224 SWALE VINCENT 



at the tim the article was written. From this article many of the refer- 

 ences to the old literature here referred to were obtained. Galen was 

 probably referring to the thyroid body when he wrote concerning the 

 glands in the region of the larynx : "These are always found more loose 

 and spongy than others, and . . . have been created for the purpose of 

 moistening and bathing all the parts of the larynx and the passage of the 

 throat." Morgagni (a) also quotes the following, which makes it clear that 

 Galen knew that the thyroid gland has no duct: "Now the neck has two 

 glands in which moisture is generated. But from the two glands which 

 are in the neck there come forth no vessels by which the moisture may 

 flow out, as those do from the glands of the tongue." 



The publication in 1656 of the Adenographia of Thomas Wharton, a 

 Yorkshireman, marked an epoch in the history of anatomy. It deals with 

 his own discovery of the duct of the submaxillary gland, and gives careful 

 descriptions of the salivary glands, thymus, and so on. The results were 

 originally given in his lectures at the College of Physicians in 1652. 

 Wharton gives a good account of the anatomy of the thyroid gland, and 

 notes that it is much more full of blood than any other gland. He 

 gave the organ the name by which it has been known ever since (from 

 dvpeos, a shield). He suggests four functions for the organ: (1) to 

 take up superfluous moisture from the recurrent nerve; (2) to "cherish" 

 the cartilages; (3) to lubricate the larynx and render the voice sweeter; 

 (4) to contribute to the contour and beauty of the neck, tfhe third 

 function is the one favored by Galen and long remained in vogue. 



Verheyen and Santorini were doubtful about the presence of a duct 

 leading into the pharynx or trachea. Haller in 1776 dismissed the ques- 

 tion of a duct, and grouped together the thyroid, the thymus, and the 

 spleen as glands without ducts, which pour a special fluid into the veins, 

 and so into the general circulation. This is not very different from the 

 modern conception, in regard to the thyroid at any rate. 



As late as 1834 we find papers on the thyroid which show that the 

 importance of the organ in the economy was scarcely suspected. But 

 ten years later Simon put forward an interesting theory which has recently 

 been revived by V. Cyon. Simon considered that the thyroid exercises a 

 regulatory function on the blood supply to the brain, exerting also its 

 secretory function in an alternating manner with the substance of the 

 brain. 



Handfield-Jones in the article above referred to, and which was written 

 only a few years after Simon's paper, still finds it necessary to attack the 

 theories which connect the thyroid body functionally with the organ of 

 voice. He seems to give a half-hearted allegiance to Simon's theory. 



Extirpation Experiments Upon Animals. The earliest extirpation 

 experiments upon animals appear to have been performed by Raynard. 

 This observer reports that the treatment of goiter in dogs can be carried 



