The pituitary gland senses when hormone levels are imbalanced and tells glands to adjust accordingly. Steinach held a simplistic view of testosterone, but his failure led researchers to discover hormone regulation. Clients included Yeats, who reported a creative period and increased sexual drive. Eugen Steinach believed vasectomies would produce more testosterone in the testes. In the 1920s, men underwent an operation to recapture their youth. The success inspired medical researchers to try to enhance healthy people by increasing normal hormone levels. In 1921, Banting injected his insulin extract into Leonard Thompson, saving his life. Pancreatic Insulin Breakthrough (03:00)įrederick Banting's breakthrough experiments isolated pancreatic insulin in dogs. In the late 19th century, the pancreas was shown to produce insulin and digestive enzymes, which complicated efforts to use the pancreas to produce a diabetes cure. Without insulin production, children couldn't store energy and starved. Wass shrank Greener's tumor and stopped his growth. In 1909, Harvey Cushing hypothesized that a pituitary gland tumor was responsible for the condition. Wass' patient Chris Greener suffered a growth hormone overproduction during childhood. Hormones also have different time scales, and can accumulate in the body. Each is aimed at a target cell matching its specific chemical structure, and signals that cell to behave in a certain way. Ernest Starling coined the term "hormones." Hormone Function (02:23) Josef Halban transplanted ovaries into guinea pigs, where they continued to function-proving they were unrelated to the nervous system and worked through internal chemical secretions. They believed the nervous system controlled the body, and that the ovaries were nerve centers the procedure caused early menopausal symptoms. In the 19th century, doctors removed women's ovaries to treat mental disorders. He found that injecting adrenal gland extracts narrowed arteries, increasing blood pressure. George Oliver invented an arteriomotor to measure artery diameter. Horsley's student George Murray processed sheep's thyroids into a liquid that he injected into patients, with positive results. First Successful Endocrine Therapies (03:45) He experimented with transplanting sheep's thyroids into human patients-with short term success. Victor Horsley proved that thyroid deficiencies caused cretinism and myxedema. His results were likely due to a placebo effect, but the 1890s saw a series of endocrinology breakthroughs. Organotherapy (02:31)īrown-Séquard's elixir peaked medical interest in the healing properties of endocrine glands. In 1889 at age 72, Charles Brown-Séquard injected a mixture of testicular blood and semen that he claimed rejuvenated him. Eternal Youth Experiment (03:38)īerthold discovered testosterone, but the scientific community ignored his findings. He deduced that the testes released chemicals that traveled through the blood. He transplanted testes into the abdomens of capons and found they could maintain male characteristics. In 1849, Arnold Berthold experimented with chickens to learn about castration. No one understood why they affected so many body parts. Learn other anatomical differences that resulted from removing the testes. Endocrine System Mystery (04:22)įarinelli, an 18th century opera singer, was castrated before puberty to maintain his vocal purity. In this film, endocrinologist John Wass will trace their discoveries through medical history and examine cutting edge endocrine research. Hormones control nearly everything in the body, but our understanding of them is relatively recent. Biological Chemicals in the Body (03:26) FREE PREVIEW
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