THE THYMUS GLAND AND THE ADRENALS. 173 



third had recovered from a previous attack without thymus; 

 hence its use after recurrence as the result of grief cannot 

 serve as fair example. The fourth was of thirty-two years' 

 standing, and the patient had suffered from "various severe 

 nervous symptoms," viz.: paralysis of various basal nerves, 

 ophthalmoplegia, paralysis of facial, ambulatory epilepsy, etc." 

 . . . "She had had, in 1894, twenty-four motions in one 

 day of almost pure arterial blood. In November, 1895, she 

 had a sudden profuse haematemesis, followed by collapse so 

 extreme that she seemed moribund. After she rallied she was 

 given 45 grains of thymus tabloids per day, for a month, and 

 her improvement was very remarkable; she remained in a fair 

 state of health for many months." Degeneration of the arterial 

 walls probably existed in this case, and it seems likely that 

 the loss of blood can be credited with the relief afforded. 

 Todd's case 45 had an epileptic mother, her sister had suffered 

 from myxoedema and had been cured with thyroid extract, and 

 she was herself a "very delicate" girl. N. J. McKie's case 48 

 and those of R. T. Edes 47 and Philip James 48 also represent 

 instances in which there were debilitated adrenals. In a case 

 successfully treated by Boisvert 49 the presence of melancholia 

 also shows that weakened adrenals were present and that the 

 increased insufficiency of these organs brought on by the thy- 

 mus, as was the case with two of the patients referred to by 

 Dr. Winter in which thyroid extract was used, led to recovery. 

 These examples, which could be multiplied, not only indicate 

 that thymus extractives are active when there is impaired func- 

 tional activity of the adrenals, but they also tend to prove that 

 the thymus gland is very similar to the thyroid in its action 

 upon these organs. 



The harmful effects of thymus in the first stage are illus- 

 trated by a case described by Watson Williams, 50 who found 

 that it aggravated the tachycardia and pyrexia: evidence that 

 it had been given while suprarenal overactivity was present. 



45 Todd: British Medical Journal, July 25, 1896. 



* N. J. McKie: British Medical Journal, March 14, 1896. 



47 R. T. Edes: Boston Med. and Surg. Journal, Jan. 23, 1896. 



48 Philip James: Australasian Med. Gazette, July* 20, 1897. 



49 Boisvert: Revue Medicale de Montreal, June 21, 1899. 

 60 Watson Williams: Clinical Journal, Dec. 11, 1895. 



