Part 3

An exophthalmic goiter produces results which are the exact opposite of those just described. In this case it is the thyroid gland, itself, which expands and therefore becomes hyperactive. The resulting excess in thyroid secretion causes the victim of the goiter to become extremely nervous and irritable (in contrast to the lassitude accompanying cretinism and myxedema). One of the most striking symptoms of this disease are the characteristic bulging, staring eyes. An operation by which the gland is cut down to its normal size alleviates the effects of the exophthalmic goiter.

When we were speaking of the growth of the skeleton, both in children and in adults, we noted that although it was influenced by the thymus, the pineal and the sexual glands, it was directly caused by another. This growth controlling organ is the pituitary. An excess of pituitary secretion in children brings about a condition known as gigantism. It is a hyperactive pituitary which is responsible for the giants to be seen in side shows, and a hypoactive one which occasions their fellow freaks, the midgets. An insufficiency of the secretion of this gland causes pronounced obesity and an unnatural craving for sweets in adults.

The pituitary, like most of the other ductless glands, is also definitely related to the reproductive organs. If for any reason its development in a child is retarded, puberty does not occur. An individual showing eunuchoid tendencies results.

An increase in the amount of sugar in the blood and a superactivity of the entire circulatory system always follows an injection of adrenalin. This is given as proof of the fact that the adrenal glands have a definite control over the emotions. A brief summary of some recent investigations will explain this statement. Cannon of Harvard working with dogs, and Watson of Johns Hopkins using human subjects, discovered that the chief characteristics of the primary emotions, such as fear and rage, were an increase in blood pressure and an unusual supply of sugar in the blood. These two conditions constitute the physiology of an emotion, whatever its mental correlate may be. Cannon found further that the adrenals, as opposed to some of the other ductless glands, are richly supplied with nerve fibers. From this and from other experimental evidence he concluded that impulses from the brain stimulating the adrenals bring about the characteristic emotional symptoms. Of course these glands are not dormant at unemotional periods but under stress of mental excitement they become superactive. If the adrenal is unusually large and consequently congenitally hyperactive, an emotional state can be induced by a very mild stimulation. Consequently persons who possess exceptionally hard working adrenals can under very ordinary conditions become keyed up to a high pitch of excitement. Their hearts pound fiercely, their nerves are taut and they are constantly ready for action. Their digestions may suffer as a result of most of their energies being turned away from normal nutritive activities, but they can accomplish a great deal as long as their health continues.

Persons with a deficiency of adrenal secretion show opposite characteristics. They tire easily, they are continually depressed and they take very little interest in life.

Each gland which we have studied has been shown to have some connection with sexual development. The adrenals form no exception to this rule but their influence in this respect is even less straightforward than that of the pituitary and thyroids. This is how Professor Berman describes the relation between the adrenal glands and sexual phenomena:

“In certain disturbances of these glands, especially when there are tumors, which supply a massive dose of the secretion to the blood presumably, peculiar sex phenomena and irregularities are produced. If the disease be present in the fetus, taking hold before birth, and so brought into the world with the child, there evolves the condition of pseudo-hermaphroditism. The individual, if a female, presents to a greater or less extent the external habits and character of the other sex. So that she is actually taken for a man, although the primary sex organs are ovaries, often not discovered to be such except when examined after an operation. How closely such an occurrence touches upon the problems of sex inversion and perversion comes at once to mind.

“If the processes involving the adrenal cortex attacks it after birth, the symmetrical correspondence and harmony of the secondary sex characters are not affected. But there follows a curious hastening of the ripening of body and mind summed up in the word puberty, a precocious puberty, with the most startling effects. A little girl of 2, 3, or 4 years of age perhaps will come to exhibit the growth and appearance of a girl of 14. She begins to menstruate, her breasts swell, she shoots up in height and weight, sprouts the hair distribution of the adult, and the mentality of the adolescent, restless, acquiring, doubting emerge. A tot bewitched into puberty! A boy of six or seven may suddenly, in the course of a few weeks or months, become a little man, robust, rather short and stocky, but moustached, with the muscular strength and sexual power of a man and thinking as a man....

“If the trouble in the adrenal cortex starts after puberty, phenomena of the same type, but of a different order, exhibit themselves. A woman, say in the thirties, becomes thus afflicted. Slowly or quickly her body will be covered by an abundant growth of hair, more or less of a beard and moustache appear upon the face, her voice will become deep and penetrating, her muscles will harden, and she will show a capacity for hard physical labor. Sexually she appears to be made over, masculinity now predominates in her make-up. Virilism is the name by which the French in particular have popularized the knowledge of the condition.”

