ENDOCRINE GLANDS 



pigs activates the growth of bone and prevents atrophy of 

 the penis and seminal vesicles. 



The action of the interstitial gland in the evolution 

 of the young, as well as of the adult, of the sex is, therefore, 

 very definite. This gland on one side assures the develop- 

 ment of the genital organs, on the other, the appearance 

 and upkeep of the sexual characteristics. We do not, how- 

 ever, know exactly how this mechanism is brought about. 



I. SYNDROMES OF TESTICULAR INSUFFICIENCY. 



Before studying the various clinical aspects, it is well 

 to remember that testicular insufficiency causes different 

 disturbances according to the age at which it occurs. 



In very young individuals, in which the sexual glands 

 are inactive, the organic changes which characterize the sex 

 do not appear. In older subjects, in which the sexual 

 organs are normally developed, the sexual characteristics 

 persist, but become attenuated or regress. 



Castration manifests itself by different symptoms 

 according to its having occurred before or after puberty. 



I. CASTRATION. 



1. BEFORE PUBERTY. The results of castration 

 before puberty are known by the study of Oriental eunuchs 

 and a Russian religious sect, the Skotzis, voluntarily 

 castrated. The operation is not, however, performed 

 uniformally, so that the various observations are not 

 always the same. In some only the testicles have been 

 removed, in others, the penis and scrotum have also been 

 excised and it is impossible to judge from the latter the 

 condition of the external genitalia. 



Castration before puberty shows a definite syndrome: 



EUNUCHISM. It is characterized by an abnormal 



growth. These individuals have a height above normal 



