- Email: [email protected]
The ovarian function
'l'HE OV ARIAK BY "\lliLLIA1\i
P.
FUNCTION"~
GRAVES, ~,f.D., BosTOl'"~, l\~!Ass.
co:!~::~~~l~~l~Sf :~:y Ol::::tei~I~\:f~~~i: ~~::pS~/~:::~~~::i;~ almost demands an apology. In the minds of many of the profession and laity the ovary is firmly established as the supreme arbiter not only of the pelvic functions, but also of many of the general forces that control the physical and moral character of woman. The high estate that the ovary has attained in professional esteem has been greatly enhanced by its somewhat tardy initiation into the sacred association of the endocrine glands, and the general belief thus created of an important direct and indirect influence exerted on its more powerful and vital fellow org·ans. By the majority of surgeons the question of ovarian conservation has been regarded therefore as forever settled, and it has become a well-nigh universal canon that in the performance of radical pelvic surgery, ovarian tissue, even if it be only a minute vestigium, must whenever possible, be religiously preserved. Unhappily the serenity of this doctrine has recently been disturbed by the advent of radium in the treatment of fibroids and hemorrhagic myopathies involving as it does the frequent destruction of ovarian function, and the conservationist is now confronted from a new angle by the same old problem, which he had supposed to be so comfortably solved. Moreover there has existed a small minority of operators who have detected in the overenthusiastic preservation of ovarian tissue in certain radical pelvic operations a serious menace to the patient's health. They have suspected that the alleged influence of the ovary on the mature human organism may possibly be exaggerated, and they have recognized that a permanent absence of the ovarian function may in certain cases be less detrimental to the patient than an irritating impairment of function resulting from mutilated organs. These and other considerations have determined me to undertake this brief review of the subject. The first step in such a review is to make a frank inquiry of what value the ovaries actually are to the human organism. In answering this it must first be realized that the glands of internal secretion possess different functional values at different periods of the individual's existence. An extreme example is the thymus gland, which though important during early life atrophies and becomes completely rlefunctionated after the age of puberty. *Read before the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, December 1, 1921.
583
)84
'l'HE A::\IERIC.a::-f JOURNAL 01!' OBSTETRICS -~KD GYKECOLOGY
I'he ovary is no exception to this law. vuring the deveiopmental !Nriod it appears to act chiefly as an org·an of internal secretion and s of great importance in the attainment of the normal growth and naturity of the entire organistic structure, including the brain. To he practical gynecologist the early phase of the ovaries is of little moment, for the occasions during thiR period for the necessity of mterfering with the ovarian function are so rare and are of such
GRAVES:
THE OVARIAN FUNCTION
585
are the result of repressed sentimentalism or emotionalism induced by intervening external influences usually of a domestic nature. There is no definite nerve connection between the ovaries and the brain, the breaking of which may produce a psychotic change in the cerebrum. Atrophy of the external genitals is, on the other hand, a real tissue change, constant in occurrence and anatomically demonstrable. It has some definite relationship to the absence of ovarian activity, and is
theoretically due to a direct local action on the part of other gland or glands previously held in check by the ovarian secretion. The ovarian conservationists have much to say of the dangers of genital atrophy, and it is necessary to pause a moment on this point. Genital atrophy appears quickly after castration and radium defunctionation. It comes on more slowly at the normal menopause, often appearing at a considerable period before the cessation of catamenia. Postoperative atrophy is confined exclusively to the genitals with a later, often unnoticeable, effect on the breasts. It is not accompanied by atrophic degeneration in other parts of the body either physical or mental, such as W'"hitening of the hair, defects of the teeth, senility or other aspects of aging. Occasionally the local atrophy is extreme and causes distressing symptoms, and it is this outcome that the conservationalists have seized upon as one of their most potent arguments against the ablation of the ovaries during an operation of hysterectomy. It may be said, however, that abnormal postoperative atrophy is a rare occurrence, and is no more frequent after hystero-oophorectomy than after the natural menopause. Personal experience convinces me that in both cases the condition is due to a specific idiosyncrasy residing in the other glands of internal secretion, or possibly in the local tissues themselves. Patients of this type when not operated upon have an early menopause, and undergo a general premature senility. In other words artificial ablation or defunctionation of the ovaries in normally constituted individuals does not produce abnormal progressive genital atrophy even when performed in comparatively young women. The vasomotor disturbances of the artificial menopause need ouly a passing notice. They are not an inevitable sequence of ablation, occurring in about 80 per cent of cases. They appear with equal frequency after castration and radiation. They are more frequent, but of shorter duration, in the artificial than in the natural menopause, and are somewhat more frequent after a hysterectomy where the ovaries have been ablated than after one where the ovaries have been left in situ. They are of temporary duration lasting for an average of three or four months. They may be persistent in women of unstable nervous equilibrium, or in association with long standing disquieting postoperative complications, and especially following improperly performed hysterectomies that result in pelvic adhesions, or sagging of
086
THE AMERIC"\.N JOURNAL
Q]'
'OBSTE'l'RICS AXD GYNECOLOGY
: i1e pelvic suppor·tiug structure. The thousand and one other nervous
symptoms commonly ascribed to the influence of ablation are not in ;my sense definitely characteristic of the operation, occurring as they .lo with equal frequency after other surgical operations that do not ·.~ntail a removal of the ovaries. Consider now a -«·oman whose ovarian function has been terminated C!ither by surgery or by radium, and who has passed through the temporary disturbances of the menopause. Do we find in such a patient Jegenerative changes of an organic or functional nature that can be dscribed to the presence of ovarian activity? In our personal experiexception of the genital atrophy ·which ,,nce we do not, with the cl:'l we have pointed out is pathologically significant only in rare in,ranceR. Omitting the possible effects of unforeseen surgical complicawe find no impairment of any of the vital organs. ~either do we observe after close follow-up study of our cases extending over vears any specifically detrimental influence on the general nervous wganization. In fact in the majority of eases the reverse is true, for ,t;.; a rule the condition for which the operation or treatment was :nitiated, has been the Rource of nerve irritation, and its removal has c~onsequently served as a means of relief to the nervous system. This ;mportant phase of the subject I have discussed at length in other ~;apers.
