188 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
During the last quarter century, biological research has re¬ 
vealed to us a wonderful new world as we come to a fuller 
understanding of the endocrine system, which comprises all the 
glands of internal secretion. Though these glands seem to be 
without a means of discharge, they communicate with each 
other and with all parts of the body by means of the harmones 
which are contained in the circulating blood. 
The term “hormone” is applied to the internal secretion of 
any gland, and is derived from the Greek, meaning “some¬ 
thing that spurs into action.” These hormones not only stim¬ 
ulate the various parts of the body, but they also play the role 
of messenger from one part or organ to another. For example, 
when a person becomes angry, hormones are poured into the 
blood stream which stimulates the liver to empty into the blood 
an unusual amount of sugar, to compensate for the waste which 
will be occasioned by violent muscular action, which is the 
usual accompaniment of excitement or anger. While biological 
research discovered this property of the hormones, we knew 
of only one agent that discovered the unification of the func¬ 
tions of the various parts of the body, namely, the nervous 
system. In the polyglandular system we now know a second 
means of interchange, a system working on many glands with 
its effect based on chemical reaction. 
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between ductless 
glands and glands with an external secretion. Quite often it 
happens that a gland which possesses visible ducts at the same 
time pours certain secretions into the body through invisible 
channels. One of these glands is the pancreas, a whitish, con¬ 
glomerate gland of irregular shape, situated in the abdomen 
beneath the stomach, and pouring its secretion into the alimen¬ 
tary canal during digestion. 
Science has established beyond controversy the fact that both 
fear and anger act directly upon the adrenal suprarenal glands, 
the two conical bodies resting upon the upper poles of the 
kidneys close to the sides of the vertebral column. The product 
of these ductless glands, which pour their secretion directly 
into the blood stream, is called adrenalin. 
Adrenalin is released into the blood stream from the adrenal 
