Interrelation of the Endocrin 

 Organs 



E. G. HOSKINS 



COLUMBUS 



That the various structures making up the endocrin system stand 

 in intimate functional relations with each other has become a medical 

 truism. The evidence that the hormone from one of the congeries in- 

 fluences others is in some cases fairly convincing. In other cases, how- 

 ever, the theory that such interrelationship exists stands upon a very in- 

 secure basis. The data bearing upon the subject are scattered through 

 a wide range of publications, clinical, pathological and physiological, and 

 they are often presented under misleading captions. Anything like an 

 exhaustive compilation of the evidence is therefore practically out of the 

 question. Much of the evidence, and especially that from clinical sources, 

 moreover, is far from convincing, often consisting as it does of no more 

 than the observation of concomitant changes in two or more endocrin or- 

 gans. To what extent the simultaneous appearance of different endocrin 

 anomalies indicates a definite relationship between the glands in question 

 and to what extent it is merely coincidental or the result of some ante- 

 cedent factor manifesting its influence in both, it is frequently, or indeed 

 usually, impossible to determine. *Y major difficulty in the determina- 

 tion of interrelations among the various endocrin organs arises from the 

 fact that precise knowledge of the functions of the individual organs is 

 for the most part lacking. 



Thyroid 



The evidence of relationships between the thyroid gland and other 

 endocrin structures is more extensive and better established than in case 

 of any of the other organs of internal secretion. The thyroid will be 

 discussed in relation to the suprarenal glands, the hypophysis, the thymus, 

 the pancreas, the parathyroids, the ovaries, and the testes. 



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