120 



THE SEX-COMPLEX 



Claims of 

 reproduction 

 on the 

 metabolism 

 different in 

 the two sexes, 



Sex-differ- 

 ences in 

 organs of 

 internal 

 secretion. 



be practised, not great. Their metabolism during the 

 reproductive period, after growth has been established, 

 is mainly concerned with their individual needs : the 

 1 nerves ' must be steady, the mind stable and the 

 physical strength great. These attributes are so as- 

 signed that men may be able to succeed — a term 

 which implies a contribution towards the progress of 

 evolution, as well as the assurance of a suitable environ- 

 ment for the family. All the hormonopoietic organs are 

 adjusted with this object in view : the preservation of a 

 steady and uniform metabolism, in which no sudden 

 alterations normally occur. Obviously the more mascu- 

 line a man is the more this state of affairs will obtain. 

 There is, therefore, little reason for pathological lesions 

 of hyperplasia and hypoplasia to supervene in his 

 organs of internal secretion. And this is exactly what 

 we find ; for, unless the changes at puberty overstep 

 the normal limit, it is exceedingly rare in men for 

 hyperplastic or hypoplastic lesions to occur in the 

 organs of internal secretion. On the other hand, in 

 women during the reproductive period there are sudden 

 and rapid alterations due to the demands of gestation 

 and lactation. To a certain extent a woman by the 

 catamenia is kept ' in practice ', as we may say, and 

 protected from too sudden and great demands on her 

 metabolic adaptability ; and the periodic fluctuations 

 in her economy are provided for by the capabilities of her 

 hormonopoietic organs — the ' regulators of metabolism ', 

 as Paton 1 has aptly called them. 



Now, although we know that the corresponding 

 organs of internal secretion in the two sexes differ with 

 regard to their weights relative to the total body- weight, 

 at the present time we know of no absolutely definite 

 qualitative differences, except those produced by preg- 

 nancy, which can be set down as providing a means of 

 sex-distinction. Possibly this disability will be removed 

 by the work which is being done upon the subject. Not 

 infrequently it has been disputed that differences exist, 

 1 Paton, Noel, The Regulators of Metabolism, 1913. 



