358 THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANS ON ONE ANOTHER 



C. THE OVARIES 



Just as removal of the testes produces deep-seated changes in the male 

 organism, the failure of the ovarial function, whether by reaching the climac- 

 teric or by artificial removal of the ovaries, is signalized by a series of dis- 

 turbances cardiac palpitations, sweatings, vertigo, and the like which can- 

 not be due to the cessation of the sexual activity alone. Since an ovary 

 completely isolated from its nervous connections, and engrafted into some 

 other part of the body, prevents the atrophy of the other sexual organs, 

 including the mammary glands, and prevents the failure of menstruation 

 (Halban), it is evident that the influence here spoken of cannot be due 

 exclusively to the nervous relationships of the organ, but that we have to do 

 again with an internal secretion, the removal of which causes the disturbances 

 alluded to. 



It is often stated by gynecologists that castration of the woman, exactly as 

 in man, is in many cases followed by pronounced corpulency, which indicates 

 that metabolism declines after the operation. This conclusion is confirmed by 

 a series of experiments on fasting dogs by Loewy and Bichter. After removal 

 of the ovary the consumption of oxygen fell on the average twelve per cent, 

 whereas feeding the castrated females with ovarial substance raised the metabo- 

 lism again, in some cases above the original level. The ovarial substance has 

 no influence on the metabolism of normal, noncastrated male or female animals ; 

 but on castrated male animals its action is intense. 



How this substance raises metabolism, whether because of ah increased 

 muscular tonus, or muscular activity, or in some other way, nothing can be 

 said at present. We only know that the destruction of proteid appears to 

 suffer no change under its influence. 



D. THE THYROID GLAND 



Exact knowledge of the physiological purpose of the thyroid gland dates 

 properly from 1882, when J. L. Reverdin drew attention to the profound 

 disturbances which follow total extirpation of the gland for goiter. Shortly 

 afterwards Kocher and Reverdin pointed out the great similarity of these 

 changes with the complex of symptoms which was first described by Gull 

 (1873) and named by Ord myxcedema. 



The contribution of Reverdin induced Schiff to take up again certain 

 experiments on the extirpation of the thyroid in dogs which he had carried 

 out as far back as 1856, but which had remained unnoticed. Out of 60 dogs 

 operated on by Schiff, 59 died within four weeks. From this time on spirited 

 efforts were made to throw light on the function of the thyroid gland, and 

 all observers reached the same result: that its removal from the dog led to 

 a fatal end within a few days or weeks ; that in man its removal caused very 

 considerable disturbances in the nutrition of the body; also that younger 

 individuals succumbed to the operation more quickly than older ones. 



It has sometimes been assumed that the resulting symptoms, which will 

 be discussed more fully presently, are caused by the incidental effects of the 

 operation. But this is certainly not correct. The whole operation can be 

 carried on in the roughest possible manner, and the animal will show none 



