of these factories is their secretions. For instance, the sweat glands manufacture perspiration, the lachrymal glands manufacture tears. [29] “The thyroid gland—the most interesting of all—consists of two dark-red masses in the neck, above the windpipe, and near the larynx. A narrow strip of the same tissue connects them. The secretion of the thyroid glands is called thyroxin, and it contains a relatively high per cent of iodine. The more thyroid a person has the faster does he live. An abundance of thyroid causes one to feel, sense, and think more quickly. The less he has the slower will be his mental processes. And the thyroid gland puts iodine into our blood. “Sea water, you know, contains iodine. And as man was originally a creature of the sea, iodine is necessary to his existence. There is little or no iodine in the food we eat, so, when man became a land animal, Nature gave him the thyroid gland to supply him with this necessary element. In certain parts of the world—in high altitudes and fresh-water regions—the water does not contain enough iodine. In such regions goiter is prevalent. “To sum up very briefly the workings of the thyroid gland, life is worth while when it is sufficiently active; and when it is not, life is a burden to the unfortunate[30] individual so affected. It is my belief, then, that when we come to know more about the glands we will realize that man is regulated by them. Then we will be more tolerant, won’t we?—and seek to rectify the errors rather than condemn promiscuously? [30] “It would be next to impossible for me to tell you all that has been discovered about the functions of the various glands. There are the thyroids, the pituitary, the adrenals, the pineal, the thymus, the interstitial, the parathyroids, and the pancreas to be dealt with; but for you and me the thyroids are by far the most important. And I regret to say that I am not in a position to go into the matter thoroughly with you at this time.” “But you haven’t told me anything!” she expostulated. He looked at her gravely. “I really do not feel free to discuss the subject,” he said. “I hope you’ll pardon me.” Her dark eyes showed a trace of embarrassment as she turned them upon his face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I guess it was stupid of me to ask a specialist to disclose his secrets to me.”
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