Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1915-02-26
INTERNAL sEcRETIONS.

We find running all through the his
tory of the development of the theory
of combating disease a slowly evolv'
ing chain Of ideas revolving around
the primitive belief of the savage that
eating the heart of his victim impart-
ed to him the courage and vitality OF
his enemy.
This idea has given rise from time
to time to various methods OF organ
otheraphy, all of which have failed to
be effective, but which have been valu-
able because they have served as steps
toward a conception Of the idea that
certain glandular organs give rise 10
chemical products which on entering
the circulation influence the activity
of one or more other organs. The term
internal secretions" is used to desig'
nate these products.
Claude Bernard appears to have
been the first to employ this term to
distinguish between the ordinary or
external secretions and these internal
secretiOns. The belief that the secre-
tory products were given off in this
way had long been held In reference to
the ductless glands, and this belief
was perfectly logical because the abb
sence of any duct naturally suggested
such a possibility; but there was prac-
tically no interest in the matter OF
the internal secretions until reports OF
the work of Brown-Seduard upon tes-
ticular extracts were published prior
to 1890. This investigator assumed
that all tissues give off something to
the blood which is characteristic and
is Of importance in general nutrition.
The idea was taken up widely and 1t
led to a strong revival Of the old no
lions regarding the treatment OF dis
eases of the different organs by ex-
tracts Of the corresponding tissues.
but no extract was found to be of any
advantage in treating the troubles, of
the organs from which they were
made.
Obviously, vital elements can be ex-
pected to flow only from live-that Is
to say, from neutrality-suspicious..
1t is not reasonable to expect more
than temporary results from the nom
living. However, while Brown-Se-
guards idea was not found to be
justified by subsequent work. it led
to investigation and the development
Of the methods necessary to demon
state that not only the ductless glands
but some of the typical glands pro-
vided with ducts for external secre-
tions give rise also to internal secre-
tons, the pancreas and the liver being
examples in point.
We have in our bodies ten or a
dozen ductless glands which, as In
veetigations have demonstrated, play
part Of enormous importance In our
general nutrition.
The principal ductless glands are
the thyroid, parathyroid. suprarenal,
thymus. pituitary, pineal. carotid and
cocygeal. In some of these the exist
ence or the non-existence of an in
ternal secretion is still an open ques-
ton. but it is quite safe to assume
that. inasmuch as nothing can come
into being without a reason and that
nothing can continue to exist without
a reason, broader and deeper knowl-
edge Of the process of digestion and
of our metabolism in general will
demonstrate these supposedly useless
organs to be endowed with some very
important function. The promiscuous
removal of useless" organs Is less
general than it was and must become
less and less as knowledge increases.
Outside the ductless glands the idea
of internal sections has recently found
fruitful application in the study OF the
digestive secretions. and it has been
clearly demonstrated that the gastric
and the pancreatic "secretions, and
perhaps other secretions from lower
down in the digestive tract, must be
regarded as examples Of internal secre-
tons, and that they must be reckoned
with in our efforts to secure an under
standing of the rapidly increasing NOR
tally resulting from those diseases
due to deranged metabolism.
Chemical products of this kind
which stimulate the activity OF spe-
cial organs Sterling has designated as
hormones. from the Greek word which
means 81 excite" and he suggests
that these chemical products may be
regarded as the original or primitive
means for co-ordinating the function
ing of the various parts OF q complex
organism. In other words, we are
controlled by what may be called
LIQUID nerves acting through our blood
circulation as well as by the better
known coordination secured through
the medium of the later developed
and wonderfully complex nervous
system which we are able to dissect
out and follow to its point Of origin.
This double control, conclusively
demonstrated to be operative in all
mammals, is destined to play a revo-
lutionary part in our ideas of disease
and of our relationship to the balance
of organic creation. 1t opens the
nav to a solution of many of our
vague nervous diseases and is a most
emphatic warning against the use Of
sophisticated food materials.