Old Age Deferred: The causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measuresLorand, Arnold
Science
Old Age Deferred: The causes of old age and its postponement by hygienic and therapeutic measures
Lorand, Arnold
Hygiene; Longevity; Old age
About a hundred years ago it was shown by Gall—who was attacked by
several authors, among them Rieger, as innovations always are, but who
was also successfully defended by the celebrated German nerve specialist
and philosopher, Moebius[93]—that castrated animals or persons have an
alteration in the back part of the skull indicating an impoverishment of
the cerebellum. And, indeed, he produces his own evidence and that of
several other authorities, Darnecy, Rousseau, etc., which gives the
history of several autopsies on castrated persons, all of whom showed an
atrophy of this structure. In cases where only one of the testicles was
destroyed, this atrophy was always present in the hemisphere of the
small brain on the opposite side.
Footnote 93:
Moebius: “Die Wirkungen der Castration,” Halle, 1902.
It has been found by numerous authorities that the skull and brain of
castrated animals and persons is smaller than the normal. Gall[94] noted
this fact, and after him Vimont,[95] from experiments on animals; and,
according to the latter observer castration of both sides produces a
considerable diminution of the cerebellum. Leuret and Hoffmann[96] found
a diminution of the head in horses, sheep, and pigs after such an
operation, and that the other parts of the skeleton are always altered
is a fact recorded by a large number of authorities as stated already.
Footnote 94:
Gall: “Anatomie et Physiologie du Système nerveux,” T. iii., p. 108,
Paris, 1818.
Footnote 95:
Vimont: “Traité de Phrenologie humaine et compareè,” two vols. et
atlas, vol. ii., p. 233, Paris, 1835.
Footnote 96:
Hoffmann: “Ueber die Castration der Hausthiere Schneidermühls Thier
medecin,” Vorträge ii., 12. 1892.
As we have pointed out above, any alteration of the testicles or ovaries
is followed by nervous disturbances, and, consequently, the total
removal of these glands produces far more deleterious effects, and these
will vary according to whether such persons have been castrated at an
early age or later. In these latter cases nervous disorders will be more
acutely felt, and as the celebrated French authority, Dupuytren, states,
melancholia is a common phenomenon in castrated men. According to more
recent observations in cases of enlargement of the prostate that have
been treated by castration, the patients exhibit melancholia. We may
here remark that the testicles and the prostate are in close relation,
the latter always becoming atrophied after castration. There is
experimental evidence to show that a too large amount of testicular or
ovarian secretion may produce toxic effects. Thus, Loisel, by injecting
testicular or ovarian extracts into animals, could produce toxic
symptoms in every instance. This may account for the fact mentioned
previously that persons living for a long time in complete sexual
abstinence, occasionally exhibit symptoms of disorder of the nervous
system.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account