museum, where we can see the manifestations of life that existed
hundreds or thousands of years ago, it may give us some comfort.
Considering the bodies in the British Museum of Egyptian kings and
queens, etc., that lived thousands of years ago, together with the
jewels that they were wearing, and all the other signs of splendor that
existed so many ages before, we ask: in the face of these thousands of
years what are those few years of worry on earth? As Schopenhauer said:
“The world existed 50,000 years ago, and will last 50,000 years more,
and what are the few years of our life in face of these thousands?”—and
we would like to say “in face of these millions” of years, as the
scientific history of mankind attests.
A trip to the country, mountains, forests, or seaside, being out in the
flower-covered fields and sunshine, and especially foreign travel,
thereby changing all our surroundings and habits, should soon be able to
soothe our sorrows. In early childhood a love for the fine arts, music,
painting and literature should be developed, as these form a valuable
support for the mind in later years. A knowledge of Latin and Greek,
which are soon forgotten, should not be the aim of the school education,
but rather the refinement of character in the child.
The most valuable aid in the treatment of mental depression is religion,
for this gives what nothing else can give in equal degree—Hope! Hope,
without which we should always exist in continual gloom! We will point
out, in a few words in the next chapter, the advantages of religious
belief.
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CHAPTER LII.
HYGIENE OF THE MIND—RELIGIOUS BELIEF AS A MEANS OF PROLONGING LIFE.
A RELIGIOUS lady of the Dutch aristocracy, whom we have known for years,
lost within a short time both her grown-up son and her husband, to whom
she was most devotedly attached. Imagining that she must have been
completely crushed, we inquired of a member of the family how she had
sustained these terrible losses. The answer was that she was perfectly
calm and that she was the most composed member of the whole family.
We know from personal observation that this lady was truly religious;
and we are, therefore, inclined to believe that only her great sense of
religion enabled her to withstand so well these terrible shocks. Her
case is a typical one, showing that persons of a truly religious belief
are better able to withstand depressing impressions. They will not give
way to despair so readily as most irreligious people, and it is
exceedingly rare to find a case of suicide among such.
Not only will truly religious people avoid suicide and mental
depression, with all their fatal consequences, as we have shown in the
preceding chapters, but they will also, as a rule, withstand diseases
better than others. As we have noted, truly religious people, when
seriously ill, have such a strong faith and hope in their recovery—they
invariably are convinced that God will help them—that this has proved to
us a most invaluable aid in their medical treatment. The importance of
this fact is also confirmed by our friend, Dr. Eberson, one of the
busiest practitioners in Amsterdam, who remarked to us that the outlook
for recovery was always more favorable in such cases. As Prof. Charles
Beck, of New York, told us, he often remarked that his religious
patients could stand narcosis better: they showed less anxiety, and thus
the heart action became less excited. Thus religion can undoubtedly tend
to prolong life; and in this we are not saying anything novel, for it is
well known that the mind has a wonderful influence over the body.
Religion acts on the mind, and the mind powerfully governs the body.
This is made use of by certain religious sects in what are known as
“faith cures;” and that in certain cases, and especially in nervous
diseases, such as hysteria or neurasthenia, these cures may be of
service, cannot be denied on the ground of the above observations.
The influence of the mind over the body was recognized hundreds of years
ago by all great physicians. The great philosopher, Kant,[344] insisted
upon it in a special article, and Charcot has effected some wonderful
cures by such means in hysteria, as have hundreds of other physicians.
We all agree, for we see it every day, that the mind governs the body;
but there are also certain agencies that govern the mind, and religion
is one of the most important of these.
Footnote 344:
Journal der pract. Arzneikunde, vol. v, 1788.
Therefore, happy are they who are truly religious, for their days may be
longer, and they are better prepared to meet the vicissitudes of life!
There are many scientific people who do not believe in a Superior Being
because His presence cannot be scientifically proved. But there are many
things that are quite inexplicable, but which none the less do exist,
and in which we do believe. Are there not many such things, even in
medicine, which are most mysterious, but nevertheless true? If we
consider the human body we find that to the smallest details, to the
minutest of the millions and millions of cells of which it is composed,
it is built up in a most marvelous way. It is admirable with what
ingenuity and forethought the smallest particles are put together to
suit one another. There may be an artistic genius who can erect one
wonderful construction, as a masterpiece of art; but in the human body
the microscope will reveal thousands and thousands of such masterpieces,
perfect in the smallest details, which no artist could be capable of
putting together and of making them work admirably in unison.
And the physician must be an artist, too, to discover which of the
wheels in this most wonderful machinery are not doing their duty; and if
it took but a second to conceive a human body, it takes a whole lifetime
to study all the recesses and angles of this masterpiece of mechanism.
The admirable forethought with which the different parts are formed in
man or animal, must give us the idea that it must be the sequence of a
cause, as indeed there is in this world no effect without a cause; and
this cause must be the action of a Superior Power.
To give one of the numberless examples for the truth of this, we should
like to quote the ingenious mechanism affecting the eyes of certain
young animals, such as dogs. As is well known, puppies cannot see for a
few days after birth, but are prevented from so doing by a delicate
mucous membrane that covers their eyes. And yet there is a cause for
this, which cause is the result of a most tender circumspection; for
these little animals are provided with this membrane so that strong
light, like sunshine, shall not irritate the eye until certain
modifications have taken place in the inner eye, which allow these parts
to stand such a light; and as this requires a few days, the membrane in
question closes the eye during that time. It seems as if Almighty Nature
stands with her hands over the eyes of these puppies to protect them
from being harmed by the light.
Maternal love is a necessity in all animals to save the race from
extinction. There are a few exceptions in which animals occasionally
kill their young for certain reasons; but this is confined to a few of
them such as cats and dogs, and only happens the first or second days
after labor, being due probably to mental alterations induced by the
processes of birth; it may happen also in man. It is truly marvelous how
insects provide for their descendants, which they will never see, for
they themselves die prior to their development. An interesting example
has been lately quoted by a naturalist. The wasp, before dying, thinks
of a most ingenious way for providing food for her larvæ. This is in the
form of a worm; but as this worm would putrefy before the development of
the larvæ, the wasp does not kill the worm but merely stings it in the
spinal cord. This does not kill the worm, but simply paralyzes it, and
thus the worm will live on till the larvæ are developed, when there they
will find their food ready prepared for them by their far-seeing mother.
Who is the cause of such foresightedness being given to these insects?
There are certain people who cannot believe in a Supreme Being, because
injustice, mishaps, and accidents happen daily. But there are natural
laws which must pursue their course. When a child falls out of a top
floor window and is killed on the pavement below, the law of gravity is
acting; but the accident may be due also to a want of foresight on the
parents’ part. If disease overtakes us it is also frequently, if not
always, due to our own fault, or that of our forefathers. On the other
hand, we see the wonderful work of Nature; for, as already shown in
Chapter III, our body is wonderfully provided with every means of
defense against disease; and like a careful mother, Nature warns us
first, for hardly ever do we get ill without there being some
premonitory symptoms. Thus, before chronic kidney affections come on, we
eliminate for some months, and sometimes longer, casts; and before
diabetes comes on traces of sugar, as a rule, appear in the urine for a
certain time; and then is the time for us to follow a diet in order to
avoid these diseases. Infectious diseases also give warning symptoms
before they develop, and these, as well as others, may sometimes be
prevented by a timely defense and certain hygienic measures on our part.
Even against poisonous animals we are protected in a wonderful way.
Thus, before the rattlesnake bites he utters a warning by his rattles,
and before the mosquito gives us malaria through its sting a premonitory
hum falls on our ear. Unfortunately we have not sufficient space to give
further examples of the admirable way in which a Superior Power is doing
His best to protect us, and if mishaps do very often occur, very
frequently, if not always, as already mentioned, it may be traced to
certain of our own actions.
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CHAPTER LIII.
DISEASE CONSIDERED AS A SELF-DEFENCE OF NATURE.
MANY a man bemoans his fate when bed-ridden and tortured by pain, and
yet we cannot fail to recognize, upon further consideration, that such
suffering often serves but to pave the way for recovery. Very frequently
the advent of slight pain is the earliest indication that something in
our organism is amiss, and promptly leads us to think of measures for
the prevention of further trouble. A sickness can often be controlled at
the outset upon using proper measures, and thus entirely averted. Severe
pains not infrequently mean the saving of life, since they compel
indolent or careless persons to seek the physician’s help while there is
still time. How few persons, indeed, would consult the doctors and
discontinue excessive eating, were they not forced to do so by their
aches and pains.
Not a few diseases are to be classed as serious and dangerous to life
owing to the fact that, of themselves, they do not give rise to
discomfort, and lull their victims into a false sense of security. Many
a diabetic would live longer, were he reminded by tormenting pains of
the necessity of careful treatment and restriction in his diet. Thus
even pain is of service to mankind.
Other annoying symptoms of disease must also be regarded as expressions
of nature’s efforts towards self-cure. When a person makes use of an
article of food that has undergone deterioration, nature often endeavors
to remove it by an evacuation of the intestinal canal. Again, no harm is
done when a glutton at length upsets his stomach, loses his appetite,
and allows the ill-used organ to rest. And he is being let off cheaply,
if his over-burdened stomach procures its own relief by vomiting. When a
person has an attack of gout and sweats profusely, noxious substances
are likewise eliminated thereby. When the illness is over, however, one
feels not infrequently all the more fresh and rested after
convalescence, whence the ancient Greeks not incorrectly said: “Το παθὸς
ἱάτρος έστι.”
Indeed that sickness is oftentimes directly beneficial in its effects is
a matter of frequent observation. If, for example, a markedly obese
person becomes diabetic—in such cases the disease appears in a mild
form, as a rule,—his chances of long life are thereby not infrequently
improved. I observed this in the case of an American lady who weighed
162 kilogrammes (357 pounds). The mild form of diabetes which this lady
developed was certainly not to her detriment, for whilst she could lose
weight as a result and live for a long period, her situation would have
been far different had the obesity progressed still further.
We have already endeavored to show that fever is in reality an
expression of efforts of the body at self-healing, as we likewise
maintained with reference to skin affections. So, too, the syphilitic
patient who exhibits diffuse skin-eruptions, as well as other localized
manifestations in the peripheral tissues, has a better outlook with
respect to the dreadful nervous consequences of this disease than one
who never exhibits the outer signs of the infection.
We perceive, therefore, that that which we call disease is nought else
but nature’s attempt to attain health—a kind of defensive reaction
against harmful substances. The disease proper has often already been
present for some time; it already exists at the very instant in which
the invading foe makes its entrance into the body. Between this time and
the moment when the reaction of the body,—that is, what we are in the
habit of calling the disease,—appears, a considerable period may
frequently elapse; oftentimes it may even extend through several years,
as in leprosy or in the sleeping sickness. It would thus be entirely
rational to interfere at a time when the enemy has not yet penetrated
into the body. Unfortunately the signs which might acquaint us with its
presence have not at that time found distinctive expression. Vague
symptoms such as mild headache, want of appetite, lassitude, low
spirits, etc., may alone exist, and yet it is necessary that even these
should be watched for. Already in this period it would be advisable to
seek the physician’s aid, and if many be deterred therefrom because of
the expense involved, it should be recalled that oftentimes fifty visits
cannot procure the result which might have been obtained by a few
preventive measures. Thus the very mildest symptoms of illness are not
to be disregarded,—a fact with which children in particular must be
impressed. Older persons and teachers should likewise be made familiar
with this precept. What a multitude of human lives could be saved in
this way!
