Chemico-Functional Integration 137 



Summary of Present State of Knowledge In This Field 



Speaking generally, we may say that the trend of all re- 

 sults, experimental and clinical, is unquestionably toward a 

 demonstration of the closest interaction between the entire 

 internal secretory system and both the autonomic and cere- 

 brospinal nervous systems, this interaction affecting the 

 whole of both the growth and the functioning of the animal 

 organism. 



But we must remind ourselves again how fragmentary 

 knowledge is in this great realm. Unanswered questions meet 

 one on the very threshold of any portion he enters. By 

 way of illustration, take the phenomenon of abnormal growth 

 known as acromegaly. This malady is characterized, as the 

 name indicates, by a "peculiar non-congenital hypertrophy 

 of the upper and lower extremities and of the head." 5 Such, 

 according to Schafer, is the definition given by Pierre Marie, 

 who first fully described the disease. The main visible symp- 

 toms consist in the enlargement of the bones of the head, 

 hands, feet, chest, etc., especially in their terminal portions. 

 Through such growth the nose and lower jaw, especially the 

 chin, become protrudent. But the whole skeleton is more or 

 less affected, and there is a corresponding over-development 

 of the muscles, the affected person becoming abnormally 

 strong. That acromegaly is constantly associated with an 

 abnormal condition of the hypophysis is recognized by ap- 

 parently all authorities. Whether the abnormality of the 

 gland is a cause or only an accompaniment of the disease is 

 an open question in the minds of some. However, the view 

 of a large majority is that such a causal relation does exist. 

 "That the acromegalic skeletal growth," says Schafer, "is 

 produced by hypertrophy and oversecretion (or perverted 

 secretiooi) of the anterior lobe is highly probable, both as the 

 result of partial extirpation in animals and from the effect of 

 operative removal of the pituitary tumours in man." 29 The 



