246 THE DUCTLESS GLANDS 



obvious that the experiments would be more satisfactory as 

 regards this point if the cortex only were employed for the 

 feeding. A further criticism of the experiments above described 

 seems justified from the fact that desiccated gland was used. 

 I believe that the material is " degreased " before it is " desic- 

 cated," and the former process would be likely to remove 

 many " lipoids," some of which might be among the physio- 

 logically active substances. In future experiments, therefore, 

 it would be well to use fresh cortex only, in order to eliminate 

 these sources of error. 



It has been stated that the injection of adrenal cortex in 

 white rats causes falling out of hair and some changes in the 

 ductless glands. 



Linser has recorded the case of a giant with a huge adrenal 

 growth, and Scudder has put forward some evidence to show 

 that malignant growths of the cortex tend to produce meta- 

 stases in bone. 



2. The theory that the cortex has the power of neutralizing 

 toxic substances has presented itself in two principal forms : 

 (a) That the gland destroys the poisonous products of body 

 metabolism, especially those arising from muscular activity. 

 This is the theory of auto-intoxication, put forward by Abelous 

 and Langlois, and was originally applied to the whole gland 

 before the active principle of the medullary chromaphil tissue 

 was discovered. But a modification of the view is now held 

 by Boruttau and Langlois to apply to the secretion of adrenin 

 by the chromaphil cells, (b) That the cortex has the duty of 

 destroying poisons which come from without the body. That 

 the cortex may exert antidotal properties is suggested by 

 Myers' observation that cobra poison, after being mixed with 

 an emulsion of the adrenal cortex, was no longer toxic, control 

 experiments with emulsions of the medulla and of other organs 

 giving negative results. Experimental infections with various 

 organisms, such as the tubercle bacillus, and with toxins, such 

 as the diphtheria toxin, give rise to hypertrophy of the cortex, 

 and in some instances apparently to deficiency of the medulla. 

 Ritchie and Bruce report in diphtheritic toxaemia in guinea- 

 pigs exhaustion of all adrenin from the adrenal medulla. 



3. It has often been suggested that in the cortical cells the 

 material which is to furnish the active agent of the medullary 

 secretion the adrenin passes through the initial stages of 



