THE GENERATIVE GLANDS 389 



is a connection between the internal secretion of the so-called 

 interstitial ovarian gland and the formation of the blood ; while 

 Villemin regards chlorosis as a toxic condition, due to the presence 

 of the internal secretion of the corpus luteum, which has failed to 

 discharge itself with the menstrual flow. This theory is suggested 

 by the lipoid contents of the corpus luteum and the known 

 hasmolytic effect of the lipoid substances. There is yet another 

 hypothesis to which reference must be made in passing, that, 

 namely, of the polyglandular origin of chlorosis. 



EXTRACT OF THE GENERATIVE GLANDS. 



It was by means of the peculiar and characteristic activity of 

 testicular extract that Brown-Sequard obtained the first proof of 

 internal secretion, and it is proposed, for this reason, to enter 

 rather more minutely into the nature of the activity of the genital 

 substances. 



Since that date, liquide testiculaire has found therapeutic 

 application in a large number of instances, but the scientific value 

 of these experiments is very small. The same may be said of 

 "spermin," first prepared by Poehl. The formula of this 

 substance is C 5 H 14 N 2 ; it is not identical with the base, the phos- 

 phates of which form perfect crystals, which Schreiner originally 

 discovered in seminal fluid, but which has since been demonstrated 

 in other organic fluids. According to advertisements, this 

 " Sperminum Poehl" acts as a "physiological catalytic" and 

 ferment of intraorganic oxidation, and in this capacity is said to 

 improve the general condition and increase muscular energy and 

 cardiac activity, to promote appetite and sleep, and, above all, 

 to stimulate sexual activity. Up to the present, exact and care- 

 fully controlled experiments with this substance have not been 

 described. It has been largely employed by clinicians, but in 

 estimating the results which in certain instances have been 

 obtained, the suggestive influence of such measures is a factor to 

 be reckoned with. 



The influence of testicular extract upon muscular function 

 has been demonstrated by Zoth and Pregl, by means of con- 

 clusive experiments (1896). These authors systematically 

 excluded every possibility of error, including that of suggestion, 

 and they found that the subcutaneous injection of orchitic extract, 

 continued over a period of weeks, did not produce an increased 

 capacity for muscular energy ; but that when combined with 

 muscular exercises, there was an increase of as much as 50 per 

 cent, in the muscular performance, as shown by the ergograph 

 and by dumb-bell experiments. 



The other effects of the genital substances have been discussed 

 in a previous chapter, where it was shown that the administration 

 of these substances usually abolishes symptoms of suppression, 



