Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1915-03-03
THE SUPRARENAL GLANDS.

The next time you wake with a
start in the middle of the night with
your hair standing on end, your skin
all gooseflesh. with those peculiar ting
ling thrills of fear running up and
down your spine and all over your
body, and you are conscious that your
heart is pounding like steam trip
hammer, do not say you are merry
ous' and place all the blame on your
nerves." For, as a matter of fact,
the condition Is quite the reverse and
you are suffering from lack of cerebral
nerve action, rather than too much.
The brain is essentially an inhibitory.
restraining and controlling organ
And exactly in proportion as the brain
is developed and intelligently directed
and controlled so is fear eliminated
and banished. Permitting the brain
to run wild and around a circle tends
to derange the entire economy. as we
shall see. But returning to the fear
mentioned above. Possibly some nerve
impulse beginning in a subconscious
mental or dream action Travelled from
the brain down the pneumogastric
nerve, touched off and started into
action the primordial nerve organiza-
ton; but the actual active manifesto
tions of fear are now known to be due
solely to excitation of the sympathetic
nervous system. And 1t is conclusive
ly demonstrated that excitation OF the
sympathetic nervous system results
1pa substance manufactured In the
medulla, this is to say, In the interior
of the adrenal glands This substance
is known as adrenalin.
There are three organs in our bodies
which have the epithelial structure of
glands, but are without ducts-the
suprarenal capsules, the thyroid gland
and the pituitary body. 1t is assumed
that these organs obtain from the
blood certain substances which under
go alteration in their epithelial cells,
the product of such conversions being
again returned to the blood.
Since 1891, when jacob described
branching from the splanchnics
(visceral nerves) and Bid and Dreyer
demonstrated that cleo
trio stimulation of the splanchnics be-
low the diaphragm produced in the ad-
renal blood an increased amount OF
the substance increasing arterial blood
pressure, more and more attention has
been given to the investigation of the
function of the suprarenals.
It has been demonstrated that there
Is present in normal blood substance |
which is constantly secreted by the |
,drenal bodies and which has marked |
effect upon the tone of
he blood vessels and upon the heart
md perhaps upon the skeletal muscles.
t is assumed that this internal secre-
ion is essential to the full activity of
he sympathetic self-governing nervous
system, and it's failure or diminution
will be followed by impairment of the
functional activity of the tissues thus
This substance, epinephyr.
n (adrenalin), has been isolated and
Injected into animals, the cat, for in.
lance, and is found to induce all the
rincipal emotions characteristic OF
discharges along the sympathetic
erve paths; that is to say, the pupils
ilate. the stomach and intestines are
Inhibited, the heart beats rapidly, the
airs of the back and the tail stand
rect-in short. the cat is frightened
: more than the normal quantity of
drenal is introduced into the blood
tream.
The adrenals are also demonstrated
0 have the power of neutralizing
I some way the poisonous products
from muscular work. The
ctive substance, adrenalin, extracted
.om the medullary part of the supra
email glands has found many uses in
le hands of the medical profession.
mong these chiefly is its use in
hecking nosebleed and hemorrhages
| minor operations, and in shrinking
le tissues of the nose in hay fever.
s action in this latter disease opens
le question of relationship between
le ductless gland secretions, hyper
,nsitive nerves and the accepted
luse of hay fever-plant pollen In
10 air.