 has recently shown that, while 

 arsenic could be found in the various structures of the organ- 

 ism, the thyroid gland contained more than any organ, the 

 thymus, the mammary gland, the skin, hair, and nails being 

 next in quantitative sequence. He found it incorporated in 

 the glandular nucleins along with the iodine. To these iodized 

 and arsenized nucleoproteids Gautier ascribes the physiological 

 functions of the glands, and he found that the structures which 

 are especially benefited by arsenical treatment, the hair and 

 the nails, are precisely among those which normally contain 

 the most iodine and arsenic. With his pupil, Bourcel, 15 he 

 ascertained, furthermore, that menstrual blood contained a 

 notable proportion of arsenic and iodine. Gautier's experi- 



14 Armand Gautier: Trans. Thirteenth International Congress, 1900. 

 Bourcel: These de Paris, 1900. 



