Ovarian Therapy 



EMIL NOVAK 



BALTIMORE 



Introduction 



Gynecologists have played a leading part in the development of organo- 

 therapy, and the use of ovarian extracts of one form or another has become 

 an important part of every up-to-date gynecologist's armamentarium. 

 Originally introduced at the Landau clinic in Berlin in 1896 ? this form of 

 organotherapy has achieved a wide field of usefulness. This is true in 

 spite of the fact that we are still ignorant of the active principle, or 

 principles, of the ovaries, and, for that matter, of many points relating to 

 their physiology. 



Preparations Available for Ovarian Therapy 



Various forms of ovarian extract are available for administration. It 

 is unfortunate that there has been no effort at standardization of these 

 products, each manufacturing house independently putting out its own 

 preparations, with their prescribed doses. As Morley (a) (&) says, "Ova- 

 rian extract in the reports of various investigators may mean any one of 

 various things an aqueous, alcoholic or ethereal extract, or even perhaps 

 the desiccated gland in powder form." It is difficult to speak of dosage un- 

 less the various preparations of each manufacturer are specified by name, 

 which would scarcely be in good taste. Furthermore, literature on each 

 preparation is easily procurable from the various manufacturing houses. 



Extract of the Entire Ovary. This substance is most frequently em- 

 ployed in the form of tablets representing usually about five grains of 

 fresh ovarian substance, derived from the ovaries of the cow or sow. The 

 extract is also, however, available in powder form, or in the form of 

 capsules, or of a soluble extract, suitable for hypodermic medication. 

 Among the early workers with ovarian extract was Iscovesco who, on the 

 basis of his work on the lipoids of various animal extracts, was able to 

 develop a technic of preparation without the destruction or loss of the 

 active principle. A somewhat similar technic was later described by 



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