36 INTERNAL SECRETION 



Zuelzer, Dorhn and Marxer (in a series of communications 

 dating from the year 1908) have described the property which 

 extracts of certain tissues (gastric and duodenal mucous 

 membrane, and the spleen) have of exciting intestinal peri- 

 stalsis. This property they refer to "peristaltic hormone." 

 A substance called " hormonal," said to contain a solution 

 of the hormone, has been recently put upon the market. 

 If used for therapeutic purposes, the peristaltic hormone 

 must be introduced intravenously or intramuscularly. It has 

 been strongly recommended for atonic constipation. The 

 hormone is probably developed in the gastric mucous mem- 

 brane and stored in the spleen. It is pointed out by Starling 

 that the hormones must not be of such a character as to pro- 

 duce antibodies, that if they are to pass easily through the 

 walls of the blood-vessels, they must have a comparatively 

 low molecular weight, and that they should be susceptible of 

 easy destruction in the fluids of the body. It is said that 

 they are destroyed by ultra-violet rays. 



Our knowledge of the chemical nature of the hormones is at 

 present confined to adrenin and possibly to the recently dis- 

 covered thyroxin ot Kendall. (See Chap. XI.) 



In 1911 Eppinger and Hess enunciated a complicated theory 

 that not only is the whole sympathetic controlled by adrenin, 

 but that the autonomic fibres other than those of the sympa- 

 thetic proper are dependent on the beneficent influence of a 

 hypothetical hormone autonomin. This is sometimes called 

 " Hormone X." There are no sound reasons for believing that 

 any such hormone exists. 



Gley has recently suggested a classification of endocrine 

 substances based upon their general physiological actions. 

 Substances which regulate chemical processes and functions 

 he calls " Harmozones " ("p/zo?"*, I regulate). Under this head 

 he includes the substance which controls the production of 

 sugar, adrenin (in so far as it is concerned in the mobilization of 

 sugar), and antithrombin. Starling's term " hormone " Gley 

 proposes to restrict to specific functional excitants such as 

 secretin, thyroid substance, and adrenin, while he introduces 

 the term " Parhormones " to include products of metabolic 

 activity which have a physiological role such as carbon dioxide. 

 \Vhcn we consider how little we know about the internal 

 secretions, we are tempted to regret that the nomenclature 





