Old age deferred : the prevention of the disabilities and diseases of old age / by Bernard Hollander, M. D.

  • Hollander, Bernard, 1864-1934.
Date:
[1933]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Old age deferred : the prevention of the disabilities and diseases of old age / by Bernard Hollander, M. D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    65/118 (page 53)
    The Thyroid Gland Probably the gland that is best known is the thyroid gland, a ductless gland situated in the neck, in front of and on either side of the windpipe. The thyroid gland sets the tempo for life. According to Crile, the thyroid gland is essential for the production of the kinetic drive, a term which implies an increased trans¬ formation of latent into active energy. As old age advances, the thyroid produces less and less energy, and we gather gradually the im¬ pression that we are growing weak, helpless, and that anything is too much for us. In brief, we begin to experience a feeling of inferiority. Then in the intervals of our blues, when we would undertake something of value demanding a certain expenditure of energy, we are assailed by doubts as to whether we are equal to our tasks. It is believed that the function of the thyroid secretion is to handle the iodine which enters the body as food, producing a compound which regulates the level of energy-production in the cells of the body, and has been shown to increase the electric conductivity of the brain. Consequently, if a man has a strong thyroid he will be mentally energetic; and, if he has a weak thyroid, he will be sluggish and lazy.