STERILITY AND THE ENDOCRINES 243 



tunate and cold reception given the perpetrator of any 

 new method of procedure of robbing life of its degener- 

 ations or bringing back the sex instinct with its conse- 

 quent happiness of mind and healthiness of body. 



Volumes have been written on the subject, and there 

 have been many criticisms offered. Testicular and ova- 

 rian organotherapy have suffered most. In my estima- 

 tion three-fourths of the unkind things said about this 

 branch of endocrinology have been the result of expect- 

 ing the miraculous to happen, and the setting of one's 

 hopes too high. Again many failures have been due to 

 slipshod methods and treatment. Results have not been 

 obtained in short intervals, and as a consequence the 

 treatment has been abandoned. 



AN INDIVIDUAL is AS OLD AS His INTERNAL SECRETIONS 



Senility and presenility, in my estimation, are noth- 

 ing more or less than a waning of the endocrine func- 

 tion, accompanied by functional cellular inactivity, with 

 the resultant increase in toxemia, which poisons and de- 

 generates ; repair, if it does take place, is slow, and the 

 organs gradually fall into disuse, followed by atrophy. 

 Ideals, ambitions and desires are but memories, while 

 procreation is impossible. 



When the ability to procreate wanes, the individual 

 is then to be considered senile, unless the causative 

 factor is a specific disease. This hypogonadism may 

 exist at any period. It is seen during early adult life 

 and is then due to indiscretion, or is the result of pre- 

 senile changes in the internal glandular system, as por- 

 trayed by malnutrition, wrinkling and shrinking of the 

 skin. The eyes become dull and the movements slow, 

 while the spermatogenic function, as well as the ova- 

 rian sequence, disappears. This presenile stage may 

 be also initiated by indiscretion, as shown by the sex 

 glands becoming functionally inactive, and the case 



