230 THE INTERNAL SECRETIONS 1920 



like the pituitary gland ; or connecting them apparently 

 with other organs, as the adrenals and the parathy- 

 roids thus protecting them from possible injury, and 

 allowing them to produce their valuable hormones un- 

 disturbed. 



Now, when the ductless glands are anatomically and 

 functionally in a normal condition, the hormones that 

 they produce are also in an equally normal physiological 

 state, and are produced in just the right proportion to 

 mix with the blood stream, and perform their proper 

 functions. But, unfortunately, these glands, like the 

 rest of the body, are subject to different attacks from 

 outside or inside, with resulting dysfunction, be it the 

 numerous pathogenic microbes that frequently infest 

 the organism, or be it the various growths, benignant 

 as well as malignant, that either compress or entirely 

 destroy the affected gland. Under such pathological 

 conditions the product of the affected gland will either 

 be diminished or increased. This will manifest itself 

 clinically in the affected individual by sharply defined 

 symptoms, a syndrome, more or less complex, caused 

 either by the hypofunction or hyperfunction of the af- 

 fected gland, and the changes that this initial dyscrin- 

 ism naturally brings about. 



THE THYROID GLAND 



As an illustration, let us take up a few of the well- 

 known syndromes produced by a pathological condition 

 of certain ductless glands. Compare, for instance, the 

 symptom-complex produced by the extirpation of the 

 thyroid gland as in cachexia thyroprivia with that as 

 the result of increased activity of the gland, as in 

 Graves's disease. The table below is taken originally 

 from the splendid work of A. Kocher, of Berne, as cited 

 byBiedl: (1) 



