ADRENAL HYPOFUNCTION 157 



he wanted was to go to bed. This he did by 8.30 or 9 

 P. M. and then would lie awake until 1 or 2 A. M. before 

 he could go to sleep. Examination revealed no organic 

 disease. Blood pressure systolic erect was 118 mm., 

 recumbent 132, November 13th, 1919. Small doses of 

 adrenal gland with thyroid, spermin and calcium gly- 

 cerophosphate were given daily. Finally on January 

 15th, 1920 he called me up and said, "I think you had 

 better give me the once-over, Doctor." When he came 

 in, his systolic blood pressure was 118 mm. in the erect 

 position, and 118 in the recumbent. I remarked that he 

 ought to feel fine. He then said, "If people only knew 

 what those capsules would do for them, they would be 

 fighting for them with guns." 



THE ETIOLOGY OF HYPOADRENIA 



Let us consider the causes of adrenal hypofunction. 

 In the first place, we must bear in mind the fact that all 

 people are not born with adrenals of the same state of 

 development or functional efficiency. This idea has 

 been worked out experimentally in hogs by Smith (7). 

 He demonstrated that hypofunction of the thyroid in 

 hogs is transmitted to their offspring. May we not then 

 reason that adrenal hypofunction in the mother can be 

 transmitted to her offspring because the thyroid, adre- 

 nals and anterior pituitary are all a part of the "adre- 

 nal system" as first described by Sajous (8) and later 

 by G. W. Crile (9) ? 



The inherited cases are to me the chronic cases ac- 

 cording to the classification of Emile Sergent (10) . In 

 my observation of Russian Jews I have so frequently 

 found evidence of adrenal hypofunction that I have 

 come to believe they all have it. I can readily under- 

 stand this, for the Jews in Russia for generations have 

 lived in fear of persecution (religious). Darwin (11) 

 maintained long ago that acquired characteristics do 

 become hereditary. Cannon and De La Pas (12) have 