But in order to recognize the slightest indications of an approaching
illness, deviations from the normal state of health would have to be
closely studied. The science which apprises us of the functions of
normal organs would have to be given more extensive recognition, and
physiology would have to become the basis of the physician’s every
thought and method of treatment. The system prevailing among the
Chinese, who in many ways surpass us in logic, and who pay the doctor
only so long as they are in health, is thus not so unreasonable. The
best plan of all would be for each family to have its own
house-physician, whom it could consult regularly, especially if there be
children; for such a person alone is capable of recognizing the earliest
deviations from the normal. The prevention of disease would have to
constitute the basis of all our therapeutic endeavors.
In order to become of real assistance to Nature, however, the physician
must be continually following in the wake of her efforts to secure
health. If the defensive reaction brought about by Nature against toxic
materials is too feeble, he must assist her by proper remedies. Thus
when the use of spoiled food is followed by diarrhœa, he must not arrest
the latter; otherwise he would, indeed, be locking the wolf in with the
sheep. On the contrary, he must imitate Nature and accordingly
administer a purgative. Again, if on taking cold or during a gouty
attack a person falls into a profuse sweat, it would certainly be
illogical to administer a remedy to counteract this beneficent
influence; another means of producing perspiration should rather be
availed of, as, for example, the salicylates. If, on the other hand, the
reaction is too strongly marked, as, for instance, in a young girl with
very active thyroid gland, who in consequence of typhoid exhibits a
dangerous rise of temperature or hyperpyrexia, then the physician must
put on the brakes and save her life by appropriate antipyretic measures.
In view of the above deductions, it is not unjustifiable to believe that
the symptoms of disease, i.e., what we designate as disease, together
with many other supposed ills, in reality contribute toward the
preservation of mankind.
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CHAPTER LIV.
HYGIENE OF THE MIND—ADVICE TO BRAIN WORKERS.
SCHOLARS, who live entirely from the product of their mental labors,
often do not present a healthy appearance, and are not infrequently
subject to nervous, gastric or intestinal disorders, chronic
constipation, etc. In laborious mental activity an excessive amount of
blood flows to the brain, that of other organs being withdrawn, and thus
diminished formation of gastric juice is favored and the appetite
reduced. Intellectual activity should, if possible, be suspended a full
hour before and after meals. Congestion of the brain likewise interferes
with proper sleep, which, as a rule, can only become truly deep when the
brain is bloodless. Intellectual efforts should therefore be avoided for
a period of one to two hours before going to bed, and especially one
should not read in bed.
After a good night’s sleep the brain is adequately rested and hence
capable of doing the most work. For this reason the morning hours are
the best of all for mental labor; the very early hours have the
additional advantage of absolute quiet and freedom from disturbance.
Personally I work preferably from 5 to 8 o’clock in the morning,
especially in the winter time when one cannot well go out walking so
early.
In a previous chapter I mentioned the fact that organs upon which great
demands are made more readily become the seat of arteriosclerosis
because of the abundant flow of blood to them. In persons of great
intellectual activity we accordingly find marked sclerosis of the
cerebral arteries, especially if they have the bad habit of smoking and
drinking excessively. Besides, drinking interferes with the quality of
work done. The influence of smoking in the production of
arteriosclerosis we have already discussed. Under normal conditions
intellectual workers can live to an advanced age—this we know from
numerous celebrated instances: Hippocrates, Democritus, Plato, Plutarch,
Leibnitz, Newton, Galileo, Michael Angelo, Carlyle, etc. Socrates wrote
his Panathenæ in his 94th year, the celebrated Dr. Hufeland the fifth
edition of his “Makrobiotik” at a ripe old age, while Goethe’s powers of
execution remained to the last undiminished. Recently I received from an
English colleague 80 years of age, who had attained eminence by his
studies on metabolism, an excellent work on diabetes, which he had just
brought out.
With but very few exceptions, we find that the great master-intellects
who attained to an advanced age led lives of moderation in every
respect—not only as to their bodies, but also their minds. Whoever lives
as hygienically as did Newton, can, like him, become very old in spite
of bodily weakness. Newton was a very frugal eater, had no passions and
never worked until over-fatigued. Not to work to excess, to permit one’s
self to rest at the proper time—this is the chief precept in the hygiene
of the mind. The brain requires rest even more than any other organ from
which great activity is demanded. One should not work more than a few
hours at a stretch.
I strongly recommend going to bed at ten or eleven o’clock, rising at
five to half-past six o’clock, and then after refreshing one’s self, at
once settling down to work. Breakfast may be eaten at about eight
o’clock. A walk should then be taken before going back to work, which
should be interrupted an hour before dinner-time and only resumed an
hour after the meal. In the warmer seasons it is best to work in the
garden or in the woods whenever the nature of the work permits. It is
advisable to leave off one hour before supper, and then, as a general
rule, do nothing further, but take a walk, if possible also before
supper. In general, mental workers need plenty of exercise in the open
air; especially in the woods or elsewhere in the midst of foliage is the
flow of ideas more easily aroused. When it is not too hot, one may sit
out in the sun while working, though the eyes and the book or paper
should be shaded. The combination of pure air, sunshine, and mental
occupation is of great value. Laboratories and libraries should be so
disposed as to correspond strictly to all rules of hygiene regarding air
and light.
In winter time one gains distraction by visiting friends, attending
society meetings, concerts, theatres, etc. In every season of the year
it would be well to spend Sundays in the country. It is necessary,
likewise, to follow the general rules of hygiene. Insofar as the diet is
concerned it is strongly to be recommended during heavy mental labor,
especially where much thinking is required, that meat-eating be given up
and a vegetarian diet, with the addition of milk products and eggs,
adopted. At any rate, a diet rich in meats must be avoided; it not only
makes one heavy and dull, but also creates a want for alcohol, coffee,
tobacco and other unwholesome stimulants, for which a diet containing
little or no meat need evoke no desire.
Regularity and moderation heighten the expectations of long life in
mental workers and guard against the premature failure of the
intellectual powers which must sooner or later follow upon overwork.
This not infrequently happens quite early in life. Boerhaave could
already cite two such cases; “I have known a young man who knew
everything and was a prodigy of learning, but who hardly lived to the
age of 25, and another who worked day and night with the industry of a
bee, and without any definite illness died in his nineteenth year in a
state of emaciation.” In common with scholars and men of letters
physicians must take particular care of themselves, their brains being
continually on a stretch. The efforts they make to prolong the lives of
others shorten their own—the irony of fate! Few callings demand as much
mental work as that of the medical man. We physicians often have to deal
with infectious diseases; since the continued mental strain is capable
of injuring our bodily health and hence diminishing our resisting power
against infections, it is advisable for us as far as possible to avoid
all harmful influences,—and especially excess of any kind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LV.
ON THE PREVENTION OF PREMATURE OLD AGE, AND THE TREATMENT OF OLD AGE,
THROUGH CERTAIN DRUGS: ARSENIC, IRON, AND IODIDES.
IT can often be observed that people who habitually take arsenic, either
for medicinal or other purposes, look better and younger; and we have,
ourselves, noted in some of them a disappearance of wrinkles. Wrinkles
are caused by the loss of the fatty tissue from under the skin, and as
arsenic causes an increase of fat in the tissues it may improve such a
condition.
As is well known in some parts of Europe, notably in Styria, the habit
of eating arsenic is very prevalent among the peasants; and it is
strange to note that most of these people live to a great age, and at
the same time are extremely immune to all kinds of bodily fatigue—for
instance, they can climb the highest peaks in their native mountainous
country without great exertion. They take arsenic because it enables
them to undertake harder work, such as climbing, with greater ease, and
also improves their appearance.
We have known several ladies, famous actresses among them, who have
indulged in this habit from vanity. A very interesting case was tried,
about ten years ago, before an Austrian court of justice, in which a
servant girl tried to poison her mistress by arsenic in small
quantities. To the dismay of the servant, however, the lady continued to
become more beautiful; so the murderess determined to give a larger
dose, which induced grave symptoms of intoxication, and caused the
discovery of the plot.
It is equally well known that animals obtain a glossy and sleek coat
through the administration of arsenic in small quantities.
There can be no doubt that when arsenic is taken in small quantities it
may prove of therapeutic value against old age; but as very aged people
are often antagonistic to its use, it would seem to offer better results
if used as a preventive against premature old age rather than as a cure
after old age had much advanced.
As arsenic can give good results, especially in combination with iron,
in anæmia, and also in neurasthenia and hysteria, we think that its use
would be particularly beneficial in women near the forties, and
especially during the years before and after the climacteric until about
the sixtieth year. According to Grawitz, arsenic acts better than iron
in the anæmia of the aged.
Arsenical treatment has given us excellent results also in nervous
troubles of women at a much earlier age. It has often produced an
increase in the weight and an improvement in the personal appearance of
our patients.
As, according to Gauthier[345] and Bertrand, the thyroid gland contains
arsenic, we are thus administering an important element of this gland.
The observation of Dr. Sajous[346] is of great importance, that arsenic
dilates the arterioles. Indeed, we have also made similar observations;
thus we found after the use of arsenic in several cases a higher
vascular pressure and irregularities of the pulse similar to those
occurring after tobacco smoking, which, as shown before, has also a
stimulating action upon the adrenals. In a few cases there was also
pigmentation of the skin. By using arsenic while taking thyroid extracts
we stimulate the antagonists of the thyroid, the adrenals; and thus the
symptoms of hyperthyroidia can be avoided by simultaneously giving
arsenic in small doses. As we shall, in the next chapter, recommend the
use of thyroid extracts in the prevention of premature old age, and in
the treatment of old age, this simultaneous use of arsenic can increase
the benefit of such treatment; but for the purpose in question arsenic
should be given in the smallest possible doses, as Fowler’s solution,
beginning with 3 drops and increasing to not more than 5 or 6 drops per
day, by slow and gradual degrees, and then decreasing slowly again, but
not for longer than for three or four weeks altogether. In women
something more could be given. Far better than Fowler’s solution would
be the various mineral waters that contain the most useful form of
arsenic, as such waters usually contain also iron, which still further
increases their value. Such mineral waters can be found in various
countries, viz.: in Austria, in the Tyrol: Levico, very rich in arsenic
and iron, and Roncegno, rich in arsenic; in Bosnia: Guberquelle, very
rich in iron; in Switzerland: Val Sinistra; in France: Royat, Bourboule,
etc. They are absolutely innocuous if taken under medical care. We must
begin by taking one tablespoonful of these arsenical waters, and
gradually increase to five or six tablespoonfuls a day, when we must
then again gradually diminish the amount.
Footnote 345:
Revue de Médecine Bulletin Académie de Médecine, vol. xliii, p. 116,
1900.
Footnote 346:
Sajous: “Internal Secretions,” vol. ii, p. 1312, 1907.
By taking such waters, increasing slowly and gradually and then
decreasing in a similar way, the most efficacious arsenic and iron
treatment can be obtained, and a simultaneous thyroid treatment better
endured. It is better to take such remedies after meals, and the patient
must be kept under constant medical supervision, just as they are during
iodine or thyroid treatment.
We have often observed that women, especially in the forties or fifties,
looked much younger after a treatment by iron preparations, particularly
when in combination with iron and arsenic; mineral mud baths, containing
much iron, have been used; and we are quite emphatic in asserting that
such treatment, possibly more in women than in men, though in these we
have not infrequently noted the same results, is able to improve the
symptoms of old age; for we have had opportunities of observing this in
many cases, sometimes even in women at the beginning of the sixties.
The best results can be observed in women between 30 and 60, even though
they sometimes have no previous anæmia, who look much healthier after
such a combined iron, arsenic, mineral water, and mud-bath treatment. In
men similar results have been noted; but in the case of women it must be
regarded as a specific.
In the same way as iodides act on the thyroid, we are inclined to think
that arsenic and iron are specifics to promote a better action of the
sexual glands, especially the ovaries, and probably also of the
adrenals.
