Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-02

me do the talking" There was some
thing commanding about his tone, as
he looked from one to the other of us.
The trouble with Miss Virginia" he
added. deliberately. seems to lie in one
Of what the scientists have lately des-
ignated the 'endocrine glands'-in this
case the pituitary. My X-ray pictures
show that conclusively.
Let me explain for the benefit of the
rest: The pituitary is an oval glandu-
lar body composed of two lobes and a
connecting area, which rest in the sella
turcica. enveloped by a layer of tissue.
about under this point" He indicated
the red spot on her forehead as he
spoke. 1T is, as the early French sur
geons called it. Porgane enigmatique.
The ancients thought it discharged The
pitulta, or mucus. into the nose. Most
sclentlsts OF the past century asserted
that it was vestigial relic of prehis-
toric usefulness. Today we know bet
ter.
One by one the functions of the in
ternal secretfons are being discovered.
Our variously acquired bits of informa-
llon concerning the ductleSs glands lie
before us like the fragments of a mod
ern picture puzzle. And so. 1 may tell
you. in connection with recent expert
mental studies of the role of the pitui-
tary, DIR. Cushing and other collabora-
tors at Johns Hopkins have noticed a
marked tendency to pass into a pro-
foundly lethargic state when the secre-
tlon OF the pituitary is totally or nearly
SO removed"
Kennedy now had every eye riveted
on him as he deity led the subject
straight to the case of the poor girl
before US.
This" he added, with a wave of his
hand toward her. lis much like what
is called the Frohlich syndrome-the
lethargy, the subnormal temperature.
SLOW pulse and respiration. lowered
blood pressure and insensativity. the
NNNFth f,f
acteristics. 1t has a namely
adiposogenitalis."
He nodded to DIR. Haynes. but did
not pause. This case bears a striking
resemblance to the pronounced natural
somnolence of Information. And Undue
ed hypopituitarism-und activity of
the gland-produces a result just like
natural Information. Information has
nothing to do with winter, or with
food. primarily: it is connected in some
way with this little gland under the
forehead.
AS the pituitary secretion is les
sened, the blocking action of the IA
tigue products in the body becomes
greater and morbid somnolence sets in.
There is a high tolerance of carbohy-
drates which are promptly stored as fat.
l am surprised. DR.. Haynes, that you
did not recognize the symptoms"
A murmur from Mrs. BIakeley cut
short DR.. Haynes reply. 1 thought 1
noticed movement of the still face on
the white bed.
''Virgie! Vergie," called Mrs. Blake
ley, dropping on her knee beside her
daughter
I'm here-mother,"
Virginia's eyes opened ever SO slight
ly. Her face turned just an inch or
Two. She seemed to be making a great
EFFORT. but it lasted only a moment.
Then she slipped back into the strange
condition that had baff1ed skilled ply
sicians and surgeons for nearly week.
The sleep is being dispelied," said
Kennedy. quietly placing his hand on
MRS Biakeley's shoulder. TT is a sort
OF mi-consciousness now and the i'm
provement should soon be great"
And that?" 1 asked, touching the
empty ampule from which he had in
jected the contents into her.
"Pituitrin-the extract of the anterior
lobe of the pituitary body. Some one
who had an object in removing her
temporarily probably counted on re-
storing her to her former blooming
womanhood by pituitrin-and by re-
moving the cause of the trouble"
Kennedy reached into his pocket and
drew forth the second X-ray photo.
graph he had taken. Mrs. Blakeley