follo·wing loss of The popular fallacies regarding bodily ,,, arian activity need something more than passing mention for even at the present day it is necessary frequently to discuss them ·with ')atients, when radical treatment for certain pelvic lesions is contem;)lated. One of the commonest and most extravagant of these super~titions is the £ear of a reversion, or perhaps one might more manifested by a :;orrectly say a metaphysis to the masculine ;leepening of the voice, appearance of facial hair and acquisition of male instincts and mental attributes. How so absurd a notion as this c:,1uld ever have attained such wide credence it is difficult to imagine. H can only be explained by an unreasoning converse analogy to the '1igh-pitched voices of eunuchs. It is quite probable that after full matmity ovarian defunctiona·:ion causes little if any impairment of sexual sensibility if such has Dreviously been normally established. Neither does it produce any ;liminution in intellectual energy and productivity, nor in the skill 'hat is dependent on nicely balanced physical reflexes. '"\Ve make this statement ·with confidence after the intimate observation of nrtists, singers, players of musical instruments, etc., who for various ~auses have been subjected to a loss of ovarian function by means .•f surgery or radium. A fear of the acquisition of abnormal fat after ovarian ablation
GRAVES;
THE OVARIAN
FUKCTIO~
587
is another popular superstition for which there is no foundation in e!X:perience when the operation has been. performed after !till mat1tr'ity. Certain .circulatory and chemical changes in the body have been noted after ablation, but these changes are inconstant and are of doubtful significance. After a study of cases observed over many yean; we are confirmed in onr belief that after complete constitutional maturity the chief province of the ovary is one of reproduction and that as an organ of internal secretion it is otherwise comparatively unimportant to the general human organism. This conclusion, contrary as it is to generally accepted beliefs, is one of unusual importance at the present time for the advent of radium with its astonishing influence on the functions of the pelvic organs is introducing new possibilities for treating certain ailments in the presen·ce of which we were formerly more or less helpless. In other words the question of the advisability of defunctionating ovarian activity in order to attain· certain constitutional results is one that is confronting the gynecologist more and more frequently. The bald statement of our views concerning the status of the ovary as an organ of internal secretion is peculiarly liable to misinterpretation, as the writer is well aware from previous experience. In order therefore to make our position as clear as possible, it is necessary to enumerate specific examples of the more important crises in which the question at issue is presented. The following is a brief recapitulation of our views based on personal experience. During the period of infancy and childhood the ovaries are essential as glands of internal secretion in growth and development either by their own agency or in intimate association with other more powerful organs. Their preservation is therefore all-important. Pelvic surgery is at that time, however, so rarely necessary that it needs no discussion here. After puberty the ovaries assume their role as reproductive organs, and probably continue in a gradually lessening degree to be of influence in development until the age of complete physical and mental maturity, the average of which may be set at about twenty-two years though it has >vide individual variation. During this period the ovaries should be sacredly preserved, both for their reproductive and secretory value. Omitting such rare conditions as bilateral dermoids, sarcomata, etc., the chief dangers that beset the ovaries between puberty and full maturity are the destructive processes of pelvic peritonitis, and the intractable menorrhagias. If operation is required for the former, it should be as conservative as possible, and should not be deferred until the inflammatory processes have destroyed the ovarian tissue beyond all possibility of repair. The entire endometrial
~)88
THE A~H:RIUAN JOURNAL OF OBSTE'rRICS J.ND GYNECOLOGY
:;urfaee should be spared. As much ovarian tissue as possible in both ~lvaries should be preserved, even if it involve;; tedious dissection from shreds. I£ together of ;Jeds of adhesions and careful tissue ovarian of auto-transplantation sacrificed be both tubes must into the uterine cornua should be carried out to furnish at least a :·i1ance for future impregnation. The severe intractable menorrhagias 11·hich in former times occasionally required a radical pelvic operation iU'e fortunately now entirely amenable to radium. Radium may be ,tpplied in these immature cases with practically no danger of termimenstruation, or of causing permanent sterility. By judicious dosage the excessive flow may be modulated and the periods restored with more or less aceuracy to a normal rhythm. In our earlier cases e were greatly apprehensive of establishing a complete menopause 'u these young girls, but our experience seems to prove that the Younger the ovary the more difficult it is to stop the menses by ~adiation.