According to Professor von Noorden[347] and other authors, chlorosis is
due to a degenerated condition of the ovaries. But the adrenals also may
be altered, causing the great muscular weakness of chlorotic girls. Thus
Dr. Sajous[348] has attributed chlorosis to adrenal degeneration. If, as
observed for centuries, arsenic and iron are specifics in augmenting
hæmoglobin in the blood, it is a question whether this effect is
obtained by the action of these preparations upon the ovaries, or upon
the adrenals, as advocated by Dr. Sajous.[349] The probability is that
they act upon both glands. Mud baths which are rich in iron are
especially potent and successful against chlorosis and anæmic
conditions, and at the same time against ailments of the ovaries and
uterus, as is well known to gynæcologists. Iron seems also to exercise
beneficent action on the male sexual glands. Impotency, as we have also
seen, can often be improved by iron preparations, or by mineral waters
containing iron and arsenic. Hysteria, as ancient physicians supposed it
to be, and as we have tried to show,[350] is due, in great probability,
very frequently to alterations in the female sexual organs, and iron
treatment, especially arsenic and iron mineral waters, improves many
cases.
Footnote 347:
v. Noorden: “Die Bleichsucht” Nothnagel’s “Handbuch der pract.
Medicin.”
Footnote 348:
Sajous: “Internal Secretions,” vol. i, p. 87, Philadelphia, 1903.
Footnote 349:
Loc. cit., p. 95.
Footnote 350:
Congress of Belgian Neurologists, 1906.
As well known to urologists, the general condition in cases of chronic
posterior gonorrhœa, and in prostate troubles from such a cause, is
often improved through iron treatment; as also is neurasthenia, even
though some cases are not in etiological relation with such a cause.
We must thus consider iron, especially when in combination with arsenic,
as one means of improving the condition of the sexual organs judging
from the foregoing reported clinical observations. The fact that iron of
itself is no longer regarded as being useful in senility—i.e., when the
sexual glands are more or less degenerated—points to the value of its
combination with arsenic. We consider iron, especially in the form of
the easily absorbed iron mineral waters, and in the form of the iron
contained in mud baths, as a valuable means for the prevention of
premature old age, and for the treatment of old age. Iron, and
especially inorganic iron, is indicated as a preventive of old age for
the reason that it stimulates to greater activity the blood forming
organs, as has been shown by Harnack and von Noorden. It is a fact, upon
which we have already insisted, that the organs which control the
condition of the bone marrow, the seat of the blood forming
mechanism—i.e., the thyroid and the ovaries,—are degenerated in old age.
Iron acts upon the bone marrow through the intermediate agency of these
glandular structures.
It can be administered in the form of the perchloride or of other
inorganic preparations. According to Bunge, organic iron preparations
and iron contained in food have the advantage of being more readily
absorbed and assimilated. (See chapter on the blood as an article of
iron-containing food.) But Grawitz still prefers to prescribe inorganic
iron, such as reduced iron or perchloride of iron. An old iron
preparation of great efficacy is the Blaud pills.
A very successful method of iron treatment is by mineral waters which
are rich in iron—in Austria, Franzersbad; in Germany, Langenswalbach. We
prefer such waters as contain arsenic besides iron, as already
mentioned.
When mud baths are used simultaneously, it will be advisable not to take
thyroid extracts also; but to await doing so till after the course of
baths is finished.
Increase of fat and of connective tissue are the most typical and
anatomo-pathological changes in the tissues produced by old age. It is
evident that drugs which can combat these changes are also able to treat
and improve the condition of old age. There is no inorganic drug which
can give such good results in these conditions, according to our present
knowledge, as the iodides. It is generally believed that through the use
of potassium iodide we are able to diminish fat in many cases. The
increase of connective tissue in different organs, that takes place in
the cirrhosis of these organs, has also been treated by iodides with
success, according to some authorities, and, according to others,
without any. At any rate, in arteriosclerosis there can be no doubt that
iodides do give good results as they facilitate the circulation of the
blood by diminishing its viscosity. According to Heinz,[351] iodides can
combat connective tissue hypertrophy by rendering the vessel walls more
permeable. They also increase the activity of the leucocytes.
Footnote 351:
Heinz: Virchow’s Archiv, clv, p. 44.
When we administer iodides we give in them the main element of the
thyroid gland—iodine, so that iodide treatment acts on these glands and
increases their iodine contents. Iodine is a rational remedy for
preventing old age, for the reason that, as Baumann and Jollin have
found, the thyroid gland of aged persons contains but little iodine. We
know, through the researches of Blum, Baumann, Kocher, Aeschbacher,
etc., that by administering iodide we increase not only the iodine
content of the thyroid, but also, as the experiments of Garnier show,
its colloid substance. Iodides are best taken in the form of a saturated
solution of sodium iodide, or other preparations containing this salt.
They act best when taken in small quantities (not over 15 grains of the
iodide a day), such amounts stimulating thyroid activity; larger doses,
by overstimulating, may cause a subsequent exhaustion of the thyroid.
That iodide treatment is able to increase thyroid activity is best shown
by the fact that it may be followed by iodism, which presents most of
the symptoms that follow large doses of thyroid extracts. It is very
probable that many benefits obtained by iodide treatment can be
explained through its action in increasing thyroid activity.
Instead of using inorganic iodine, it would seem more logical to use
organic iodine, as contained in the thyroid gland. We could thereby, to
a certain extent, replace iodides successfully by thyroid extracts; the
drawback, however, is that some thyroid preparations contain only a
minimum quantity of iodine, while others contain more. It would,
therefore, be advisable, when thyroid extracts are used, which contain
only a very little iodine, to use in combination therewith, very small
quantities of iodide of potassium; say, one day one or two thyroid
tablets, and the next day the iodide. It is best, when we are trying to
treat the symptoms of senility by combined iodide and thyroid
preparations, to feel our way very cautiously, every third day examining
the heart and pulse (see following chapter).
Such treatment should be undertaken only when a thorough knowledge is
possessed of the physiology and pathology of the thyroid gland.
The fact that iodides improve the circulation of the blood makes them,
in old age, especially useful, as arteriosclerosis is then very frequent
and the iodides become of special value. Similar remedies are also
indicated in all conditions arising from tertiary syphilis, which is
very often a cause of premature senility. For all the reasons given
above we think that iodide treatment, in small doses, especially in
combination with thyroid treatment, can give good results in our
struggles against old age, and in its treatment when it has advanced on
us.
We have often observed that old people taking iodides for
arteriosclerosis, present a much more youthful appearance after such
treatment; and Dr. G. W. Gibson, physician of the Royal Infirmary in
Edinburgh, tells us that he has observed the same thing. We might
especially mention the case of an English gentleman 58 years of age, who
had six years ago a hemorrhage in the right eye; since that time he has
been taking iodides, and in spite of his age is looking quite fresh and
youthful—indeed, he recently married a young lady of 18 years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVI.
ON THE PREVENTION OF PREMATURE OLD AGE AND ON THETREATMENT OF OLD AGE BY
ANIMAL EXTRACTS.
WHEN, some twenty-two years or more ago, the first accounts came to hand
of the marvelous effects of extracts from the thyroid gland of sheep,
they were at first received, as in general are all reports about
wonderful cures, with incredulity or scepticism; and it is quite
possible that the same might be the case regarding the success of our
method of treating the symptoms of old age, and the prevention of their
premature development, by thyroid and other organic extracts, were it
not that we are supported by a mass of evidence, to which we will at
once refer.
It has been noticed by all the leading investigators on the effects of
thyroid extracts, such as G. Murray,[352] Hector Mackenzie,[353]
Hertoghe,[354] and others, that the majority of old people treated for
myxœdema by thyroid extracts, after a certain period of treatment,
presented a much younger appearance, sometimes even to the extent of
from ten to twenty years. This fact is perfectly true, as we can see
from the photographs of these cases, taken before and after treatment,
by Murray, Laache,[355] Oppenheim,[356] Ewald,[357] Hertoghe, and many
others; the greater number of these photographs show persons looking
very much younger after but a few months’, and in some instances less,
treatment. Several of the above-mentioned authorities, and also
Vermehren[358] and others, report that dark hair has grown on places
which, before the treatment, were bare, and where previously gray hair
had fallen off. This would appear incredible were it not a fact,
familiar to all who are in the habit of prescribing, in many cases,
treatment by thyroid extracts.
Footnote 352:
Murray: “Diseases of the Thyroid Gland,” vol. i, London, 1901.
Footnote 353:
Mackenzie: British Med. Journal, Oct. 29, 1892.
Footnote 354:
Hertoghe: Loc. cit.
Footnote 355:
Laache: Deutsche Med. Wochenschrift, 1893.
Footnote 356:
Oppenheim: Lehrbuch der Nervenkrankheiten, Nu. ii, p. 1390.
Footnote 357:
Ewald: “Die Erkrankungen der Schilddrüse,” second edition, 1909.
Footnote 358:
Vermehren: Loc. cit.
Similar facts have been observed by us personally in a number of cases,
among them two, of a very interesting character, in the wards of Dr.
Hector Mackenzie, at St. Thomas’s Hospital, in London. One was a woman
of 65, who looked more like 42 after several years’ treatment with
thyroid extracts; the other was a woman of 42 who, as it seemed to me,
looked quite ten years younger after taking daily one thyroid tablet for
twelve months. About 2 years ago we saw in the wards of Dr. G. A.
Gibson, at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a woman of 72 who, after a
similar treatment during the past twenty years, looked, as we agreed
with Dr. Gibson, only between 50 and 60. Most of the above cases were
those of persons suffering from myxœdema; so the question arises whether
all other people, not affected with this complaint to the same extent,
may not also derive equal benefit from a similar treatment.
We have shown in several chapters of this book that in old age the
iodine content of the thyroid gland is much diminished and the tissue of
the gland itself is degenerated in varying degrees, at times
approximating to myxœdema; and, as found also by Sir Victor Horsley,
Hale White, Vermehren, Ewald, and ourselves, old age presents clinical
symptoms similar to those of myxœdema.
Naturally not every old man has the whole thyroid gland degenerated, and
clinically, therefore, there will be varying degrees in the myxœdematous
conditions, some presenting more and some less of the symptoms; so that
some men of 80 years of age may look younger than others at 65 or 70.
If a man of 60, suffering from absolute myxœdema, that is, a complete
degeneration of the thyroid gland, will present an appearance of 50 or
less, after thyroid treatment, as shown in the photographs of the
above-mentioned authorities, and as seen by ourselves, why should
another man of 60, having only partial symptoms of this complaint, as
usual at this age, not benefit to the same extent and look younger after
similar treatment? It would be quite adverse to all notions of pathology
for a man, in a better condition of general health and suffering only
from a mitigated and partial form of a disease, not to derive equal or
greater benefit from a similar treatment as the other person of the same
age affected by a complete development and thus increased degree of the
same disease. This, indeed, would be contrary to all sound reasoning.
But we have had personal opportunities of treating numerous persons, not
actually myxœdematous, but exhibiting only slight symptoms of such a
condition, such as are found in people with premature senility, and also
in many cases of obesity and arteriosclerosis, and in every case we have
been able to observe a more youthful appearance afterward.
The features have become notably more refined and more sharply defined,
and there were many other benefits that may often follow thyroid
treatment, such as loss of excessive weight, increased quantity of urine
and of perspiration, and better action of the intestines. The gait
especially became much easier; some were able to climb hills, whereas
prior to the treatment they became fatigued from less than a ten minutes
walk. The improvement in the mental condition was sometimes striking;
memory especially became much better, as did also the general
intelligence. It was also very interesting to note that abrasions, or
any kind of sores, healed rapidly with fine granulations; for which
reason such a treatment may give good results also in leg ulcers. We
have obtained the best results from our thyroid treatment in those
persons who were prematurely ageing; but even in the aged we have
produced an improvement in the symptoms.
