THE FUNCTION OF THE OVARY 213 



while at the present time one of the foremost gynecol- 

 ogists in the country is claiming good results from 

 ovarian residue that portion of the ovarian stroma 

 which remains after the corpora lutea are all ablated. 

 One thing can be said positively : preparations of ova- 

 rian residue retain their therapeutic activity longer 

 and under more adverse conditions than preparations 

 of or containing corpus luteum. 



The fact that our exact knowledge of ovarian func- 

 tion is very limited does not prevent cases of dis- 

 turbed function being widespread. And every prac- 

 titioner meets them daily. Whether he recognizes them 

 as such, or not, is an entirely different question. For 

 this reason, I have attempted to present in a brief 

 way the few facts that are definitely known concern- 

 ing the ovary and its relations to the other endocrine 

 glands, citing a personal case now and then for em- 

 phasis. 



"The ovary governs all the important physiological 

 activities of the sexual organs. It contains a portion 

 whose secretion is external and upon which devolves 

 the perpetuation of the race (ova) and an internal 

 secretory apparatus (follicles, corpus luteum or in- 

 terstitial gland), which exerts important influences 

 upon the entire organism." 2 



The internal secretion of the ovary has never been 

 isolated. Evidence that it exists rests upon the results 

 of its extirpation and destruction experiments in ani- 

 mals and, to a less extent, upon clinical observations. 

 These latter so far as woman is concerned have to 

 do with observations following removal of the ovary, 

 histological examinations after the menopause, and 

 the results of transplanting ovaries or feeding various 

 ovarian preparations. Quite naturally, there has re- 

 sulted a number of divergent views and different the- 

 ories as to the function of the ovary and its various 

 components. 



