THE SEX-COMPLEX 



Correlated 

 functions of 

 the organs 

 of internal 

 secretion. 



Factors 



producing 



femininity. 



the isolated results of work already done — the mysterious 

 connexions that undoubtedly exist between the organs of 

 internal secretion in regard to the specialized functions. 

 In Marshall's excellent book on The Physiology of Repro- 

 duction two short pages only are set aside for the con- 

 sideration of the relation of the ductless glands generally 

 to the reproductive functions. No doubt this diffidence 

 has been due partly to the incomplete state of our 

 knowledge ; but I think it has arisen more especially 

 from the isolated way in which we usually consider 

 most of the structures of the body : we trace the 

 products of metabolism from organ to organ without 

 taking into consideration the fact of what may best be 

 described as organic harmony between various structures 

 themselves, in spite of the suggestive lead given us by 

 Starling in his description of the action of secretin. 



It must not be inferred from these remarks that I 

 am in any way prepared to give a complete explanation 

 of the interactions of the hormonopoietic organs in re- 

 gard to the genital functions and characteristics. It is 

 necessary, however, to call attention to the fact that 

 the genital functions in the female must be considered 

 from a very wide standpoint in view of our accumulated 

 knowledge concerning them. I shall deal most fully 

 with those parts of the subject wherein I have myself 

 worked, and shall bring forward experimental results 

 and pathological findings to clear up many of the points 

 at issue. 



The essential fact, then, to be borne in mind in regard 

 to this subject is that femininity itself is dependent on all 

 the internal secretions. It used to be thought that a 

 woman was a woman because of her ovaries alone ; 

 but, as we shall see later, there are many individuals 

 with ovaries who are not women in the strict sense of 

 the word, and many with testes who are really feminine 

 in every other respect. This indicates a line of thought 

 which is really the object and fundamental basis of this 

 study — namely, that we can no longer consider that 

 the gonads act alone in their influence on the female 



