Lectures on the Thyroid

For the subject of this lecture I have chosen certain aspects of the fundamental question, "What makes us tick?" "What makes us tick as human beings" is perhaps relativelyeasy to answer. We might say the cerebral cortex or, if you prefer, the soul of man. The latter, however, gets us into theology, and I would prefer to stay out of that -at least at this time. "What makes us tick as animals" is a more complicated question. There is involved not only our cerebral cortex but our adrenal cortices as well, to say nothing of the rest, both of our nervous systems and of our endocrine systems. The great dynamic integrative mechanisms of the animal body are the nervous and circulatory systems and the endocrine system, which employs the circulation as its conveyor. These systems, which are integrated with one another, together play an indispensable role in the integration of the higher animal in its entirety. But, one may ask, "What of the amoeba?" This lowly being seemingly gets on well without either an endocrine or a nervous system, yet it behaves as a beautifully integrated organism, better perhaps in some respects than man. Who, for example, ever heard of a schizophrenic amoeba? Does the amoeba make substances bearing any resemblance to hormones, or does it get on quite well without them? I suspect that it gets on without them, and that integration in single-celled existence is achieved through regulation of the rate of one enzyme system by the accumulated products of another enzyme system. We may call this enzymatic Asserting that clinical practice should rest on sound scientific theory and research, Dr. J. H. Means discusses the life story of the thyroid hormone. He explains the integrative action of the endocrine system, the elaboration of the thyroid hormone, and the significance of its structure and of its action in end organs. The use of hormones, drugs, and radiation in the management of thyroid diseases is the central problem of the book. The author continues with an exploration of the etiology of Graves’s disease, and he concludes with a section devoted to the needs for iodine. The relation of the pituitary gland to the function of the thyroid is thoroughly covered. PREFACE CONTENTS 1. The integrative action of the endocrine system 2. The thyroid hormone 3. The use of hormones, drugs, and radiations in the management of thyroid diseases 4. Clues to the etiology of Graves’s disease 5. The need for Iodine REFERENCES INDEX