Normal Excretion of Sex Hormones in Childhood.1

Abstract

THE GLANDS of internal secretion are of great importance in childhood. Their three major functions are: to stimulate growth, to influence metabolic activities and to regulate physical metamorphosis of adolescence. The rate of growth and the resting metabolic rates (factors largely influenced by the secretion of the endocrine glands) have been discussed by others, but very little work has been done previously in regard to the third function. This investigation deals chiefly with the urinary excre-tion of the sex hormones, measurements which should indicate the rate of activity of the glands from which these secretions are derived. Development in normal youth is essentially a problem of normal activity of the pituitary gland and the ability of the peripheral endocrine organs to respond to its stimulation. Laboratory and clinical evidence indicate that without the normal func-tioning of this particular endocrine organ, the otherwise normal peripheral glands such as ovaries and testicles remain quiescent and ...