MORE GLAND MARVELS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 238, 2 July 1920, Page 7

MORE GLAND MARVELS

! WHY WE MAY BE GIANTS OR DWARFS. ' /' . Ihipoi'tapt investigations are being carried out by the' Meditial Research ComMittee ori. tliii' fuilcitioiiS of the pitliitS.ry gland, a little portion of the Vftse Of the brain'.which has etfeii more Influence tin our growth than the thyroid gland, about which Mr. Julian Huxley has made such valuable discoveries. Sufficient glands for the experibients are not' available iii Great Britain,' and arrangements have been made to Set a regular. Supply froih the Chicago slaughterhouses. . There Ar6'half a dozen niyflteriwis glands in the humaii body into whioh research is being made, by scientists, and q uite'the most'important is the pituitary. On, the activity of this .little particle of brain matter cleperidil whether wfl| are dtfarfs. Or giants, or people of orditi-,-ary stature. ' : .

Dr. Harvey Cushiiig,. of Boston, Who hiis made a special study of 'this gland, has effected Tvoiidaf'ful cures by removing tumours from it of. tumours of neighbouring pressing upon it. As a .result of.his researches^ we are now able to explain many physical and mental' symptoms hitherto obscure arid to .treitft them successfully. The curious conditions of acromegaly, in which th(j fate, hiiildfj, arid feet grow to an immense siae, is due to over-activ-ity of this gland. If the pituitary is ovef-activo in early life a young man • may shoot' up and become *a giant at the age of twenty. On the other hand, if the action of the pituitary gland iB defective, growth Is attested, iirid tho person mfiy roinaiii a dWfiff. Dwarfism mar alto result fronT a failure of the thyroid gland, as Mr, Huiley demonstrated., EvldehCO is i'ftpidly noCUmnlatifig to prove Ithat the pituitary gland is one of the lho9t important factors in determining not only stature, but also cSst of fei* tui'M, texture of skin, and character of hoir, all of which are characteristic of race. ' .

In the European there is greAter predominance of the pituitary gland tliafi in tho Mongol or negro. The sharp liose, strong eyebrow ridges, pi'onlinflllit chili, and the tendency to bulk and height of body in Europeans are explained in terms of pituitary functioil.

Whother tho investigations beirig carried out will give us power ito control the growth of the body cannot bO predicted, but very valuable "results lire .anticipated.