62 ENDOCRINE THERAPEUTICS 



or of disease, and also the way out. Biedl says : 

 " If thyroxin be given continuously for two or 

 three weeks the amount of CO 2 excretion will be 

 increased by 15 to 25 per cent. The nitrogenous 

 interchanges are invariably disturbed by thy- 

 roxin : the increased decomposition of albumen 

 is expressed by a considerable increase in the 

 amount of nitrogen excreted. The calcium ex- 

 creted in the faeces, is also increased, the calcium 

 carrying off with it much phosphorus." These 

 properties of thyroxin fully explain its action 

 and its uses. 



In starting thyroxin treatment, patients should 

 drink freely of soft water, or of Malvern or Vichy 

 water : the object of this is to help the kidneys 

 to carry off the increased output of solids that 

 result ; this will not be necessary for a continuance. 



To go back to my former simile, we thus gradu- 

 ally empty the ashbin and clear the flues. There 

 remains the reform of the intake, the fuel. This, 

 of course, is imperative ; without this the animal 

 that was washed will return to his wallowing in 

 the mire. The reformed diet is by no means an 

 irksome one, and as the patient's sense of well- 

 being grows, so will the old desires fade. In 

 cases where the symptoms are urgent, particu- 

 larly the head symptoms, such as vertigo, bad 



