The Washington times., 1920-01-18

Diagram of Skull Showing One Hen
of the Brain and the Little But
Important Pituitary Gland Marke
- CIENCE has at last found out what It
1t is that makes giants and dwarfs
and freaks, and also what makes q
normal man the size he is, and keeps him
from being as large as an elephant or as
small as a mouse.
1t is the pituitary gland" in the base
of the brain, little body about the size
aud color Of cherry.
Professor Arthur Keith, speaking before
the British Association for the Advance
ment of Science, summarizing the OBJ
servations of many medical men and other
scientists, declared recently that we must
assign the principal influence in control.
ling the machinery Of growth to the pitui-
tary body.
Every man has wondered why he stops
when he does, instead of stopping much
sooner or continuing much longer.
Why should not man keep on growisg
all his life, or at least up to that period to
which he retains his full physical strength?
He might do 80 If 1t were not for the
pituitary body, which has been perfected
through countless ages of evolution to
check the growth of man at that stage
where he can do his work most efficiently.
Why should not a man stop growing
Immediately after he is born? The answer
is the same-he might do so II 1t were not
for the activity of the little pituitary body.
What prevents one arm of child from
growing long while the other stays short?
The regulating influence of the pituitary
body.
The most important evidence of the
function of the pituitary body lies in the
fact that this body is always found to be
disordered in the bodies Of giants and
dwarfs.,
The circus giant. like George Anger.
who was eight feet high, whose size
amazes you so much, owed his dimensions
entirely to possessing an abnormally &C.
tive pituitary gland.
Dwarfs, like Mr. and Mrs Tom Thumb.
no taller than a two-yearold baby, owed
their tiny stature to having an undevel-
oped pituitary gland.
There are several disorders Of the pitui.
tary body besides those which produce
"giantsm" and "dwarfness.'r Chief
among these is acromegaly, in which there
is an abnormal growth Of one part Of the
body only, such as the face, the hands or
the feet. This occurs in thousands Of
persons and is often a very unhappy con.
dition.
Even persons who are badly proper
toned in figure must in many cases at
tribute their condition to a badly function.
ing pituitary gland. If this gland could
be kept in perfect order from birth we
should all grow into a race Of Venuses
and Adonises.
II the pituitary body were weak and un-
certain in its action men would be ridic-
ulous race of iH-assorted beings, varying
in size perhaps from a marmoset to an
elephant. Such a condition prevails to a
certain extent among the fish, in which
the limit Of full and mature growth is not
fixed as definitely as in man. Everybody
knows that from time to time fish are
brought out of the sea immensely above
the ordinary specimens of their race in
size. A man is considered a giant when
he Is two feet above the average, but II
is not uncommon to fish up halibut and
Holsters that are fifty times the size of
the average members Of their species.
From these facts 1t will be seen that
the pituitary body is Of great importance
in giving man supremacy over the inhabi.
tants of the earth.
How does the pituitary body do its work
in regulating growth? Recent studies
have proved that the gland produces
fluid called "hormone," which passes
into the blood, which in a few minutes
carries II throughout the body and applies
il to the tissues.
There are many other forces producing
growth-principally the nourshment TAX.
en- into the body and digested, and the
multiplication of body cells by self.repro-
duction. These forces are uncertain in
their action and It requires the power of
the pituitary secretion, and probably other
secretions, to restrain them within the
limit which Is best for human efficiency.
If the pituitary gland supplies a con.
tinual overdose of "hormone." as Il does
in some cases. II will produce overgrowth.
of IN