24 ENDOCRINE GLANDS 



suprarenalin, and in spite of being mixed up with the 

 nervous sympathetic system have, nevertheless, a certain 

 epithelio-glandular nature. 



It is also well known that their origin is identical; the 

 original undifferentiated cells become either sympatho- 

 blasts, from which arise the sympathetic nerve cells or 

 phaeochromoblasts from which originate the adrenal or 

 paraganglionic cells. The neuro chemical correlation is here 

 very evident, the activity of the paraganglionic cells is 

 closely related to that of the adrenals. Clinically, numerous 

 proofs of the close relationship between the sympathetic 

 and the endocrines exist. Among the most characteristic 

 examples is Basedow's disease, in which the recent re- 

 searches on disturbances of the sympathetic, by means of 

 the oculo cardiac reflex have given very suggestive results. 

 It has been established, in the course of the study of the 

 endocrines, that adrenalin was sympathicotonic and played 

 an important part in the physiological and pathological 

 function of the nervous system of vegetative life, that 

 adrenal choline, secreted in the cortex of the adrenals was 

 antagonistic to suprarenalin and para-sympatheticotonic 

 (or vagotonic), that idothyrin is sympathicotonic, etc.. . . 

 it is, therefore, impossible to separate the study of the 

 function of the endocrines with the function of the nervous 

 system of vegetative life. 



To study the pathological functional endocrine syn- 

 dromes, without simultaneously studying the disturbances 

 of the sympathetic and, more generally, the nervous 

 system of vegetative life would be arbitrary and in- 

 complete. For this reason, the study of the sympathetic 

 has been included in this volume. The chapters by Dr. 

 Guillaume give an excellent anatomical introduction 

 and the descriptions of Dr. Harvier give it a splendid 

 starting point which will be of great help to the reader. 



