36 ENDOCRINE THERAPEUTICS 



give one gland extract, its action is not entirely 

 confined to the corresponding gland in the body, 

 but must affect other glands through their 

 intricate relationship. 



In some cases this may be harmful, but gener- 

 ally speaking it is beneficial. 



What I have just said refers only to functional 

 failure, not to diseases like Addison's, where the 

 real trouble is destruction by tuberculosis, nor 

 to any form of malignant disease that primarily 

 or secondly affects the glands. 



This nature force, the vis medicatrix, is largely 

 bound up with the action of the internal glands, 

 and especially with the adrenals and the pituitary ; 

 they are the raisers of vascular tension, the 

 stimulants to the muscles of the heart, the 

 increasers of the oxygenation of the blood, and 

 so of general metabolism. In the hypoadrenal 

 stage of the acute disease, such as diphtheria, 

 pneumonia, and typhoid, their administration 

 increases immunity against further and other 

 infections ; that there is such a liability is of 

 frequent observation. In such cases, to give 

 these extracts in the early stage, when pressure 

 is up, is probably a mistake, for in the first stage 

 of these the suprarenal gland is generally con- 

 gested and swollen, and under increased pressure 



