THE PITUITARY BODY 979 



In addition, pituitrin stimulates the flow of certain secretions. 

 Thus, it has been observed by Ott and Scott ^ that it causes a copious 

 flow of milk from the mammary glands, if administered to pregnant or 

 parturient cats and other animals. In woman, it gives rise to a simi- 

 lar effect which is initiated by a feeling of pressure and discomfort in 

 the mammae. At the present time, however, it cannot be stated defi- 

 nitely that it serves as an actual stimulant to the secreting cells, be- 

 cause its action may be an indirect one, effected by contracting the 

 smooth muscle cells lining the lactiferous ducts. In addition to its 

 action as a galactagogue, it exerts a favorable influence upon the for- 

 mation of the cerebrospinal fluid and urine. In the latter case, it is still 

 doubtful whether its diuretic influence is due to its power of augment- 

 ing the circulation or to a stimulating influence upon the renal cells. 



The Function of the Anterior Lobe of the Hjrpophysis. — In con- 

 tradistinction to the posterior lobe, extracts of the anterior lobe pro- 

 duce no immediate changes when injected into the blood-stream. 

 Contrariwise, the studies of Pierre Marie^ upon the disease, known as 

 acromegaly, have proved beyond doubt that the pathogenesis of this 

 form of gigantism is in some way connected with the hypophysis. 

 Clinically, acromegaly presents itself as a complex of symptoms 

 suggesting the presence of a cerebral tumor. The patient, usually 

 an adult, complains of headache, vertigo, vomiting, failing in intelli- 

 gence, somnolence, hemianopsia, and progressive amblyopia. The 

 face becomes distorted, owing to an enlargement of the facial bones and 

 soft parts; the lips swell; the eyelids thicken, and the lower jaw be- 

 comes very prominent. The other forms of gigantism appear early in 

 life and are characterized by an excessive growth of certain bones, 

 chiefly the long bones and those of the face. In all these cases, it has 

 been ascertained that the hypophysis is very active, as ig evinced by 

 its large size and a hyperplasia of the glandular elements of the an- 

 terior lobe.^ It has also been demonstrated that this gland is rudi- 

 mentary in true dwarfs. 



In correlating these clinical pictures of hyper and hypopituitarism, 

 it is made obvious by exclusion that the anterior lobe of the hypophysis 

 produces a hormone which controls the growth of the connective tis- 

 sues. In the absence of this internal secretion in young animals, 

 their growth is checked so that they gradually pass over into a condi- 

 tion of infantilism. Conversely, a hyper-activity on the part of this 

 gland gives rise to gigantism, general and local. This result may be 

 produced either directly through the action of this hormone upon the 

 nervous system, or indirectly through its action upon other internal 

 glands of the metabolic type, such as the thyroid and thymus. This 



^ Therap. Gazette, xxxv, 1911, and Simpson and Hill, Am. Jour, of Physiol, 

 xxxvi, 1915, 77. 



2 Brain, xii, 1890, 59, and Marie and Marinesco, Arch, de m^d. exp. et d'anat. 

 path., 1891. 



^ Benda, Handb. der path. Anat. des Nervensystemes, Berlin, 1904. 



