June 25, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



971 



mentioned that some recent observations on 

 the feeding of thyroids in insanity tend to 

 sliow that the percentage of tlie small mono- 

 nuclear cells or lymphocytes of the blood 

 are increased while the multinuclear neutro- 

 philes are correspondinglj^ diminished under 

 the action of the drug, thus suggesting that 

 the gland-tissue or its active principle has 

 a direct stimulating influence upon those 

 tissues of the body directly concerned in 

 the production of the Ij^mphocytes, viz, the 

 lymphatic or adenoid tissues.* 



In addition to these changes, emphasis 

 must be laid upon the apparent connection 

 between the thyroid gland and phosphoric 

 acid metabolism. Thus, the increased ex- 

 cretion of PjOj after feeding thyroids to 

 normal animals, and the great decrease in 

 the case of animals with the thyroids re- 

 moved, is naturally suggestive. The facts 

 may be explained in two waj's : either the 

 metabolism of phosphoric acid and its ex- 

 cretion are retarded in the absence of the 

 gland, so that there is a retention of P^O^ in 

 the bodjf, or else the organism can assimi- 

 late sufficient phosphoric acid only in the 

 presence of the substance or substances 

 furnished by the thyroid gland (Roos). It 

 has been suggested, as j'ou know, that the 

 activity of the thyroid gland is a toxic one, 

 but that this action is normally paralyzed 

 hy some one or more products of its own 

 metabolism. The view that in the absence 

 of the thja'oid gland not enough P.Oj can 

 be assimilated for the wants of the body finds 

 a certain degree of confirmation in some of 

 the sj'mptoms noticeable in cretinism and 

 myxoedema; viz, the retardation in bone-de- 

 velopment and the slow calcification in creti- 

 nism. On the other hand, the tendency 

 toward tetanus might perhaps be explained 

 on the ground of an acute P^O^ retention in 

 the central nervous system similar to that 

 of ursemia ; or, equally plausible, as due to 



* Perry : Some studies of the blood in Thyroid 

 feeding in Insanity. Medical Record, August, 1896. 



a marked deficiency of P^O^ in this tissue. 

 Thus, in Basedow's disease the observations 

 of Kocher that administration of sodium 

 phosphate leads to a marked betterment of 

 all the symptoms are directly pertinent. 



Further, we must not overlook the fact 

 clearly shown by Halliburton,* in connec- 

 tion with Horslej', that after thyroidectomy 

 there is a distinct tendency toward an in- 

 crease in the percentage of mucus in the 

 tissues of the body, especially marked in 

 the connective tissiies and salivary glands. 

 While this increase is not as great as at one 

 time thought, it is still distinctly recogniza- 

 ble and affords additional evidence that the 

 thyroid plays some important part in the 

 katabolic processes of the body, and that 

 when it is removed or diseased the normal 

 chain or rhythm of metabolism is broken. 

 As to the chemical nature of the products 

 which are directly responsible for the re- 

 sults attending thyroidectomy or associated 

 with a morbid condition of the thyroid we 

 have no direct knowledge, and as to their 

 physiological character we can only infer 

 from the nature of the symptoms which re- 

 sult. It is to be presumed that the toxic 

 products are formed not in the thyroid, but 

 in the tissues of the body and as a result 

 of perverted metabolism due to atrophy or 

 alterations of the thyroid gland. The latter 

 evidently furnishes something which either 

 directly neutralizes toxic products common 

 to the body, or far more probably prevents 

 their formation through an influence upon 

 the line of metabolism, or to give due weight 

 to all the views which have been advanced, 

 both suggestions may be correct. 



What now is the chemical and physio- 

 logical character of the protective products 

 which thyroidal tissue evidently manufac- 

 tures? To this question there are many 

 conflicting answers; still out of the chaotic 

 mass of material available I think it is pos- 



*See Halliburton's Handbook of Chemical Physiol., 

 p. 505. 



