PART B 



ORGANOTHERAPY 



THYROID GLAND— ADRENAL GLAND— PITUITARY BODY- 

 OVARY— CORPUS LUTEUM— THYMUS GLAND 



It has been definitely established that the so-called '' duct- 

 less glands " furnish secretions that have important func- 

 tions in the development and metabolism of the body tissues, 

 some of them being essential to life. In the case of certain 

 of these glands, the function of their secretion is known with 

 some degree of accuracy. In the case of others, our knowl- 

 edge is indefinite or unknown. 



It is proposed here to give brief mention to the various 

 derivatives of the ductless glands, with indications for the 

 therapeutic use of those which have proved of value. 



Thyroid Gland 



For many years it has been well known that atrophy 

 or removal of the thyroid gland causes marked disturbances 

 of nutrition, producing characteristic symptoms grouped 

 under the names cretinism (congenital absence of thyroid 

 gland) and myxoedema. This disturbance is believed to be 

 due to defective tissue oxidation, depending upon the absence 

 from the circulation of the internal secretion of the gland. 

 It has been shown that the thyroid tissue contains more 

 iodine than any other tissue of the body, and that its activity 

 is directly proportional to the amount of iodine present. 

 This iodine is present in the form of iodized proteid (iodo- 

 thyrin, thyroprotein, etc.). Abnormal activity of the gland- 

 secreting substance produces the symptoms found in the 

 acute stage of exophthalmic goitre or Graves's disease. 



For therapeutic purposes sheep's thyroid is employed. 

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