382 



THE DUCTLESS GLANDS 



water are administered to the patient on an empty stomach. 

 The blood-sugar is estimated after half an hour and then at 

 intervals of one hour. The blood-sugar increases in amount 

 up to a certain degree and then falls again. The curve obtained 

 must then be compared with an average normal curve. 



2 3 



Hours. 



The chart illustrates the effect of 25 gms. of carbohydrate on a moderately 

 severe case of diabetes. The interrupted lines represent a normal blood- 

 sugar curve ; the upper continuous curve was obtained when the patient was 

 receiving a diet slightly in excess of his tolerance level for carbohydrate, the 

 blood-sugar before the test being high in consequence. The lower curve 

 was obtained after two days' starvation which had reduced his blood-sugar 

 to a low level. In both the initial level was not regained till after 5 hours. 

 (From Maclean.) 



Diabetes insipidus. The symptoms of this disease are too 

 well known to require a description. The point of immediate 

 interest to us is the connection between the polyuria and 

 a disturbed function of the pituitary body. A considerable 

 number of cases have been described in which a lesion of the 

 posterior lobe was found post mortem. Such lesions are. 



