Eugenics in race and state.

  • International Congress of Eugenics
Date:
1923
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Eugenics in race and state. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    357/534 (page 341)
    ENDOCRINES, DEFECTIVE GERM-PLASM, AND HEREDITARY DEFECTIVENESS WILLIAM S. SADLER The Chicago Therapeutic Insliiute Frankly, the purpose of this paper is to call the attention of the biologists and geneticists here assembled to the great dearth of practical knowledge in the realms of medicine regarding the rôle of hormones—those secretions of the so-called ductless glands or endocrine system. Clinical experience in the use of these substances has been highly un¬ satisfactory up to the present time, and results are in many cases even apparently contradictory. The discussion of endocrine therapy in a medical convention usually resolves itseK down to a matter, largely, of personal opinion. In my effort to secure the consensus of opinion in this country regarding endocrines, I estimated that there were approximately about one thousand persons whose opinions and experience it would be helpful to know, and whose suggestions might be valuable in reference to future research. Ac¬ cordingly I prepared ten questions which I sent out in the form of a ques¬ tionnaire to the representative zoologists, biologists, geneticists, eugenists, neurologists, psychiatrists, as well as educators and others having large contact with the feebleminded, defective and delinquent classes. The tabulation of the answers to this questionnaire is sufficient to show the chaotic state of both opinion and information regarding various phases of ductless gland knowledge in this coimtry at the present time. Question 1. Do you hold an opinion that certain forms of hereditary physical and mental defects may possibly be due to endocrine abnormalities, as well as direct defec¬ tiveness of the germ-plasm? Do you think it possible that deficiencies in the ductless gland system or internal secretions of the pregnant mother could contribute, directly or indirectly, to either mental or physical defectiveness or retardation in the offspring? Seventy-four per cent of those replymg believed that endocrine disturb¬ ances in the mother were responsible for hereditary defectiveness. Three per cent held that such defects were only due to defective germ-plasm, while 23 per cent were noncommittal, or declined to offer an opinion in answer to this query. 341