Relation of the Suprarenal Glands 

 to the Circulation 



E. G. HOSKINS 



COLUMBUS 



That the suprarenal glands play an important role in the maintenance 

 of circulatory efficiency is demonstrated by the cardiovascular asthenia 

 that results from destruction of these organs. Low blood-pressure and 

 feeble heart action are characteristic both of Addison's disease and of the 

 syndrome of acute suprarenal deficiency. Whether the influence of the 

 suprarenals on the cardiovascular system is mediated directly or indi- 

 rectly has not yet been satisfactorily determined. Neither has it been 

 shown conclusively which component of the suprarenal, the cortex or 

 the medulla, has most to do with the maintenance of circulatory vigor. 

 The trend of modern work is toward a conclusion that the cortex is the 

 more significant. That there subsists, however, between the suprarenal 

 medulla and the circulatory mechanism, at least a pharmacological rela- 

 tionship, is unquestioned. The evidence regarding the effect of epi- 

 nephrin, the active principle of the medulla, upon the heart and blood- 

 vessels is discussed in succeeding paragraphs. 



The crux of the problem is whether or not under ordinary conditions 

 epinephrin is discharged from the suprarenals into the blood-stream in 

 sufficient amount to exert a significant influence upon the physiological 

 process. This problem is discussed at length by Professor Stewart in 

 another chapter. 



Earlier Work on Suprarenal Pharmacology 



Oliver and Schafer were the first to make systematic studies of the 

 effects of suprarenal extracts upon the circulation. Their work was re- 

 ported in preliminary form before the British Physiological Society in 

 March, 1894, and March, 1895. Their observations were published in 

 full in the latter year. It is true that several earlier investigators had 

 worked with suprarenal extracts, but they had made only gross studies 

 of such functions as respiration, temperature, and general behavior as in- 



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