204 THE INTERNAL SECRETIONS 1920 



low blood pressure, as we so often find it, is most prob- 

 ably due to an insufficency of the adrenal medulla. And 

 it is quite possible that the persistent weariness, and 

 constant fatigue, which we have termed laziness, may 

 have a similar origin. I have known many such cases 

 to take on renewed vigor and energy following adrenal 

 therapy. Adrenal medication should always include 

 the whole gland, and I believe that it is more effective 

 when combined with the sex gland, for there is an 

 intimate relationship of function between the testicles 

 and the adrenals. 2 The intermingling of the two types 

 of tissues, and the similarity in action of the two active 

 principles, 3 both of which resist boiling, is also well 

 known. We may administer testicular extract to the 

 female, because spermin is found in the blood in only 

 slightly reduced quantities as compared with that pres- 

 ent in the male. 4 



The antitoxic action of the adrenals has been posi- 

 tively established. A guinea pig may be given the 1/6 

 gr. strychnia, and if this is followed immediately by an 

 injection of 30 minims of adrenalin, no harm will re- 

 sult. The same animal will die of convulsions if the ex- 

 periment be repeated and the adrenalin omitted. This 

 may account for the fact that chickens and quail are 

 immune to strychnia, while crows are not. By the in- 

 travenous injection of adrenalin and artificial respira- 

 tion, Crile has resuscitated animals 15 minutes after 

 death ; and he kept a dog "alive" for ten hours after its 

 head was cut off, by means of adrenalin in salt solu- 

 tion. 5 



One can measure with reasonable accuracy the adre- 

 nal efficiency of a patient by his susceptibility to atro- 

 pine and pilocarpin, for the individual who reacts 

 strongly to these drugs is comparatively insensitive to 

 adrenalin, and conversely. Individuals with large ton- 

 sils and much adenoid tissue in the pharynx, perhaps 



