Based upon clinical observations, we have advanced the theory that alterations of the ovaries are able to produce alterations also of the liver, and the circulation of the bile, with formation of gall-stones. Castration also produces alterations of the thyroid: first, its hyperactivity with increase of colloid substance, and, afterward, its degeneration. Castrated animals or persons seem to offer less resistance to infection, which may be on account of the connection, as shown by the experiments of Metschnikoff[103] and others, that the testicles are altered in infections, which has been shown to be equally the case with the ovaries (Professor Cornil). The sexual glands, as the ductless glands in general, have the duty also of protecting the body against the various kinds of intoxication and infections, as already emphasized. Footnote 103: Metschnikoff: Loc. cit. From the foregoing there can be no doubt that degenerated conditions of the sexual glands, by producing alterations in important organs, diminish vitality and the chances of an advanced old age. This seems also to apply to males, for there is no evidence showing that any eunuch has reached a very advanced age, whereas there is plenty of evidence of persons with strong sexual glands having lived far beyond 100 years. The vitality of persons if totally castrated is, as a rule, diminished. Again if we study the history of persons who attained the maximum span of life, we find many evidences of the existence of strong sexual impulses. Thomas Parr, who lived to nearly 153, has been accused of having committed a sexual offense in his 102d year, for which he was found guilty and punished. Reaching even a greater age, his sexual appetite does not seem to have diminished, for he married, eighteen years after, a widow, who said she could discover nothing that would betray his great age.