16 



grafting have both been undertaken in man for 

 cretinism and tetany respectively, with the idea of 

 relieving the patient from the necessity of taking 

 drugs all his days. In a few cases success has 

 resulted, but unfortunately the graft becomes 

 absorbed as a general rule, and soon ceases to 

 function. In a case recently described by Brown, of 

 Melbourne, parathyroid feeding and calcium salts 

 both failed to relieve tetany in a patient who had 

 been treated by a too-extensive thyroidectomy for 

 Graves' disease. The in-grafting of parathyroid tissue 

 from dogs and monkeys gave pronounced relief for 

 about 12 days, but she relapsed after each operation. 

 Human parathyroid was then grafted, and the cure 

 seemed to be permanent. I have seen a case appar- 

 ently cured by the grafting of human parathyroid. 



We see also that exophthalmic goitre is due 

 to hypersecretion of the iodothyrin, as is proved 

 by the artificial imitation of the disease by 

 excessive thyroid feeding, by the excess of iodine 

 present in the colloid in Graves' disease, and by 

 the character of the histological changes. Thus we have 

 reason to expect good from partial removal, which has 

 been very successful in the hands of Kocher, the 

 Mayos, and others. It w r ould be reasonable also to try 

 the effect of iodine starvation, by eliminating vege- 

 tables and ordinary tap-water from the dietary, and 

 substituting for the latter the water of a goitre well. 



Further, we are helped to understand and to 

 recognize cases of iodoform poisoning, and to learn 

 caution in the use of this drug on absorbing 

 surfaces. It is safer in children than in adults, 



