48 



PHYSIOLOGY 



CHAP. 



the skin. From this last very apparent symptom, he named the 

 new form of disease " bronzed skin." Addison believed it to 

 depend on deficiency or functional insufficiency of the suprarenals, 

 of which he recognised the great physiological importance. He 

 further held that there was a relation between the absence or 

 diminished function of the suprarenals, and the amount of pig- 

 ment deposited in the skin. By diligent research into the- 





FIG. 15. Transverse section of abdominal aortic paraganglion of adult cat. (Vassale.) a, sym- 

 pathetic ganglion ; b, b, b, nerves ; c, paragangliar or chromaffine tissue. 



pathological anatomy of almost every one who had died of 

 " bronzed skin," he discovered profound alterations in the capsules- 

 of various kinds, more particularly of a tuberculous nature. 



Starting from Addison's researches, Brown-Sequard (1856) 

 performed a series of experiments on animals, and came to the 

 same conclusion as the English pathologist, viz. : that the supra- 

 renal capsules were organs indispensable to life. 



On destroying the capsules, Brown-Sequard found that they 



