INTERNAL SECRETION 



45 



Eberle had suggested that the juice had some 

 action on fat ; but Bernard at one stroke made 

 clear its threefold action. He showed that it on 

 the one hand emulsified, and on the other hand 

 split up, into fatty acids and glycerine, the neutral 

 fats ; he clearly proved that it had a powerful action 

 on starch, converting it into sugar ; and lastly, 

 he laid bare its remarkable action on proteid 

 matters." (Sir Michael Foster, loc. at.) 



Finally came the discovery that the pancreas 

 — apart from its influences on digestion — contri- 

 butes its share, like the ductless glands, to the 

 general chemistry of the body : — 



"It was discovered, a few years ago, by von 

 Mering and Minkowski, that if, instead of merely 

 diverting its secretion, the pancreas is bodily 

 removed, the metabolic processes of the organism, 

 and especially the metabolism of carbo-hydrates, 

 are entirely deranged, the result being the pro- 

 duction of permanent diabetes. But if even a very 

 small part of the gland is left within the body, the 

 carbo-hydrate metabolism remains unaltered, and 

 there is no diabetes. The small portion of the 

 organ which has been allowed to remain (and 

 which need not even be left in its proper place, 

 but may be transplanted under the skin or else- 

 where) is sufficient, by the exchanges which go 

 on between it and the blood generally, to prevent 

 those serious consequences to the composition of 

 the blood, and the general constitution of the body, 

 which result from the complete removal of this 

 organ." (Prof. Schafer, 1894.) 



Here, in this present study of "pancreatic 



