88 ENDOCRINE GLANDS 



vations have shown the exaggeration of the thyroid 

 secretion: the symptoms of myxedema characterized by 

 atrophy of the gland are opposed to those of Basedow's 

 disease. Experimentally, the injection of excessive doses 

 of thyroid extract reproduces in animals some of the 

 symptoms of the disease: tachycardia, loss of weight, as 

 Basedow's disease is improved by anti thyroid medication. 



The following facts are, however, opposed to the con- 

 ception of hyperthyroidism: myxedema may co-exist 

 with Basedow's disease. Gley has also shown that the 

 serum of patients w r ith Basedow's disease has not the ex- 

 perimental effects of the extracts of thyroid and that 

 the intravenous injection of extract of exophthalmic 

 goiter causes a decrease in the blood pressure, a decrease in 

 the strength in the heart beat, just as would the extract 

 of a simple goitre. 



(6) Dysthyroidism (theory of Gauthier and Charolles, 

 then of Renaut and Joffroy, brought up to date by Gley 

 and Iscovesco). The symptoms of exophthalmic goitre 

 are brought about by a perversion of the thyroid secretion 

 causing an accumulation in the blood of toxic substances, 

 normally destroyed by the thyroid. Perhaps one of these 

 substances, stimulating the sympathetic is normally fixed 

 by the thyroid. The tachycardiac and the exophthalmos 

 could be understood without a lesion of the sympathetic. 



3. POLYGLANDULAR THEORY. The disturbance in the 

 thyroid secretion is not primary, but secondary to the 

 functional alterations of another gland in synergy with 

 the thyroid, whence the thy ro -ovarian and thyropituitary 

 theories. The thyro adrenal theory is upheld in Germany 

 and in America, by Wilson. Hyperthyroidism causes a 

 hyperfunction of the adrenals, which causes a hypersecret ion 

 of suprarenalin, a permanent stimulant of the sympathetic. 



