Читать книгу Old Age Deferred. The causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures онлайн

81 страница из 141

Extirpation of the adrenals is also followed by important alterations in the nervous system, as was noted by Jersoni and others. Also, in Addison’s disease, which is accompanied by a degeneration of these glands, we notice a diminution of the intellect together with a general mental depression.

The influence of the ductless glands on character, and the change in the same after alterations in those glands, may easily lead to crime, as the two principal barriers against crime are will-power, by which we control our passions; and sound judgment, by which we distinguish right from wrong. It is evident that a cretinous or myxœdematous person will have no great will-power, for this, as already shown, is dependent on the thyroid secretion; nor do they possess intelligent sound judgment enough to realize what is right; and, as the possible consequences of their defective action, castrated persons, as above shown, are more attracted to crimes due to avarice or cruelty. Those who are interested in this question may read our lecture delivered before the Medical Jurisprudence Society in Philadelphia,^[97] in which we endeavored to prove in detail our assertions that the origin of crime is due to nervous changes succeeding alterations of the ductless glands. As persons of advanced age often have a complete atrophy of the sexual glands, changes in their character may be explained on these grounds.