GLANDS AND NORMAL PERSONALITY

Most of these cases which have been described, where one single gland is much too active or a great deal too sluggish, would be classified as extreme types of personality. They are, for the most part, definitely normal. Primarily because they are so distinctive it was fairly easy to ascertain just which form of glandular disorder conditioned which kind of mental or physical peculiarity. With personalities which conform more closely to the norm, the question of specific glandular control becomes more baffling. Yet when we note how accurately each specific glandular derangement is correlated with a definite peculiarity of personality, it seems highly probable that slighter variations in individuality may also be due to differences in the endocrin system. When we further realize that any one of the seven glands of internal secretion may be either a little overactive or a little underactive while the rest are normal, or that two or three or four or five glands may be slightly abnormal in one way or another, it begins to appear as though this complicated endocrin system may be responsible for all the lesser variations of personality as well as those which are more pronounced.

An individual whose thyroid is underactive will be different from an individual whose thyroid is overactive, and he will be still more unlike one whose pituitary and adrenals are also exceptionally forceful. Moreover X-ray pictures show that when any one gland is especially small and unable to grow larger in order to compensate for its deficiency, some other gland may expand and in some manner take over its function. So when we come to the study of normal personalities the role of the endocrin system may be much more complex than it is with the simpler and more distinctive glandular types. Our knowledge of the glandular control of the average man is still far from complete, but, remembering the striking symptoms of abnormal functioning, we can discern certain general glandular tendencies among mainly normal types. We cannot as yet say that Mr. Smith’s thyroid is one hundred per cent efficient while his pituitary works only one half as energetically as it should and his adrenals twenty per cent actively. But we can say that from certain physical or mental traits which Mr. Smith shows his whole personality is probably dominated by one or more of his endocrine glands.

If Mr. Smith is exceptionally tall and the bones in his face and hands and feet noticeably large, it is safe to assume that Mr. Smith has a very forceful pituitary body. Yet, if in spite of his height, Mr. Smith appears young for his age, has a smooth boyish face and a youthful outlook on life, then we may correctly infer that his thymus has been active longer than is customary with adults. Mrs. Smith, too, may seem much younger than her chronological age would lead one to expect, and she, also, may have a rudimentary thymus which is continuing to function. But if, as opposed to her husband, she is small and dainty, we would suppose that her pituitary is also smaller than his. And if with her doll-baby stature, she had a still childish mind and was not particularly energetic, we might further conclude that her thyroid was not accomplishing all that it should. If, as she grew older, she became suddenly nervous and irritable, it would seem evident that this gland was suddenly expanding in an attempt to overcome its earlier deficiencies.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith might have two children, a son and a daughter, who while they were young resembled each other rather closely. But as they grew older they might seem more and more different. Perhaps the girl could continue to grow rapidly after she was twelve years of age but would still appear childish. She would still play with her dolls and with younger children and take no interest in the activities which normally absorb the attention of a young girl. Then we would infer that the thymic tendency which she inherited from both parents was intensified in her case. If, however, her other glands were able to overcome this dominance of the thymus and so allow her to achieve adolescence, she might still never become so completely feminine as her mother. She would never be very interested in boys or young men, but would be enthusiastic about athletics and feminist movements. Then it would be reasonable to assume that her adrenal glands had taken over the supremacy once held by the thymus.

The Smith boy, on the other hand, might mature rapidly. He would become quiet and serious at the age when most boys are still playing marbles and hooky. His voice would change and his beard would begin to grow. In this case we could be certain that either his thymus or his pineal gland had deserted him too soon. If he stopped growing at this time it would indicate that his thymus was failing him, but if he continued to become taller and his mind also matured quickly the evidence would be in favor of an atrophying pineal. If later in life he suddenly became exceedingly plump and rather listless, we might conclude that still another gland was not working as hard as it might. This time it would be his pituitary.

These cases are, of course, merely hypothetic and it is entirely too much to expect such a small family to show such divergent types and so many changes in personality. But it does indicate how glandular activity can affect the character and habits of persons who would not be considered abnormal. And taking the population as a whole, certain glandular tendencies do determine definite types of personality. The slow, stupid, colorless people have too little thyroid secretion. Those who are superactive mentally and temperamentally have a large amount of this extract. The very fat or very tall people have extraordinary pituitaries. The energetic, executive types are well supplied with adrenalin. And most of those who seem exceptionally youthful long after they have reached chronological maturity have had thymuses or pineals which have functioned longer than is natural in adult life.

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Transcriber’s Notes:

――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (italics).

――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.

――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.

――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.