By the amelioration of the functions of the skin, kidneys, and
intestines, which functions are, as a rule, impaired in old age, such
treatment may already be indicated; and especially since the production
of heat is thereby augmented, which is a great advantage to old people,
who usually complain of cold. At the same time we are able to increase
the processes of oxidation, which are, as already mentioned, diminished
in old age. Thus, from the improvement in all these functions from the
administration of thyroid extracts in old age, the treatment is, _prima
facie_, justified. Great care must, however, be exercised in prescribing
such extracts, and they should never be given unless the effects on the
patient can be properly observed every three or four days, as all the
drugs which are as effective as the thyroid, such as arsenic or other
active drugs, can do much mischief if taken in large quantities. For
such, so to say, physiological purposes as we are required to give them,
thyroid extracts should be administered in a quantity just sufficient to
make up the amount of thyroid secretion which the body demands; the
greater the age, the larger the dose; but we must not forget that, as in
advanced cases of myxœdema, so also in advanced senility, we must not
expect too great results from the treatment. The thyroid extracts that
we give can only act if the thyroid gland still has some of its
secreting structure intact and is not yet completely degenerated, which
latter is the case in complete myxœdema and advanced senility. It is
best to commence at about 40, and in persons with symptoms of premature
senility, even before this. Simultaneous obesity will offer the best
opportunity for this treatment, and by the mere reduction of superfluous
fat a more youthful appearance may be obtained. In younger people, about
or prior to middle age, one tablet daily, or sometimes two for a week or
so, then going back to one a day, will be the best method. It also is
necessary to have free intervals of five or six days between treatments,
and then to commence _de novo_. We must bear in mind that the effects of
the thyroid gland may be cumulative.
From observations on ourselves and on patients we recommend for such as
are not advanced in age, say, below 40 or 45, one tablet for a week or
two, then stop for a few days, resuming with one tablet for a week; then
an interval of three days before commencing again; while for those with
symptoms of premature senility two or more tablets could be given,
proceeding as above. In more advanced age two or three tablets may be
given for two, three or four weeks before a free interval of several
days takes place.
We must emphasize the fact, however, that a physician who prescribes
such extracts, should have a thorough knowledge of the physiology and
pathology of the thyroid gland for his safe guidance. On the other hand,
we again urge that patients should never use them otherwise than under
the guidance of a physician.
When thyroid is taken in an irrational way in large doses, or when
continued for too long a time, we may sometimes have the very opposite
symptoms for a time—even more fat, and in some cases older looks; but if
we abandon the treatment for two or three weeks we may witness, as we
ourselves have done, a general improvement in the condition and personal
appearance; after iodide treatment we may observe the same, sometimes
with increase of fat. Thyroid extracts cause a greater activity of the
thyroid, and at times even an overactivity—thyroidism—which may be
followed by its exhaustion. This has been proved by experiments by
Christiani, who transplanted a fresh thyroid gland on an animal with
healthy thyroid, and thereby produced a degeneration of the latter.
Walter Edmunds, by feeding monkeys and dogs on too large a quantity of
thyroid extract, produced in their central nervous systems changes
similar to those following extirpation of the thyroid gland. Much iodide
of potassium is apt to produce, not only a diminution in size of the
thyroid, but sometimes its degeneration (see Garnier,[359] Chapter III).
As we have observed, the symptoms of exhaustion of the thyroid after
thyroid treatment are, as a rule, merely temporary, and may pass off
after a rest of a week or so; but yet we must sound a warning against
hasty and imprudent treatment.
Footnote 359:
Loc. cit.
These extracts contain more or less iodine according to their
manufacture; and it has been shown by Claude Bernard that iodine is not
easily eliminated from the body, but is retained for a given time; so
that the effects of the treatment may be felt also in the free interval,
and according to our observations, often better then than during actual
treatment. Taking the extracts for too long a time without intervals
may, at times, produce disagreeable symptoms, such as palpitation of the
heart, nervous excitability, sleeplessness, etc.; so that during the
course of the treatment the patient should be examined every three or
four days as to the condition of the heart and urine; and if the pulse
rises above 90, if it were lower before, the treatment should be
suspended for a few days; much meat, alcohol, strong tea or coffee,
should be avoided. When thyroid extract in large doses and much meat are
taken together, according to our observation in a few cases, traces of
sugar may appear in the urine up to, say, from 0.1 per cent. to 0.4 per
cent., which quickly disappear if the meat is reduced, in spite of
continuing the thyroid cure, as we have noted in two cases. It is, of
course, well understood that thyroid treatment should not be tried in
patients who show symptoms of a hyperactive condition of the thyroid
gland—e.g., a rapid heart action, etc.; but we must rather try to
improve only a _deficient_ activity of the thyroid gland. By giving
small quantities of iodides before beginning thyroid treatment we could
best ascertain the condition of the thyroid gland; for if symptoms of
iodism appeared we would then be in the presence of a very active
thyroid, and thyroid treatment would be contraindicated. In many cases
of inactivity of the thyroid gland we have obtained excellent results by
administering simultaneously thyroid preparations and small quantities
of iodides. The use of stimulants such as alcohol, strong tobacco, and
strong tea or coffee, should be forbidden during thyroid treatment.
Taken in the above manner with the necessary precautions and only under
medical supervision, thyroid as a preventive for premature senility, and
as a treatment for the symptoms of senility, is entirely harmless. We
have never observed the least inconvenience in any of the numerous cases
we have treated when our instructions as to doses and diet were carried
out, nor in ourselves. We have personally, for experimental purposes,
taken these extracts for the past five years—once for ten months with
short intervals—and stood it very well. Sometimes a few occasional
pimples were seen, and sometimes sore throat developed, and in some
patients headache. It is essential that only fresh preparations from a
reliable source should be used.
The effects of these extracts on the nervous system and mentality are
very remarkable. As already mentioned, we noted greater immunity from
fatigue, bodily and mental, in many patients, and also in ourselves.
Memory seems to have been much improved.
The same has also been noted by Hertoghe, who told us that he used to
take three tablets immediately before beginning his lectures. We do not
think it advisable to exceed two or three tablets a day; and even then
it is best not to take this quantity, as a general rule, for longer than
one week, when we must then reduce this quantity to one tablet.
In combination with thyroid extracts or alone, ovarian extracts have
given us favorable results in the treatment of aged women, and also in
younger ones before the menopause, especially after oöphorectomy.
Obesity that follows the menopause, or the degeneration or extirpation
of the ovaries, and which may also be regarded as one of the primary
symptoms of old age, has been in nearly every case very favorably
influenced by ovarian extracts, particularly in such cases as thyroid
extracts were used at the same time.
A very interesting case is mentioned by Burghart[360] of obesity in a
young woman of 20, consequent to an undeveloped condition of the ovaries
and uterus. By giving ovarian extracts he was able to reduce the weight
by 8 kilos, and when the treatment was discontinued, obesity returned.
Footnote 360:
Burghart: Deutsche Med. Wochenschrift, p. 610 and 627, 1899.
As we have already shown, the ovaries also influence the processes of
oxidation. Loewy and Richter were able to considerably increase
oxidation in animals by ovarian extracts. Very important also is the
fact that Spillman and Etienne[361] observed an increase in the number
of red blood-corpuscles after ovarian treatment. For the above reasons
alone, ovarian extracts should be tried in old age, where we find, as
already stated, a diminution of oxidation, and very frequently also, in
old women, an anæmic condition. Chroback and Landau were the first to
employ with good results ovarian preparations for the relief of the
symptoms following castration in women. According to our observations on
many women under our care, the greatest benefit can be afforded by
ovarian treatment to cases having the disagreeable nervous disorders
which follow the menopause, such as hot flushes, nervous depression,
headaches, nervous insomnia, etc., these symptoms having disappeared in
nearly every case after several weeks’ treatment.
Footnote 361:
Spillman and Etienne: C. R. du Congrès de Medecine de Nancy, p. 953,
1896.
We consider ovarian extracts to be a specific against the painful
feelings of heat in women in the years succeeding the menopause, or
after oöphorectomy in younger years. In order that these extracts should
be active, it is necessary that they should be prepared from the corpus
luteum part of the ovaries, which contains their internal secretions.
The pig would be the best animal for the purpose, for its ovaries have
been found superior to those of other animals; and they also contain
more iodine, much more than the ovaries of cattle.
When prescribing ovarian extracts we may give larger doses than of
thyroid extracts, as they are less dangerous when taken in large
quantities than the latter. We usually begin with two tablets,
increasing to four, a day.
Less active than the ovarian preparations are the extracts of the
testicles, at least in the form in which they are at present used. It is
very probable that this may be due to the testicles of bulls being
mainly used up to now, for just as their ovaries are, so also may the
testicles of cattle be less efficacious. In addition it is also probable
that these extracts do not contain certain effective parts of the
testicles. It has been demonstrated by several authorities, as Shattock
and Seeligmann,[362] Ansele, and Bouin, that the internal secretion of
the testicles is derived, to a certain extent, from the interstitial
cells, a group of cells imbedded in the spaces between the individual
tubules. In some animals, as in the pig, as found by Shattock, these
cells are contained in such amount that they form a special part of the
testicles called by Shattock “paratubular glands;”[363] and for this
reason alone pigs’ testicles should be preferred. It seems that the
interstitial cells can only play a rôle in combination with certain
other parts of the male sexual organs, for certainly when alone they
cannot represent the part of the testicles which gives the real internal
secretion. This is shown by the fact that they are found in the largest
number in degenerated conditions of the testicles—for example: in
cretins (Lanz), in undescended testicles (Bellingham Smith), and in
atrophied testicles of old men (Haviero Spangaro[364]).
Footnote 362:
Shattock and Seeligmann: Transactions of the London Path. Society, p.
57, vol. lvi.
Footnote 363:
Shattock: Loc. cit.
Footnote 364:
Spangaro: Anatomische Hefte, Wiesbaden, vol. lx, 1902.
That testicular extracts are able to improve the symptoms of senility
has been shown by the celebrated physiologist, Brown-Séquard,[365] from
experiments on himself. He used an extract prepared from the crushed
testicles of guinea-pigs or dogs. After injecting these extracts into
his arms and legs, this old savant of 72 noted a considerable increase
in his muscular and mental powers. As he mentioned in his communication
to the Paris Biological Society, he observed in himself an augmentation
of the energies of the nervous centers; he found that he could do more
work than formerly, and that without getting tired he could more easily
ascend the staircase, nearly running, just as he used to do until he was
60; and by the dynamometer he noticed a decided increase in the muscular
power of his extremities. All his excretory functions were improved; he
had laxative action of the bowels without resorting to purges to the
same degree as formerly; his stream of urine became much longer, thus
indicating a better muscular power in the urethra; he could work
standing for a few hours, whereas before he was always obliged to be
seated; and he found that his intellectual powers increased
considerably.
Footnote 365:
C. R. de la Société de biologie, 1 and 15, Juin, 1889.
It is almost unnecessary to add that this startling communication was
received, in spite of his great fame, with scepticism, and by many even
with derision. And yet it is these discoveries by Brown-Séquard that
have laid the foundation of our present knowledge of the internal
secretions. That the effects were not due to auto-suggestion has been
shown by the experiments of Zoth and Pregl,[366] who found, by means of
Mosso’s ergograph, an increase of muscular power through the injection
of testicular extracts. It is also very interesting to note that in a
few diseases which usually occur only in advanced age, testicular
extracts have given good results, such as in Parkinson’s disease and in
tabes dorsalis, as shown in the communications of Brown-Séquard and
D’Arsonval to the Paris Biological Society in 1892.
