8 ENDOCRINE GLANDS 



in this case we were also dealing with an internal secre- 

 tion of the pancreas. 



Shortly afterward the pathology of the pituitary gave 

 a new example of the physiology and pathology of an 

 internal secretion. The discovery of acromegalia by 

 Pierre Marie was the first chapter of this pathology, which 

 was made more complete by the study of gigantism, in- 

 fantilism, certain adiposogenital syndromes and diabetes 

 insipidus. The remarkable investigations of Harvey 

 Gushing have helped to clarify the subject, both clinically 

 and experimentally. We must, however, accept with 

 reserve some of the facts, as it is possible that some of his 

 theories may not be confirmed. The pituitary has be- 

 come one of the most important and most interesting 

 organs among the endocrine glands. From a therapeutic 

 point of view pituitary organo therapy has been very 

 effective, just as much as a symptomatic medication as in 

 the case of substitute medication. The results are com- 

 parable to those obtained in thyroid administration. 



These rapid historical considerations are sufficient to 

 establish the significance of the initial observations of 

 Brown-Sequard. Gradually, thanks to the parallel help 

 of pathology and physiology, the notion of endocrinology 

 has become more definite and this subject has now a 

 justifiable place in the field of medicine. 



WAYS OF STUDYING AND CLASSIFYING THE 

 PRODUCTS OF INTERNAL SECRETION. 



It is not sufficient to just say that the vascular blood 

 glands have an internal secretion which have a part in the 

 formation of the blood and act on other structures and 

 organs. It is necessary to prove the reality of these se- 

 cretions, by studying historically the secretory function 

 of the cells, determine chemically the nature of the sub- 



