HORMONES
These enzymes must not be confused with other internal secretions, such as thehormones.These are substances generated by the so-called ductless glands,—such as the thyroid, the pituitary, the adrenals, etc. These ductless glands secrete substances which when absorbed into the blood-stream greatly affect the life of the body, its functions, its structure and its growth, and to a certain extent at least the mental life. Researches in this field are of relatively recent origin, but of extreme importance. I have mentioned this subject at greater length in my little book on “Life: Its Origin and Nature,” in the present series, and the interested reader may refer to such a work as Dr. Louis Berman’s “The Glands Regulating Personality,” for further details.
There is no matter anywhere in the universe, living or dead, which modern chemistry does not attempt to analyze. Not only in the laboratory are these tests undertaken, with minute particles of matter. The very earth on which we dwell has been subjected to chemical analysis, and so have the stars, the planets and suns which circle around us in space,—perhaps separated from us by many millions of miles. The ability to do this is assuredly one of the greatest achievements of the mind of man, and represents one of the greatest conquests over nature, over time and space.