Footnote 366:
Pflüger’s Archiv. vol. vi, pp. 335 and 379, 1896.
We have also, for experimental purposes, tried on ourselves testicular
extracts from the pig, and indeed we found a decided increase in
muscular and mental powers. Thus we were able to climb the highest hills
much more quickly and with much less fatigue than before; and we made
the same observation in regard to increased mental activity; and we must
strictly defend ourselves from any suspicion of having been influenced
by auto-suggestion, which is not to be inferred after similar
observations of other authorities. Similar results we have personally
observed after injection of spermin (Poehl). This substance, obtained
from the testicles of animals, was introduced by Prof. v. Poehl,[367] of
St. Petersburg, and has been commented upon by many authorities, among
them Professor Senator and P. F. Richter. According to Poehl it advances
all the processes of oxidation in the tissues, as is shown also by the
experiments of other authorities—for instance, Prof. Tarchanoff, Prof.
Loewy, Richter,[368] etc.—who found that it is able also to powerfully
alkalinize the blood. It has been proved by a mass of experimental
evidence that spermin is a catalytic ferment, and that it regulates
tissue oxidation. Poehl insists that the diminution of alkalinity of the
blood may also reduce the resistance of the body to infection, a fact
fully sustained by the theory of Dr. Sajous,[369] that immunity is
influenced by alkalinity; and it is probably due to this that many
authorities have obtained good results from spermin treatment in various
infectious diseases and in conditions of auto-intoxication. Loewy and P.
F. Richter found that spermin increases hyperleucocytosis and the
alkalinity of the blood. The same effects have been claimed by
Brown-Séquard and D’Arsonval for testicular extracts. They reported
cases of successful cures in tuberculosis, and Ouspenski[370] has
successfully treated Asiatic cholera with them.
Footnote 367:
Poehl and Tarchanoff: Organotherapie, vol. i, St. Petersburg.
Footnote 368:
P. F. Richter: Organotherapie, Berlin.
Footnote 369:
Sajous: “Internal Secretions.”
Footnote 370:
C. R. Soc. de biologie, Nov. 5, 1892.
In the experiments made by Loewy and Richter, at the suggestion of
Professor Senator, on animals, it was found that experimental diseases,
such as pneumonia, terminated much better after an injection of spermin
(see, also, Chapter III).
As found by Bukojemsky,[371] Hirsch, etc., spermin treatment has given
good results in senile marasmus; and senile pruritus can be improved by
it, as stated in two cases by Bosse.[372] Very interesting, also, are
this latter savant’s observations in a case of optic atrophy due to
syphilis, when spermin was used. The patient was nearly blind, and after
sixteen injections of spermin he could again see the hands of a watch.
Footnote 371:
Petersburgh Med. Wochenschrift, Nu. 7, p. 67, 1904.
Footnote 372:
Journal für med. Chemie u. Pharm., Dec., 1892.
Spermin is contained in different organs, especially in the ductless
glands; and among these the testicles are naturally the richest in such
a secretion. In order to obtain the best testicular preparation, the
whole substance of the testicles must be taken, together with the
interstitial cells, and not the latter only. Brown-Séquard prepared his
extracts from guinea-pigs and dogs, which do not have a large number of
these cells. We should like to take into consideration the discovery of
Professor Lanz, who found in the testicles of impotent cretins a large
quantity of interstitial cells; yet neither the physical nor mental
condition of cretins permit the inference of very active sexual glands.
In our opinion, the most active testicular extracts would be those
derived from the testes of the pig; but not from the testicles only, for
the preparation should also contain extracts from the prostate as well,
for in the human body the action of the testicles is inseparable from
that of the prostate. This has been shown by the experiments of Camus
and Gley, who found that seminal fluid exhibits more lively movement of
the spermatozoa when a little prostatic liquid is added to it. It is
thus very probable that by adding prostatic extracts to those of the
testicles, the vitality of such extracts may be enhanced.
It is important to note that in his article on old age in Dr. Stedman’s
well-known work, Boy-Teissier[373] relates that he obtained very good
results from Brown-Séquard’s testicular extracts in the treatment of old
age.
Footnote 373:
“Twentieth Century Practice” by Thomas Stedman, M.D., London, p. 491,
1897.
We have seen in Chapter V what a marvelous influence the sexual glands
exercise on vitality and long life; if, therefore, by testicular
extracts we can enhance the activity of the sexual glands, it would
really be worth while to do so.
In addition to thyroid, ovarian, and testicular preparations, the
extracts also of the kidneys should give good results in the treatment
of old age and in the prevention of a prematurely aged condition, by
improving the eliminative functions of the kidneys.
It has been found by many authorities, of whom we especially mention
Gilbert and Carnot,[374] Obolenski,[375] Dubois,[376] Renaut,[377] and
Teissier,[378] that by giving extracts of the kidneys they were able to
improve the condition of patients suffering from various forms of renal
diseases, especially when suffering from uræmic conditions and
parenchymatous inflammations. We have also tried such extracts and
found, indeed, beneficial results in many cases, as reported in an
address we gave to the Medical Association of Greater New York on
October 15, 1906. Since then we have had opportunities of noting similar
results in a still greater number of patients, especially in aged
people, among them being several with arteriosclerosis. In each case we
have observed a decrease in the number of casts. In some cases of
chronic parenchymatous nephritis we were surprised to find that there
were no casts at all, after several weeks’ treatment by renal
extracts—four tablets a day—whereas, before treatment, there were found
in one case twenty hyaline and granular casts in one specimen of urine
only. We have also noticed, in many cases, a notable diminution of
albumin, although it seems to us that the decrease in the number of
casts has been more prominent; and in many cases there has been an
increased flow of urine.
Footnote 374:
L’opothérapie, Paris, 1898.
Footnote 375:
Wratch, No. 27, 1899.
Footnote 376:
Soc. de biologie, p. 287, 1903.
Footnote 377:
Bull. gén. de thérapeutique, p. 30, 1907.
Footnote 378:
Teissier: Bull. Méd., No. 57, p. 617, 1907.
From the above results of treatment by renal extracts, such a treatment
with extracts prepared by maceration of the kidneys of pigs, appears
indicated, as a means to prevent premature old age, and also in old
people generally, especially since we never observed any deleterious
symptoms after administering two to four tablets a day. It would,
possibly, be useful to recommend in such cases pigs’ kidneys daily; and
as they are not palatable raw, unless tolerated in that condition, they
can be grilled.
Good effects, and probably to a greater degree, may be observed also
after the use of pancreatic extracts. Their use in old age is indicated
by the fact that there is in the pancreas, just as there is in the
kidneys or thyroid, an increase of connective tissue in old age, and
thus the pancreas is not able to produce the necessary amount of
ferments for the digestion and assimilation of the proteid,
carbohydrate, and fat food. We also often see, therefore, aged people
lose weight, especially in advanced senility.
According to the observations of many authorities, among them
Abelmann,[379] H. Salomon,[380] and E. Meyer,[381] it would seem that,
by the use of certain pancreatic extracts, there is a very decidedly
better assimilation of proteid, of amylaceous, and especially of fatty
matters. As in old age there is often a decrease of stomach and
pancreatic juice, pancreatic extracts seem to be especially indicated.
Footnote 379:
Abelmann: Quoted after Oser, Nothnagel’s “Practice” p. 109; “Diseases
of the Pancreas,” p. 101.
Footnote 380:
Salomon: Berl. klin. Wochenschrift, Nu. 3, 1902.
Footnote 381:
Meyer: Zeitschrift für exper. Path. u. Ther., vol. ii, 3 H.
We have obtained good results in each case that we have treated by
pancreatic extracts, and also in experiments on ourselves, having used a
preparation introduced by H. Salomon. Even in aged persons we have noted
easier digestion and the disappearance of digestive trouble after two or
three tablets of the extract of pancreas taken immediately after dinner
and supper. In cases of liver and gall-stone troubles, where previously
there was a considerable loss of bodily weight, in nearly every case
after pancreatic treatment there was no more falling off in the weight,
and in some instances we have even found a considerable increase in
weight. It is our custom to apply these extracts to every case where we
want to increase bodily weight by a better assimilation of the food.
Especially in cases where we have given much milk do we find that it is
much better tolerated by the addition of these extracts to the food. We
have also found, by experiments on ourselves, that the feeling of
oppression and heaviness in the stomach after hearty meals, especially
of indigestible food, has been much improved by the use of two to three
of these pancreatic tablets. Especially have they proved useful after
late dinners in preventing a disturbance of the sleep.
We have given above an account of the different organic preparations by
which we can treat the symptoms of old age with good results. According
to our experience it is not advisable to use all these extracts at one
and the same time, but only a few. At any rate, thyroid tablets can be
used for a long time, but in every case with intervals between the
treatment. With these ovarian or testicular extracts can be used, as can
also pancreatic extracts. The last mentioned ones should be used only as
long as necessary—until digestion is improved and bodily weight is
increased, if so desired. They may then be discarded until again needed.
Thyroid extract should also be discarded, after two weeks’ or one
month’s use, for a week or so, and then slowly begun again. It is
difficult to give general instructions that will suit every case; it is
therefore best to treat cases in an individual manner, the prime maxim
being that by such extracts the function of certain glands should be
improved until what was defective or deficient has been made up. The
thyroid extracts require that the effects should be carefully watched;
but all the other extracts are free from harmful consequences,
especially if not taken in abusive doses, and provided also, of course,
that they are fresh and not decomposed by long keeping.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVII.
A FEW HINTS ON YOUTHFUL APPEARANCE.
THE youthful appearance of a person is dependent chiefly upon the
condition of the complexion, of the teeth and of the hair. If a person
has a fresh complexion, and if the muscles of the face are firm and not
relaxed his face will show a youthful appearance. A few wrinkles around
the eyes and the crow-feet, which we find especially with persons of a
vivid, lively disposition, whose faces show a sensitive expressiveness
do not prejudice the youthful appearance of such persons.
In order to keep the complexion fresh and to protect the skin from
fading there are a few hygienic measures to follow. It is not
advantageous to wash the face daily with a soap. It is much better to
dip the towel, when we get up, in cold, soft water, the best in rain
water and then to wet the face all over, or to bend over a basin with
cold rain water and to throw with the hand the water against all parts
of the face. Thus by the refreshing cold of the water the muscles of the
face will be “toned up” and their relaxation prevented. The same way it
will be advisable to wet the face with a little eau de cologne or
alcohol of 30 per cent. whenever fatigued during the day in order to
prevent the relaxation of the muscles of the face. The skin of the face
should be made only lightly wet, for the frequent thorough washing of
the skin will tend to make it very dry. In order to remove the dirt from
the face the best method is to employ a very mild soap which contains
much fat. It is advisable to put on the face in the evening before going
to bed an ointment that is made out of animal fat, e.g., lanolin to
which may be added glycerine or some other kind of fat of animal origin.
But it is not necessary to do this every day. Massage of the face, by
which the blood-supply of the muscles can be augmented may be of great
benefit, if it is done in a scientific way and carefully. To improve the
complexion of the face and to prevent the unæsthetic reddish skin with
dilated blood-vessels, the tincture of benzoin or cosmetics that contain
it can be used with profit. Those, however, who are so happy as to have
a naturally fresh, rosy complexion should never use benzoin, for
according to our observations the strong tinctures made with it may be
detrimental to their skin.
Of great importance to the freshness of the complexion is also a regular
daily thorough cleaning of the intestines, we have often made the
observation, that the yellowish dark complexion of constipated persons
gets much improved after a copious evacuation; thus in this sense the
use of purgative mineral waters, and also the use of laxative fruits
like grapes taken daily in large quantities often much improve the
complexion. Then also the condition of the liver is of great importance
for a fine complexion, and everything that improves the functions of the
liver can contribute to conserve the same. In this connection we refer
the reader to our chapter on the hygiene of the liver.
