R. G. HOSKOS 



Nomenclature 



A fairly complex terminology has been developed in the field of endo- 

 crinology and one which, to the casual reader, is likely to give a false sense 

 of security regarding the fundamental data to which it pertains. That 

 the nomenclature has become relatively overextensive has been deplored 

 by Gley and others. 



Until recently the structures that produce internal secretions have been 

 known as the ductless gl&nds, a term that still has some currency. In 

 certain instances the term is apt but it is unsatisfactory in that it 

 excludes certain of the glands with ducts, organs that produce internal 

 as well as their better known external secretions. An example of these 

 is the pancreas. Recently the term endocrin glands has come into general 

 use to designate all structures having, or supposed to have 1 , an internal 

 secretion. These comprise the pineal, pituitary, thyroid, thymus, supra- 

 renal, pancreatic and sex glands and, less definitely, the salivary glands, 

 spleen, kidneys and intestines, and, possibly, the liver. The "glandula 

 insularis" of Pende and the "myometrial gland" of the uterus are pos- 

 sibly endocrin structures also. 



In a sense, all the various metabolites of the body are "internal se- 

 cretions." But as a more specific appellation to designate the products 

 of the endocrin tissues, Bayliss and Starling have proposed the term 

 "hormone" a word derived from the Greek op/mco, meaning "I ex- 

 cite." A hormone is defined as a substance produced in one part of 

 the body and carried by the blood or lymph to some other part, the 

 activity of which is thereby modified. As characterizing the internal 

 secretions that affect more particularly the growth and developmental 

 processes Gley has introduced the term "harmozones," from dp/zd^co, I 

 rule or direct. 



Although the term hormone itself has come into very general use, even 

 among the laity, it has little more than usage to commend it. By definition 

 the term means an exciter, but various hormones, as a matter of fact, 

 actually depress bodily functions. 



In view of this fact Scliafer has proposed a different terminology. 

 Instead of hormones lie suggests that the specific internal secretions be 

 called "autocoid substances," or "autocoids" (from durds, self, and 

 a/cos, a drug or remedy ). The autocoids comprise two classes, "hor- 

 mones," which excite functions, and "chalones," which depress. That the 

 situation would be improved by the adoption of these terms seems doubtful. 

 The word hormone would at once come to have an ambiguous significance, 

 depending on whether the newer or older usage were understood. More- 

 over, the word autocoid is hardly a happy selection. The word drug 

 connotes a foreign substance, whereas internal secretions are precisely the 



