The Influence of Thyroid Feeding upon Poison- Ing by Acetonitrile

Speculation as to the functions of the thyroid glands has taken two main directions: some suppose that these organs elaborate an internal secretion which is of itself necessary for certain processes of metabolism, while others think that their chief function is to neutralize poisonous substances originating in the body (“enterotoxines”) or introduced into it from without (iodine, for example). In addition to these chemical theories a mechanical function (the prevention of an excessively high blood-pressure in the brain) has been ascribed to these organs. How divergent these various views are is shown by the fact that whereas some writers think that the iodine usually found in the thyroid represents a poisonous substance which has been rendered harmless by its union with proteids, others think. these organic iodine compounds are the physiologically important constituents of the organ; in fact it is claimed that the administration of certain organic halogen compounds goes far towards preventing the serious results of the removal of the thyroids. Notwithstanding the large amount of work which has been done on the thyroids and the many theories as to their functions, there seem to be no experiments on record in which it has been definitely shown that the thyroid can neutralize a poison. Such experiments are recorded in the following pages. Whether or no the poison used in these experiments (acetonitrile), or similar poisons, are involved in any pathological processes (as has been supposed by some), the fact that it is a substance of definite and known chemical composition makes it probable