Of great use also are bodily exercises, for instance long walks in the
open air, as thus the circulation of the blood is much improved in the
periphery of the body and thus also is the face and the nutrition of the
tissues of the skin improved. It is also of importance to carefully
observe our teachings on the rational hygienic use of food as given
previously. It is a fact that the complexion of great meat eaters is not
so fresh and finely delicate as that of persons living on
lacto-vegetable foods. We have also often made the observation, that
persons eating meat in abundance gain a better complexion after having
been put on a diet of milk, eggs, butter, cereals and other vegetable
foods, especially abundance of fruit.
It is also a fact that a bright, cheerful disposition favorably
influences the expression of the face and the complexion. Passions,
grief and sorrow may prove very detrimental, as they often leave lines
and wrinkles in the face.
We have already mentioned previously that certain drugs such as arsenic,
iron and iodides can prove of great benefit for the production of
youthful looks, as they powerfully influence the formation of the blood
and affect its circulation through the tissues, and also the general
nutrition. Furthermore the thyroid preparations can bring about the same
results and they also contribute to obtain and retain a youthful
appearance as we have shown previously. We will only mention here the
important fact that wrinkles in the face are of frequent occurrence in
degenerated conditions of the thyroid gland; in young individuals and
even in infants this may be seen. On the other hand may be observed the
disappearance of wrinkles after thyroid treatment as shown in our
chapter on the treatment of old age through animal extracts. Hot baths
are also useful to aid in retaining a youthful appearance as they
promote a better circulation of the blood through the tissues of the
skin and an improvement of the functions of the skin.
Above all it is the condition of the teeth that is of utmost importance
for youthful looks. For if they fall out atrophy of the alveolar process
takes place, and when the lips and the cheeks lack their osseous support
they will fall in. The chin in consequence gets pointed, the height of
the face is diminished and the whole face looks much older. To avoid
this everything should be done to keep the teeth in good condition and
to prevent their decay and their falling out.
The ruin of the teeth may be brought about by external and internal
causes. The first are less dangerous, for they are chiefly of bacterial
origin and they can be avoided by a scrupulous cleaning of the teeth.
Much more serious and sometimes even unavoidable are the internal causes
thus especially the bad nutrition of the gums. If the gums are not
sufficiently supplied with blood or if the blood is lacking certain
important elements, or if it contains elements of a toxic nature as for
instance in diabetes, they become atrophic. They retract and the support
the teeth receives is insufficient.
When the saliva is of an acid nature tartar gets deposited on the teeth
and this may cause the formation of pus in the alveoli of the teeth
i.e., produce alveolar pyorrhœa. In such a condition the base of the
teeth is surrounded by pus, which destroys the substance of the teeth
which are then lost. Most frequently we find an acid saliva in meat
eaters and in certain diseases, especially in diabetes, gout, etc.
According to Paterson the above condition is very frequent in persons
with chronic nasal and pharyngeal catarrhs, especially when breathing
through the mouth.
The best means to obtain a regular supply of blood to the gums is the
massage of the gums by the finger, on which may be put a little olive
oil, and then gently rub the lower jaw from below upwards, and the upper
jaw from above downwards. Equally a rubbing of the teeth with a brush
that is put in an alcoholic solution of 30 per cent. will do good. The
acid saliva can be remedied by an alkaline mouth water, or a paste
containing bicarbonate of sodium in large quantities. It is also very
beneficial to the gum to clean it with alcohol of 30 per cent. gargling
or drawing it between the teeth, as is also the use of certain
antiseptic and stringent mouth waters like borax with tincture of myrrh,
or ratanhia with myrrh, etc. Hydrogen peroxide is an ideal antiseptic
for the teeth and gums, and in strong solution it may prove useful in
cases of a hyperæmic and inflamed condition of the gum.
The condition of the sexual glands and of the thyroid gland also
powerfully influence the condition of the teeth, which can be seen
plainly by the fact that all the alterations of these glands, as in
pregnancy, in chlorotic conditions, etc., may produce important changes
in the condition of the teeth and the alveolary processes. In some cases
we were able to improve a swelled and hyperæmic condition of the gum by
the administration of thyroid extracts.
Youthful looks also very much depend upon the condition of the hair.
When the hair is scarce and what there is left is gray a person appears
much older than he really is. When we get to a certain age—and many
persons even before—the connective tissue in the capillaries which
provide the hair root with blood becomes augmented and the elasticity of
their walls become lost. Thus there will be a difficulty in the regular
blood-supply to the hair roots or bulbs. We have already in these pages
insisted on the fact that iodides are able to improve the circulation of
the blood in the capillaries and thus they may give good results in such
cases, especially in aged persons. We may also improve the blood
circulation by massage of the scalp done in a gentle way and carefully.
According to Ehrmann the faradization of the hair gives also good
results. Above all we should not make difficult the blood-supply to the
hair roots by the wearing of hard stiff hats which compress the
blood-vessels. Less often the falling out of the hair is caused by
bacterial diseases and such can be best combated by antiseptic ointments
by sublimate, alcohol, by washing with tar soap, etc.
There exists here also a sympathetic connection between the condition of
the hair and that of the thyroid and the sexual glands. In the
degenerated conditions of these glands we frequently find the hair very
spare, it remains short, dry and brittle and falls out very easily.
After having treated such cases for a certain time with thyroid
extracts, we can obtain often a great improvement in the condition of
the hair. It may in the beginning fall out the more, but this happens
only with hair that is already morbidly decayed, but afterwards we will
observe a still better growth of new hair. Arsenic may also give similar
results according to our own observations and that of other authorities.
Youthful looks can also be obtained by a slender figure. Slender persons
look often younger than they are, whereas corpulency conveys more the
impression of a higher age than would correspond to the real number of
years. Therefore those who wish to look young must avoid becoming
corpulent. Above all the quantity of meat should be limited, for
corpulency can be best brought about by much meat in the diet, if at the
same time also amylaceous or starchy foods and sweets are taken in
quantity. Besides a frugal diet, much exercise contributes in most
persons to the prevention of obesity. Turkish baths, and according to
the prevalent opinion, also the use of certain purgative mineral waters
like those of Carlsbad, Marienbad or Kissingen will also give good
results. Very often we can see good results with a great loss in the
weight of corpulent persons after the use of thyroid preparations as we
have mentioned previously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER LVIII.
THE “TWELVE COMMANDMENTS” FOR THE PRESERVATION OF YOUTH, AND THE
ATTAINMENT OF A GREEN OLD AGE.
IN his report on the autopsy of Thomas Parr, who lived to the age of 152
years and 9 months, Dr. Harvey, physician to the king, attributed his
death to the change from a frugal diet of subrancid cheese, milk in
every form, and coarse, hard bread, to the rich feeding he received in
London, and to the change from the healthy air of the country to the
foggy climate of the metropolis. We also dwelt on the important fact
that by his leading such a peasant’s life, free from care owing to its
simplicity it contributed to his very advanced age; for, as the great
Harvey pithily put it, “sorry fare, but free from care.”
We thus see that this celebrated discoverer of the circulation of the
blood ascribed special importance, for the attainment of an advanced old
age, to these same agencies, viz.: living temperately and in the open
air, and absence from worry, the importance of which we have
demonstrated by scientific evidence in the various chapters of this
book.
We have found, among the cases of those who lived to a great age,
sometimes much over one hundred years, very numerous instances of
persons who were in poor circumstances, existing on a very simple diet,
but who were free from cares. To attain such a measure of simple diet
does not require any very great effort of mind; peasants obtain it
without care or worry. If we were asked for the best means of living to
be 100 years old we would say: become a peasant or a pauper and be
received into an English workhouse.
It is astonishing how many of the inmates of the English workhouses and
other similar institutions for the poor become very aged. They have no
anxieties about getting their daily bread, and oftentimes they are fed
better than they would have been in their homes, although only the
minimum amount of hygienic food is given. (This certainly would not have
applied to the English workhouses before the days of Charles Dickens.)
Workhouse inmates lead a very regular and frugal life, rising in the
small hours of the morning and retiring to bed early in the evening.
Thus, in winter time, they can never contract pneumonia by coming home
late from the overheated theatre, concert, or club-house. They also need
not worry about their fortunes, for they have none.
We may thus conclude that a workhouse may be a more favorable place for
reaching a good old age than a palace, which coincides with the pithy
words of Dr. Harvey already quoted.
To the three agencies of frugality, fresh air, and no worries we would
like to add the great advantage of sunshine, plenty of milk in the diet,
and little meat, a daily proper action of the bowels, a daily bath,
rational clothing, and above all—considering the great importance of the
functions of the glands with internal secretion as a means of freeing
our body from poisonous products, and thus preventing premature old
age—we must insist on the rational hygiene of these organs, and on the
reinforcement of their functions, if changed by age or disease, by means
of extracts obtained from similar organs of healthy animals.
From long study of the lives of the patriarchs of great age—who,
according to evidence, sometimes legal, and acknowledged also by such
authorities as Professor Pflüger[382] and Pel,[383] have attained an age
much over 100, and in some cases even of 160—we have come to the
conclusion that, by following the hygienic rules we have laid down in
the various chapters in this book, we certainly can preserve our
youthfulness till 50 or 60, and our life to 100 or over.
Footnote 382:
Loc. cit.
Footnote 383:
Pel: Loc. cit.
We fully acknowledge the value of descent from long-lived families, but
we may refer to the instances we have quoted of persons descended from
short-lived families and yet living to be nearly 100.
It would, indeed, be most foolish to feel like an old man or woman when
but 40 or 50, and to die perhaps at 60, when, by the exercise of a
little judgment, we can considerably prolong our youth, which may
otherwise be fast flitting away, preparing us for an early grave, and
enjoy our life twice as much by being free from pains and ailments.
Most of the evils that befall us in this world, including premature old
age and early death, are, in our opinion, as we have often repeated,
solely due to our own negligence; and to avoid such a fate we recommend
the following precepts:—
1. To be as much as possible in the open air, and especially in the
sunshine; and to take plenty of exercise, taking special care to breathe
deeply and regularly.
2. To live on a diet consisting of: meat once a day, eggs, cereals,
green vegetables, fruit, and raw milk of healthy cows (as much as the
stomach will permit); and to masticate properly.
3. To take a bath daily; and in addition, once a week or once every two
weeks, to take a sweat bath (if the heart can stand it).
4. To have a daily action of the bowels; and in addition to take a
purgative once a week if there is any tendency to constipation.
5. To wear very porous underwear, preferably cotton; porous clothing,
loose collars, light hat (if any), and low shoes.
6. To go to bed early, and to rise early.
7. To sleep in a very dark and very quiet room, and with a window open;
and not to sleep less than six to six and one-half hours, or more than
seven and one-half, and for women eight and one-half, hours.
8. To have one complete day’s rest in each week, without even reading or
writing.
9. To avoid mental emotions, and also worries about things that have
happened and cannot be altered, as well as about things that may happen.
Never to say unpleasant things, and to avoid listening to such, if
possible.
10. To get married; and if a widow or widower, to marry again; and to
avoid sexual activity beyond the physiological limit, as also to avoid a
total suppression of the functions of these organs.
11. To be temperate in the use of alcohol and tobacco, and also in the
use of coffee or tea.
12. To avoid places that are overheated, especially by steam, and badly
ventilated. To replace or reinforce the functions of the organs which
may have become changed by age or disease, by means of the extracts from
the corresponding organs of healthy animals; but only to do this _under
the strict supervision of medical men_ who are thoroughly familiar with
the functions of the ductless glands.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOSSARY.
