364 THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANS ON ONE ANOTHER 



eliminated. On the other hand the laevorotatory carbohydrates (levulose, inosit) 

 are used by the body, although they are in part transformed into grape sugar 

 and are excreted as such. After feeding with cane sugar, neither cane sugar 

 itself nor levulose are to be found in the urine; instead there always appears a 

 considerable increase of the dextrose output. Presumably therefore the cane 

 sugar is inverted, and besides the usual dextrose arising from it, a part of the 

 levulose also leaves the body as dextrose. Milk sugar also appears to be trans- 

 formed into grape sugar and to be eliminated as such. 



The glycogen disappears from the liver of animals made diabetic in this 

 way, down to the last traces. But in animals in which parts of the pancreas 

 have been left in the abdominal cavity, fairly large quantities of glycogen 

 are still found. Finally, after feeding levulose, there occurs under certain 

 circumstances a considerable deposit of glycogen in the liver, and, what is 

 especially noteworthy, this glycogen is dextrorotatory as usual. 



After suppression of the pancreas, therefore, the power of the body to 

 form glycogen or fat from dextrose is destroyed. Such animals show an 

 increased destruction of tissue proteid, which is most clearly attested by the 

 fact that in spite of an excessive supply of food, they very rapidly become 

 emaciated, losing in two weeks as much as one-third or more of the body 

 weight. That is, they live principally at the expense of their own bodies. 

 Since, in spite of this, sugar is eliminated in large quantities in the urine, 

 the organism must have lost the ability to burn sugar to the usual extent. 



The consequences of removing the pancreas make it evident, therefore, 

 that this organ plays an essential part for the storage of carbohydrates in the 

 body, for their transformation into fats, and for the combustion of sugar. 



In explanation of these effects of the pancreas on the transformation of 

 sugar, one might conceive either that a substance is formed in the gland which 

 is necessary for the normal metabolism of sugar, or that the gland destroys some 

 substance formed elsewhere, the retention of which in the organism would pro- 

 duce the effects described. The former of these suppositions appears the more 

 probable, although there is scarcely yet to be found any binding proof of it, and 

 nobody has so far succeeded in obtaining the active substance from the pancreas. 

 It appears from some facts not presented here that the discharge of this sub- 

 stance into the blood is under partial control of the central nervous system. 



F. THE ADRENAL BODIES 



In 1855 Brown-Sequard announced that bilateral extirpation of the ad- 

 renal bodies resulted fatally within a short time after the operation. Later 

 experiments have on the whole confirmed this statement. Death follows within 

 a few hours or days at most. If the organs are removed in several operations, 

 portion at a time, the animals (cats) die somewhat later. If some time be 

 allowed to elapse between the operations for the two sides, the animal (rab- 

 bit) may exhibit no abnormal symptoms within a month. 



After extirpation of one adrenal body and a part of the other, animals 

 may continue to live, though in a reduced state of health, for some time after 

 the operation. They are more sluggish than usual, they quickly become 

 fatigued by muscular efforts, and the body rapidly falls away in weight. 



