EVERY-DAY ENDOCRINOLOGY 43 



Blood pressure, 170 mm. systolic, and 70 mm. dias- 

 tolic. The urine showed an increased output of urea 

 (3*/2 per cent.). The electrocardiogram showed evi- 

 dences of auricular fibrillation and a basal metabolism 

 test, done at the university hospital, showed that it was 

 78 per cent above the normal. This patient evidently 

 presents a condition exactly opposite to that of the pre- 

 ceding case. Here the destruction of tissues is greater 

 than the reconstruction, due to a hyperactivity of the 

 thyroid gland. The diagnosis is hyperthyroidism. We 

 do not know of any remedy that will stop the hyper- 

 activity of the thyroid, but we started by seeking for 

 fundamental causes for the irritation. Therefore, the 

 treatment in this case was begun by the removal of the 

 tonsils and all teeth that were found diseased, on the 

 ground that focal sepsis may cause stimulation of the 

 thyroid gland. As no improvement followed, the ad- 

 ministration of the pancreas substance is indicated, as 

 it happens that this gland is believed to counteract the 

 thyroid gland in its action upon the heart. Should the 

 pancreas therapy fail, recourse to the X-ray or partial 

 thyroidectomy will be indicated : 



Many other instances might be mentioned, but the 

 above are referred to in order to emphasize the impor- 

 tance of endocrinology in every-day medicine, and to 

 call attention to the encouraging therapeutic possibili- 

 ties that this new knowledge offers to the profession. 



The more we study the ductless glands and their hor- 

 mone control of the body, the better are we able to 

 discover the common disorders, heretofore overlooked, 

 which really are due to dyshormonism, as it has been 

 called; and to add to our usual treatment suitable or- 

 ganotherapeutic regulation of the disturbed glandular 

 function. 