=Acetone, Acetonum.= An inflammable, colorless liquid of an acrid taste
and a penetrating odor. Occurring in small quantities in the blood
and urine and in considerable quantities at times in diabetic urine.
=Acetonitrile.= Methyl cyanide. A colorless volatile liquid.
=Acetonuria.= The presence of an abnormal amount of acetone in the
urine.
=Acromegalia, Acromegaly.= A chronic nervous disease, usually of adults
and marked by abnormal processes of growth, especially in the head,
face, and extremities: Marie’s disease. It has in many cases been
found to be associated with disease of the pituitary body and the
thyroid gland.
=Adenoid.= Resembling a gland. Name given to masses of hypertrophied
glands normally present in the nasopharynx.
=Adolescence.= Youth: the period between puberty and full development.
=Adrenal.= Situated near the kidney. The suprarenal capsule.
=Agglutinin.= A substance, occurring according to some investigators in
blood-plasma, according to others only in the serum after
coagulation, comparatively resistant to heat, drying, putrefaction,
etc., showing many of the characteristics of proteids, and producing
agglutination or sticking together by its action on the surface of
foreign cells.
=Alexin.= Any principle that accompanies a pathogenic cell growth and is
antagonistic to its evil effects, a defensive proteid. Any
albuminous preparation used for protective inoculation.
=Alkalimetry.= The process of determining the amount of free alkali in
various substances.
=Alveolar.= Belonging to the alveoli.
=Alveoli.= (_a_) Bony socket of a tooth; (_b_) an air-cell of the lung;
(_c_) a cavity, pit, or recess.
=Amenorrhea.= Absence or stoppage of the menstrual discharge, normal
during pregnancy.
=Amphibia.= A class of vertebrates forming a transitional group between
the fishes and air-breathing animals, usually having gills in the
larval form and lungs in the adult.
=Amyl Nitrite.= A drug which produces vasodilation—opening of the
blood-paths. Formerly used in trigeminal neuralgia and malaria.
=Amylaceous.= Composed of starch: starch-like.
=Amylolytic.= Tending to dissolve starch, and thus to favor its
conversion into sugar: sometimes applied to the saliva.
=Analogous Tissue.= A diseased tissue resembling a normal elementary
tissue of the body.
=Anemia.= Deficiency of the blood in quantity or quality, either general
or local.
=Anomaly.= Irregularity: deviation from rule.
=Antipyretic.= A remedy to lower temperature.
=Antipyrin.= A colorless, almost odorless, crystalline powder or tabular
crystals, with a slightly bitter taste, prepared by the condensation
of phenylhydrazine with aceto-acetic ether with the subsequent
menthylation of the product.
=Antitoxic.= The quality of counteracting poisons: overcoming toxic
influences.
=Antivenin, Antivenomous Serum.= A polyvalent blood-serum prepared from
animals rendered immune to snake-venom.
=Aorta.= The larger arterial trunk arising from the left ventricle of
the heart, and indirectly giving origin to every artery except the
pulmonary and its ramifications.
=Arborization.= A branching distribution of veinlets or of
nerve-filaments, especially the branched terminal ramifications of a
nerve-axon.
=Arteriosclerosis.= Sclerosis or hardening of the walls of an artery,
especially of the inner coats.
=Atheroma.= A form of fatty degeneration of the coats of the arteries in
arteriosclerosis, producing patches of induration or of softening.
=Athyroidia.= A condition caused by an insufficiency of thyroid
secretion.
=Atrophy.= A regressive metamorphosis, “wasting away” (not always due to
imperfect nutrition), in which the parts become smaller by
diminution of their elements, either in size or in number.
=Attenuated.= Drawn out thin. The lessening of weight, as by dietetic
and medicinal treatment.
=Auto-intoxication.= Poisoning with toxic products elaborated within the
body. Self-infection from self-formed poisons.
=Axilla.= The armpit.
=Bacteria.= Any of the microscopic, unicellular masses of protoplasm
referred to a genus. Each is surrounded by an envelope, the total
vital capacity of each species being represented by every cell.
=Butyric.= Relating to or derived from butter.
=Cachexia.= A depraved condition or habit of body or nutrition.
=Calcium Carbonate.= A soft, white, inodorous substance. =Chalk.= It
occurs in shells, bones, and marble.
=Callus.= The osseous substance deposited between and around the divided
portions of a fractured bone. Unnatural hardness or induration of
any soft part or a thickening of the cuticle, caused by pressure or
friction.
=Calorie.= The unit of heat, or the quantity of heat required to raise 1
gram of water 1 degree centigrade.
=Carbohydrate.= Any one of a group of chemical compounds in which carbon
is combined with hydrogen and oxygen, which exist in the same
proportions as in water, the carbon atoms usually being a multiple
of six.
=Catabolism.= The production of a simpler substance from a more complex.
Passage of tissue material from a higher to a lower plane of
specialization or complexity.
=Catalysis.= In chemistry a reaction that appears to take place owing to
the mere presence of another body that apparently undergoes no
change.
=Catalytic.= Belonging to or causing catalysis.
=Cellulose.= A carbohydrate forming the framework or skeleton of plants,
and the most abundant substance in the vegetable kingdom except
water.
=Chlorotic.= Relating to chlorosis. A person affected with chlorosis, or
“green sickness,” a form of anemia.
=Choledochus.= The common bile-duct.
=Choline.= A ptomaine found in brain tissues, in the bile, in yolks of
egg, and in many decomposing animal and vegetable tissues.
=Chromatolysis.= The breaking down and dissolution of the chromatin of
cell-nuclei.
=Chromophile.= Stainable or easily stained, or absorbing of color.
=Cirrhosis.= A disease of the liver or other organs marked by
proliferation and increase of the interstitial connective tissue,
which subsequently contracts or shrinks, producing atrophy and
degeneration of the parenchymatous substance.
=Climacteric.= A particular epoch of the ordinary term of life marked by
periods of seven years, at which the body is supposed to be
peculiarly affected, and to suffer considerable change. Used to
indicate the “change of life,” or cessation of menstruation in
women.
=Clinical.= Pertaining to the sick-bed treatment of a patient.
=Colloid.= Resembling glue.
=Connective tissue.= The framework tissue which supports and connects
other tissues and organs.
=Convoluted Tubule.= The contorted portion of a uriniferous tubule.
=Corpus Luteum.= “Yellow body,” the yellow mass in the ovary occupying
the place of a Graafian follicle which has discharged its ovum.
=Cretinism.= A congenital disease, characterized by goiter, stunted
growth, swelled abdomen, wrinkled skin, wan complexion, vacant and
stupid countenance, misshapen cranium, idiocy, and comparative
insensibility. Disturbance of the function of the thyroid gland is
accredited as the cause.
=Cystitis.= Inflammation of the urinary bladder.
=Dementia Præcox.= Any form of dementia beginning at puberty and marked
by negativism, stereotypy, mannerisms, and verbigeration.
=Desquamation.= A scaling off. The separation of laminæ or scales from
the skin, or from mucous or serous surfaces, or from bones.
=Dextrin.= A soluble carbohydrate into which starch is converted by
action of diastase or dilute acids.
=Diabetes Mellitus.= A disorder of metabolism characterized by chronic
hyperglycemia and glycosuria on a diet not containing excessive
amounts of sugar, and associated with polyuria, polydipsia,
polyphagia, emaciation; often dryness of the mouth and skin;
sometimes boils, carbuncles, spontaneous gangrene, loss of sexual
power, or nervous affections.
=Diuresis.= Increased discharge of urine, from whatever cause.
=Ductless Glands=. Glands without an excretory duct.
=Dynamometer.= An instrument with which to measure the force of muscular
contraction, especially of the hand grasp.
=Ectropion.= Eversion of the edge of a part, especially of the eyelid or
eyelids.
=Edema.= A swelling from effusion of serous fluid into the cellular
substance.
=Emunctory.= Excretory. Any excretory duct of the body.
=Endometritis.= Inflammation of the inner lining membrane of the body of
the uterus.
=Enemata.= Liquids or injections thrown into the rectum; clysters.
=Enteroptosis.= Prolapse of the intestines.
=Enzyme.= A ferment. A substance showing proteid-like reactions, easily
destroyed by moderate heat, originating from living cells, either
directly or through the intermediate stage of a pro-enzyme, and
showing a metabolic activity in converting a specific substance or
substances into certain other products in a manner and to an extent
independent of the amount of enzyme present and without being itself
used up in the process.
=Epiphysial.= Pertaining to or of the nature of an epiphysis.
=Epiphysis.= A piece of bone growing upon another, as the bulky
extremities of long bone which are in early life separated by
cartilage from the shaft.
=Epithelium, -lia.= Epithelial cells: cells which form the surface of
the skin, mucous membranes, and line all canals having
communications with the external air.
=Erythematous.= Of the nature of erythema; redness of the skin.
=Ethnographical.= Concerning the science of the characteristics of the
human family.
=Etiology.= The science of the causation of disease.
=Exophthalmic Goiter.= Synonyms: Graves’s disease, Basedow’s disease. A
disease marked by protrusion of the eyes, enlarged thyroid gland,
anemia, and overaction of the heart.
=Extirpation.= The complete removal or eradication of a part by the
knife or by caustic.
=Faradization.= A method of treating disease by a localized application
of induction currents.
=Follicle.= A little bag: applied in anatomy to a very small cavity or
tubular gland, as the hair glands and the sebaceous glands of the
skin.
=Follicular.= Resembling or belonging to a follicle.
=Gastroptosis.= A downward displacement of the stomach.
=Glomerulus.= (1) A small, rounded mass. (2) A part of the kidney; a
coil of blood-vessels projecting into the extended ends of each
uriniferous tubule.
=Glycosuria.= The presence of sugar in the urine.
=Graves’s Disease.= (See Exophthalmic Goiter.)
=Hemianopsia.= Blindness in one-half of the field of vision of one or
both eyes.
=Hemoglobin.= A red, crystalline substance, of uncertain and very
complex composition, found in red blood-corpuscles of the venous
blood, and believed to consist of hemochromogen and a proteid.
=Histology.= The science of the minute structure and composition of the
different tissues of organized bodies.
=Hyaline Cast.= A nearly transparent and clear urinary cast.
=Hydrothyonuria.= The presence of hydrogen sulphide in the urine.
=Hyperactivity.= Abnormal activity.
=Hyperemia.= Excess of blood in any part due to increased influx or
obstruction of the outflow.
=Hyperesthesia.= Morbid increase of the general sensibility, or of one
of the special senses.
=Hyperleucocytosis.= Increase in the number of leucocytes in the blood.
=Hyperplasia.= The increase of the number of the individual structural
elements of a tissue.
=Hyperpyrexia.= Abnormally high fever, especially when over 42° C. or
106° F.
=Hypersecretion.= Excessive secretion.
=Hypertrophy.= Enlargement of a part or an organ, especially when due to
over-nutrition.
=Hypothyroidia.= Diminished function of the thyroid gland.
=Impermeable.= Not permeable: not permitting a passage through.
=Interstitial Hepatitis.= Inflammation of the interstitial connective
tissue of the liver.
=Interstitial Nephritis.= Acute or chronic inflammation of the kidneys.
=Lab-ferment.= The ferment (or enzyme) of rennet which coagulates milk,
forming curds.
=Lactation.= The time or period of secreting milk.
=Lactic.= Pertaining to or derived from milk.
=Lanolin.= A body consisting of cholesterin and fatty acids obtained
from sheep’s wool: used as a basis for ointments, especially with
equal parts of petrolatum, on account of its ready absorption and
its peculiar resistance to the growth of bacteria.
