A VILLAGE DOCTOR'S CLINIC 75 



nancy. Some of the best-known signs of pregnancy are 

 enlargement of the thyroid, liver, spleen, and mammary 

 glands. (5), (6), (7). 



2. If the body is complex in health, its pathological 

 or disease processes cannot be other than complex. 

 (7a) A delicate adjustment is disturbed and the whole 

 organism suffers. The Apostle Paul (8) has put it 

 very concisely : "And whether one member suffer, all 

 the members suffer with it." The endocrine glands are, 

 of course, no exception to this rule. A statement from 

 The Metabolist (9) puts the matter clearly : "Owing to 

 the reciprocal relationship that exists between these 

 glands, a functional disorder of them is, in the last 

 analysis, always a pluriglandular disturbance never a 

 monoglandular malady." Billings has also made a very 

 similar statement: "Furthermore, it is universally 

 recognized at present that the thyroid gland seems as 

 one link of a chain of organs, and its aberration of 

 function forms but a small fraction of the series of 

 abnormal events occurring in all ductless glands." 

 (10), (11), (12). 



3. It is also true that our complex modern life makes 

 for complexity of disease. When our forefathers were 

 subduing the wilderness, there was little chance for a 

 variety of occupational diseases. In the days of the log 

 cabin, there was no lead colic; before the days of the 

 aeroplane, there was no "aviation medicine." (13) 

 Before the days of the bright lights, the days of excit- 

 ing amusement and strenuous labor continued far into 

 the hours normally dedicated to sleep, a neurotic pa- 

 tient was a rarity. At present, our occupations and 

 our diversions give rise to diseases unheard-of by our 

 grandsires. 



4. If, then, disease is complex, is it not logical to 

 infer that the treatment will often be far from simple? 

 Curative medicine must meet a multitude of maladjust- 

 ments. Modern therapy must assail these complex 



