Co-relation of the ductless glands and the onset of labour. Reprinted from The Indian Medical Gazette. Vol. L. (No. 4, April, 1915.)A few notes on some experimental observations,
on the co-relation of the ductless glands during
pregnancy and factors determining the onset of
labour.I would like to draw attention to a sign
denoting the intrauterine death of the fetus,
which, as far as I understand, has been, up till now
overlooked, i.e., the presence of milk in the
mamma, within 3—5 days of the occurrence
(according to the period of pregnancy ; the earlier
the pregnancy is terminated, the later for the
milk to appear). This milk is a true milR secre¬
tion and not merely a watery colostrum. The
advantages of this knowledge concerning the
vitality of the fetus in doubtful cases will
readily be apparent, when alternatives in
operative interference are before the surgeon, in
complications during the latter months of
d—1 pregnancy. The presence of this true breast
secretion, in such cases, is constant and easy to
verify. The explanation is more obscure, and it
apparently depends entirely on the interaction of
the glandular hormones, in the economy of the
pregnant mother. This interaction is complex in
the non-pregnant state, and has so far been diffi¬
cult to elucidate, but much light is shed on the
correlation of the ductless glands and their
hormones by their behaviour during pregnancy,
and I might just briefly refer to some known facts
regarding this action, with such light as may be
thrown upon them, by some experiments of mine
continued during the last eight years
