168 THE THYROID, THE THYMUS, AND THE ADRENALS. 



waste-products, which products, in myxoedema, the unstimu- 

 lated adrenals can just about destroy through what oxidation 

 they are able to induce. Indeed, this is the key to the differen- 

 tial results observed in thyroidectomized animals especially as 

 between the carnivorus and herbivorous. Nature again provides 

 protection against this source of danger, since myxcedematous 

 subjects dislike meat (Pel). That tissue-metabolism is mark- 

 edly reduced in myxcedema is shown by the decrease of urea 

 and uric acid in the urine; but, given an animal suddenly 

 deprived of its thyroid, the equally sudden interruption of 

 adequate adrenal function involves arrested destruction of what 

 toxic products are already in the system, xanthin bases espe- 

 cially. A second cause for suprarenal insufficiency is thus 

 created which correspondingly reduces oxidation, with all its 

 nefarious results. Here, however, an important factor comes 

 into play: the avidity of the tissues for oxygen. 



The oxygen-carrying corpuscular elements are not only 

 depleted of their oxygen by them, but that available for anti- 

 toxic purposes in the serum is also taken up. Obviously accu- 

 mulation in the latter of unoxidized toxic products of cellular 

 and food metabolism must occur. As a result, practically all 

 the energy which the remaining suprarenal activity affords 

 through the oxygen it supplies the organism, is concentrated 

 in the organic cellular elements, while the blood-stream teems 

 with toxic products. 



We can now understand why various investigators, as 

 previously stated, found that the blood of an animal deprived 

 of its adrenals and which is beginning to show toxic symptoms 

 has such poisonous effects when injected into another animal 

 from which the adrenals have been removed shortly before. 

 It is to this difference between the comparatively immune tis- 

 sues and the highly toxic blood that the tetanus and epileptic 

 convulsions witnessed seem to be due, since the latter are, after 

 all, but intense manifestations of activity, caused, judging from 

 the action of toxic drugs, by large doses of physiologically- 

 produced toxics. Yet, why the paroxysmal feature of these 

 manifestations? We have seen that in the type of exoph- 

 thalmic goiter attended with congenital or acquired suprarenal 

 inadequacy there occur what Dr. Winter called "flushings'' and 



