362 THE DUCTLESS GLANDS 



respiration, a terminal abrupt fall in body temperature, and 

 apathy passing into coma and death. 



Gushing and his collaborators describe in animals, which 

 recover after partial extirpation, certain constitutional disturb- 

 ances, some of which (e.g., carbohydrate tolerance) they now 

 admit to be due in part to posterior lobe deficiency. These 

 constitutional disturbances are adiposity, changes in the skin, 

 disturbances of carbohydrate metabolism, of temperature, of 

 growth, and of secretion by the kidney. Sexual inactivity and 

 changes in most of the ductless glands are also described. 



In some cases, the adiposity was so extreme that the weight 

 of the animals became doubled, the deposition of fat is widely 

 distributed, and in some regions oedema is recorded. 



The skin becomes dense, dry, and less movable than usual. 

 The hair becomes bristly and tends to fall out in patches 

 changes, as pointed out by Gushing, not unlike those found 

 after thyroid extirpation. 



When much pituitary substance has been removed, a sub- 

 normal temperature is the rule, and it may fall nearly to room 

 temperature. The normal temperature may be restored by 

 applying heat, but this hastens the end. In some cases, 

 Gushing found, when the temperature was not very low, that it 

 could be raised by ingestion, or subcutaneous injection, of pitui- 

 tary extract. He states that a thermic reaction occurs, upon 

 the injection of pars anterior preparations, only in cases of 

 anterior lobe deficiency, and can be used as a clinical test when 

 anterior lobe deficiency is suspected. 



Pulse rate and respiration may be slow, and the blood- 

 pressure low. 



In young animals, partial pituitary extirpation results in 

 disturbances of growth, especially in skeletal undergrowth. 



Gushing also reports mental dulness, irritability, and a 

 tendency towards epileptic fits. 



After extirpation, a temporary glycosuria usually ensues, 

 followed by a short period during which the assimilation limit 

 is below normal. Subsequently, the animals acquire such a 

 tolerance for sugar, that it is often difficult to produce alimen- 

 tary glycosuria with the amounts of sugar that can be retained. 

 According to Cushing's observations, these facts are connected 

 with removal of, or damage to, the posterior lobe, and the inter- 

 pretation given by this writer is as follows : " Normal posterior 



