896 



HAKYEY G. BECK 



Obesity and General Configuration of the Body 



One of Ihe most characteristic symptoms in hypophyseal dystrophia 

 adiposogenitalis is obesity. The question as to what portion of the pitui- 

 tary gland is concerned in the development of obesity is still a matter of 

 considerable doubt, and various views are held in regard to this matter. 

 Experimentalists generally, however, agree that anterior lobe deficiency 



is the primary cause. This view is based on the 

 fact that the syndrome of dystrophia adiposo- 

 genitalis, with its characteristic obesity, de- 

 velops after partial removal of the anterior 

 lobe, or after the removal of all of the posterior 

 lobe and a large portion of the anterior lobe; 

 and that, on the contrary, no symptoms develop 

 after the complete removal of the posterior 

 lobe. Gushing and his associates attribute the 

 cause to posterior lobe deficiency, which acts by 

 increasing carbohydrate tolerance with result- 

 ant accumulation of fat. (Both views may be 

 in a measure correct, and therefore, it seems for 

 the present at least, best to regard both lobes 

 as factors, the anterior primary and the pos- 

 terior secondary, which is in accord with the 

 opinion of Schmidt and May who believe that 

 the active principle of the posterior lobe is 

 derived from the Tethelin produced by the an- 

 terior lobe. 



However, the effect upon the obesity pro- 

 duced by the administration of anterior lobe ex- 

 Normal female tract in reducing the fat (Koblee) and in redis- 

 tributing the fat (Beck (a)) suggests hypofunc- 

 tion of the pars anterior. 



The obesity may be general, although 



it is usually characterized by a fairly definite type of distribution in 

 which the deposits of fat are localized chiefly about the hips, the upper 

 thighs, the mons veneris, the lower abdomen, and frequently the mammae. 

 In early life the tendency is toward a more general adiposus, a type 

 illustrated by Frolilich's case. After puberty there is more variation 

 in form and figure of the body. In a large group of cases, especially 

 in women, there is an enormous preponderance of fat localized in the 

 above mentioned areas in otherwise normally developed individuals. 

 These deposits often appear as huge masses or folds over the buttocks 

 and thighs with an apron of fat (panniculus adiposus) over the lower 



figure and outline. (Copied 

 from A. Thompson's An- 

 atomy for Art Students.) 



