THE THYROID APPARATUS 69 



of the acute symptoms which follow extirpation, and the reduction 

 of the adrenalin glycosuria keeps pace with the development of 

 the symptoms characteristic of suppression. According to 

 Ritzmann, this is not the result of suppression of the thyroid 

 function, but is due to a change of conditions which arises while 

 the organism is adapting itself to the absence of the thyroid 

 function. 



The relationship between the thyroid gland and the 

 metabolism of the carbohydrates, suggests that this correlation is 

 dependent upon the agency of an organ of the highest importance 

 to the metabolism of the carbohydrates, that, namely, of the 

 pancreas. Lorand was the first to suggest a relationship between 

 the thyroid gland and the pancreas, and he endeavoured to support 

 his theory by histological and experimental investigation. He 

 pointed to the fact that after extirpation of the thyroid in dogs 

 from which the pancreas has been removed, the sugar disappears 

 from the urine ; and that where the pancreas is extirpated and the 

 thyroid spared, the colloid contents of the latter increase. Licini, 

 more recently, describes the histological signs of increased thyroid 

 activity, and Falta and Bertelli found that, after thyroidectomy, 

 there was a distinct hypertrophy and increase in the number 

 of the islands of Langerhans. 



The results of the experiments undertaken by Eppinger, Falta 

 and Rudinger with the object of determining the relationship 

 between the thyroid and the pancreas may be summed up as 

 follows : 



I. If the thyroid is removed seven to thirteen days before 

 extirpation of the pancreas, the resulting diabetes will be charac- 

 terized as follows: 



(a) The metabolism of albumin in the fasting state is slightly 

 more than that of the control animal ; but if the pancreas only is 

 removed, the metabolism of albumin will be increased three- or 

 four-fold. 



(b) The quotient D :N (Dextrose : Nitrogen) is considerably 

 higher than after extirpation of the pancreas alone. In the latter 

 case it oscillates regularly between 2.8 and 3, but after removal 

 of the thyroid it rises to 3.5. These figures apply both to animals 

 in the fasting state and those fed on flesh. 



(c) The reduction in weight of dogs in the fasting state is 

 comparatively slight. 



II. If the pancreas and thyroid are removed at the same 

 time, the suppression of the thyroid is the first to make itself, 

 gradually felt. On the first day after operation, there is an 

 increase in the decomposition of albumin in the fasting state, 

 which exactly resembles that following removal of the pancreas 

 alone. But in place of a further increase in the decomposition of 

 albumin, the rise is followed by a fall which, in this case also, 

 raises the quotient D :N above the normal. 



