240 ORIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE 



*' Our art has made no more brilliant advance 

 than in the cure of these disorders due to 

 disturbed function of the thyroid gland. 

 That we can to-day rescue children otherwise 

 doomed to helpless idiocy ; that we can restore 

 to life the hopeless victims of myxcedema, is 

 a triumph of experimental medicine for 

 which we are indebted very largely to Sir 

 Victor Horsley and to his pupil, Murray." 



" The results as a rule are most astounding — 

 Unparalleled by anything in the whole range 

 of curative measures. Within six weeks 

 a poor, feeble-minded, toadlike caricature 

 of humanity may be restored to mental and 

 bodily health. The skin becomes moist, the 

 pulse rate quickens, and the mental torpor 

 lessens." 



In the disease known as exophthalmic 

 goitre, the symptoms are almost the exact 

 antithesis of those above described, and the 

 cause is excessive secretion of the active 

 material by a large and active thyroid. The 

 patient is alert, excitable, and vivacious of 

 mind, the heart-beat is rapid, there are 

 fine tremors of the voluntary muscles, and 

 the whole picture is one of nervous over- 

 excitement, which is heightened by a promi- 

 nent bulging forward of the eyeballs which 

 gives the disease its name. Somewhat similar 