=Lecithin.= A complex nitrogenous fatty substance occurring widely
spread throughout the animal body; chemically, a glycerophosphate of
neurin.
=Leguminous.= Pertaining to the fruit or seed that is used as a food,
such as peas, beans, etc., rarely any esculent vegetable.
=Leucocyte.= A white blood-corpuscle or one of the cells resembling it.
=Leucocytolysis.= The destruction of leucocytes, as by bacterial
extracts.
=Leucomaine.= Any of a number of basic bodies, such as ornithin, the
hexone and purin bases, etc., which are the normal products of
tissue metabolism.
=Maceration.= The act of steeping a substance in hot or cold water,
usually to extract its virtues.
=Maltose.= Malt-sugar, identical in composition with milk-sugar, but in
its properties much more like grape sugar. It is derivable from
starch or glycogen, by the action of saliva, pancreatic juice, or
malt diastase.
=Menstrual.= Having to do with menstruation. The blood discharged in
menstruation.
=Metabolism.= The process by which living cells or organisms are capable
of incorporating substances obtained from food into an integral part
of their own bodies.
=Metrorrhagia.= Excessive discharge (usually hemorrhagic) from the womb,
especially when occurring at other times than during menstruation.
Uterine hemorrhage.
=Molecular.= Pertaining to molecule. A very small particle of matter.
=Muscarine.= A poisonous alkaloid obtained from Agaricus muscarius.
=Mydriasis.= A preternatural or morbid dilatation of the pupil of the
eye.
=Myxedema.= The name given to a condition characterized by a
hyperplastic and modified deposit of connective tissue in all parts
of the body.
=Narcosis.= The progress of narcoma or the production of narcotism by
drugs, as opium, or by poisonous products originating in the body.
Narcoma, stupor, or the state of being under the influence of
narcotic medicine.
=Necrotized.= Lifeless.
=Nephritis.= Inflammation of the kidneys, which, when acute, involves
chiefly the renal parenchyma, and, when chronic, either the
parenchyma or the connective tissue or both.
=Neural.= Belonging to nerves.
=Neurasthenia.= Nervous debility. Nervous prostration. An exhausted
condition with irritability; a functional derangement of the nervous
system, either spinal or cerebral, due usually to overwork or other
excessive expenditure of energy.
=Neuroglia.= The tissue, probably of ectodermic origin, forming the
basis of the supporting framework of the nervous tissue of the
cerebrospinal axis.
=Neuron.= The cerebrospinal axis.
=Neuropathic Constitution.= The nervous diathesis: that constitution of
body and mind which predisposes to nervous disease.
=Nuclein.= The phosphorized proteid or nitrogenous substance found in
cell-nuclei. It is believed to furnish the functional activity of
the cell.
=Omnivorous.= Feeding or subsisting on food of all kinds.
=Oöphorectomy.= Excision of one ovary.
=Opsonin.= From opsono, “I prepare the ground for.” An undetermined,
unstable substance in the serum of the blood that renders bacteria
more susceptible to ingestion by phagocytes.
=Osteomalacia.= A chronic disease marked by progressive softening of all
bones, due to the loss of their earthy constituents, so that they
become flexible and fragile and unable to support the body.
=Oxidation.= The combining of a certain quantity of oxygen with metals
or other substances. The formation of an oxide.
=Palpation.= Examination by the hand or by touch: manipulation of a part
with the fingers for the purpose of determining the condition of the
underlying organs.
=Pancreas.= A long, flat, racemose gland of a reddish color situated in
the epigastric region beneath the stomach on a level with the first
to the third lumbar vertebræ. Its function is an important part of
the digestion of proteids, fats, and carbohydrates.
=Parametritis.= Inflammation of the connective tissues in the immediate
vicinity of the uterus.
=Parathyroid.= Situated beside the thyroid gland. One of the small
glands, usually four to five in number, distinct from the accessory
thyroids, lying along the lateral lobes, and possessing an important
internal secretion independent of the thyroid gland.
=Parenchymatous Tissue, Pulp Tissue.= The tissue forming the pulp or
parenchyma of an organ.
=Pathology.= The doctrine or consideration of diseases, and, in a broad
sense, of every deviation from normal structure, composition, or
function. That branch of medicine which treats of disease, their
origin, nature, and termination, special attention being paid to the
disorders of function and alterations of structure preceding and
resulting therefrom.
=Perchloride.= A chloride containing more chlorine than a protochloride.
=Percussion.= The act of striking any part of the body with the fingers,
or with an instrument, to ascertain its condition by the sound
obtained.
=Pericardium.= The membranous bag which contains the heart. It consists
of an external layer of fibrous tissue and an internal serous layer,
the latter of which surrounds the heart.
=Peristalsis.= A peculiar worm-like movement of the intestines and other
tubular organs by which they gradually propel their contents onward.
=Pernicious.= Highly dangerous.
=Phagocytosis.= The ingestion of foreign bodies, microbes, etc., by the
action of phagocytes (certain of the colorless blood-cells).
=Pigmentation.= The coloring matter in the skin.
=Pituitary Body.= The small ellipsoidal body which rests on the sella
turcica and is attached to the base of the brain by a pedicle.
=Plethoric.= Fullness; a state marked by excess of blood in the vessels.
=Plexus Myentericus.= Auerbach’s plexus. A plexus of sympathetic fibers
between the longitudinal and circular intestinal muscle-fibers.
=Pneumococcus (of Friedländer).= The bacterium of pneumonia.
=Polydipsia.= Excessive thirst.
=Polyuria.= A disease characterized by thirst and by a persistently
excessive flow of watery urine.
=Porosity.= The state of having pores.
=Portal Veins.= The large veins entering the liver at the transverse
fissure and bringing to it the blood from the digestive tract and
the spleen.
=Prognosis.= The foreknowledge of the course of a disease drawn from a
consideration of its signs and symptoms.
=Proliferation.= Reproduction of similar forms, both normal and morbid,
but especially applied to cell-genesis.
=Propagation.= Reproduction.
=Prophylaxis.= The art of guarding against disease. The observation of
the rules necessary to the preservation of health, or the prevention
of disease.
=Proteid.= Any one of a class of complex, nitrogenous, levorotatory
organic compounds forming the essential part of animal and vegetable
tissues.
=Protozoa.= The name for the primary type of lowest division of the
animal kingdom.
=Psoriasis.= A cutaneous disease, characterized by a rough, scaly
cuticle, continuous, or in separate, irregular patches, generally
with fissures of the skin, and occurring especially on the extensor
surfaces of the body.
=Psychoses.= Disturbances of the mind.
=Ptosis.= A falling, or prolapsus, especially applied to a drooping of
the upper eyelid due to paralysis of the levator palpebræ superioris
muscle.
=Puerperium.= The state or period of confinement of a pregnant female.
=Pyrexia.= The state of fever.
=Radicle.= An ultimate division of a vessel or nerve.
=Retrograde-metamorphosis.= The process by which somewhat complex bodies
are broken up into simpler ones, and in the end into waste products.
=Salicylate.= A salt of salicylic acid.
=Sebaceous.= Fatty. Suety. Applied to glands which secrete an oily
matter resembling suet.
=Segmentation.= The process of division by which the fertilized ovum
divides before differentiation into layers occurs.
=Sella Turcica.= The depression within the three clinoid processes of
the sphenoid bone, lodging the pituitary body.
=Senility.= Old age.
=Septicemia.= Blood poisoning. Fever and prostration due to the entrance
of pyogenic or other micro-organisms or ptomaines into the
circulation.
=Serum.= The clear liquid which separates in the clotting of blood from
the clot and the corpuscles, or any clear liquid resembling it.
=Skeletal.= Of or relating to a skeleton.
=Spermatorrhea.= An involuntary emission of semen without copulation.
=Spermin.= A preparation of the prostate gland and testicle of animals.
=Subcutaneous.= Situated, introduced, or living just under the skin.
=Sudorific.= Inducing or causing sweat.
=Suppurative.= Producing or discharging pus.
=Tabes Dorsalis.= Locomotor ataxia. A chronic disease due to
degeneration and sclerosis of the posterior columns of the spinal
cord, and marked by lightning-like flashes of pain and a peculiar
gait.
=Tachycardia.= A disturbed condition of the heart’s action in which
great acceleration of the pulse occurs.
=Tertiary.= Third degree.
=Theobromine.= A bitter, colorless, crystalline powder, capable of
forming salts with acids, and sparingly soluble in hot water.
=Thymus.= A bilobed, elongated body which develops from the entoderm of
the last two visceral clefts, and is situated in the neck and thorax
of the newborn child.
=Thyroid Gland.= A reddish organ, one of the so-called ductless glands,
giving rise to one or more internal secretions and situated in front
of and on either side of the trachea.
=Thyroidectomy.= Excision of the thyroid gland or of its cartilage.
=Tonicity.= The state of normal tone or tension.
=Tortuosity.= Bent or twisted irregularly.
=Transudation.= The morbid passing or oozing of blood, or other fluid,
practically unaltered, through the pores of the skin or membranes.
=Trypanosome.= One of any species of trypanosoma. The organism is a
spindle-shaped, more or less elongated, protoplasmic body,
containing two chromatic masses, a centrosome generally placed at
the posterior end and a larger nucleus mesially situated, with a
flagellum and an undulatory membrane, starting from the centrosome,
and running along the protoplasmic body.
=Trypanosomiasis.= A diseased condition produced by trypanosomes.
=Trypsin.= A ferment of pancreatic juice which has the power of
converting proteids into peptones, best in alkaline solution, but
also active in neutral solution.
=Unesthetic.= Not having lost sensation.
=Unossified.= Not having formed bone.
=Urea.= A white, transparent, crystallizable solid, the principal solid
constituent of urine.
=Uric Acid.= A crystalline substance obtained from urine.
=Urotoxic.= Relating to the poisonous elements of the urine.
=Urticaria.= “Hives.” An exanthematous fever characterized by an
eruption like the elevations produced on the skin by the sting of a
nettle, and attended with burning and itching.
=Vascularization.= The act or process of becoming vascular, as in
neoplasms, thrombi, etc., or furnished with new blood-vessels.
=Vasodilatation.= Widening of the walls of the blood-vessels; admitting
more blood to the periphery.
=Vermicular.= Worm-like.
=Viscosity.= Adhesiveness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX.
Abderhalden, 333, 336.
Abelard, 43.
Abelmann, 447.
Abelous, 161.
Achard, 204, 286.
Acne, microbes in, 213.
Acton, 391.
Adami, 9, 150, 156.
Adcock, Sir Hugh, 43.
Adler and Hensel, 162.
Adler, Isaac, 107, 169, 366.
Adler, Max, 322.
Adrenals and circulatory system, hygiene of, 164.
adrenal hypersecretion, 165.
adrenals and cardiac nerves, 164.
agencies, harmful, to avoid, 166.
arteriosclerosis, 164, 165.
causes of, 165.
high blood-pressure and, 164.
and kidney disease, 165.
blood-test for, 165.
preventives of, 168.
atheroma, 164.
mental emotions, 165.
sexual glands, 165.
thyroid gland, 166.
tobacco a stimulant of, 427.
Aeschbacher, 431.
Age, old, blood-drinking for, 332.
commandments for, 455.
milk diet for. See _Diet, milk_.
premature, from alcohol, 352.
prevention and treatment of,
arsenic, 426.
for women, 427.
for sexual glands, 429.
in mineral waters, 428.
gland, thyroid, 434.
iodides for, 431.
for arteriosclerosis, 431.
iron, 429.
for sexual glands, 429.
kidney extracts, 445.
ovarian extracts, 440.
pancreatic extracts, 445.
prostatic extracts, 445.
spermin, 444.
testicular extracts, 441.
value of vegetarian diet to prevent, 311.