In the decade following the establishment of full maturity the in'egrity of the ovaries should be carefully guarded for this is the most nnportant child-bearing epoch of the woman's life. Hence from this ;.;tandpoint all that has been said regarding pelvic inflammation and ~uenorrhagia of prematurity applies also to this period. In addition w these two affections, one must also take into consideration in the third decade the not infrequent appearance of bleeding or rapidly :;?,"rowing fibroids. These must be treated with the utmost regard to }treserving the reproductive power. Unless there be some serious con;;titutional contraindication to surgical operation fibroids at this age -.,hould not he treated by radium since their growth can be inhibited mly by a dosage of radium that will also terminate the menses, and uroduce sterility. Pibroids at this age should in all cases wherever physically possible be treated by myomectomy with a conscientious safeguarding of the endometrium and ovarian tissues. Even extensive dissections are permissible, but extreme care should be exercised in repairing rhe uterus thus mutilated, to prevent weak areas in the wall that may mpture in future pregnancies. Inasmuch as the ovaries have fulfilled their chief function as organs ot internal secretion in the early part of the third decade, and are thenceforward less necessary to the constitutional well-being of the natient, they demand from that partic711ar standpoint correspondingly 1.ess consideration if the question arises of their ablation in order to J.ttain a permanent cure. In order to make this point clear, let us take a specific example. ~tssnme that a woman of twenty-seven, married and with two living children, has been suffering from a chronic pelvic inflammation that tequires operation. The patient is poor, and does her own work. She
GRAVES :
THE OVARIAN FUKCTION
589
stipulates that she wishes never to have another operation. On opening the abdomen the adnexa are found extensively involved. It would be possible to leave only sufficient ovarian and endometrial tissue to maintain for a while a scanty menstruation. The possibility of restoring fertility is out of the question. In such a case in our personal practice, we should not hesitate to make a clean sweep of the pelvis by a supra vaginal hysterectomy with removal of the adnexa. We should consider ihe incomplete prese'rvation of the ovarian function as of little weight in comparison with the chance of reformation of adhesions, recurring invalidism and a future operation, or if such he not the case the liklihood of a premature, prolonged and disquieting menopause. In this case we have made our decision of radicalism only after taking the patient's social condition into careful consideration. In ablating the ovaries we have done so with a clear conscience, confident that the absence of ovarian activity will do the patient no permanent harm, and that our operation has given the best assurance of freedom from future invalidism that might otherwise result from a recurrence of her pelvic disability, had extreme conservatism been carried out. We may summarize by saying that during the third decade conRervatism should be observed as far as possible but that if radicalism seems necessary for the patient's "\Velfare, it may be practiced "\vithout fear of injury from the loss of ovarian function. Complete defunctionation by radium is. rarely necessary during this period. During the fourth decade of life, occasions raising the question of ovarian preservation or ablation multiply rapidly. During the early thirties much the same conditions obtain as during the third decade and the same rules are in general to be observed. As the years go on however and one enters the second hal£ of thiR period, that is, the age from thirty-five to forty, women have in the majority of cases established their families or have beeome reconciled to a life of sterility or maidenhood. The question of safeguarding the reproductive function becomes gradually less poignant. The gynecologist is correspondingly better prepared to meet at this age the newer problems of treatment that are evolving from our increasing experience with radium. These problems appertain chiefly to the treatment o£ menstrual disorders, and embrace such conditions as menorrhagia from uterine insufficiency, men.orrhagia from fibroids, severe menstrual headaches, uncontrollable dysmenorrhea, periodic psychoneuroses, and the various other ailments that depend for their existence on the presence o£ the menses. The value of radium in terminating ovarian and menstrual function in this class of cases is :now firmly established.
j!:JQ
THE _UlERlUA:\f JOCRXAL 01'' 0B8:L'ETHlCS _\.XD GYXECOLOGY
j.fter the age of forty there is a great iucrease in the munher ~H' uelvic diseases, the treatment of ·which both by surgery and radiation .lemands for the best interest of the ' future an 'tblation or defunctionation of the ovaries. During this decade the !.mportance of the ovary as an organ of internal secretion becomes :ess and less significant until hy the middle of the period it need ;;earcely be regarded at all, except from a purel~r sentimental stand:)oint. This decade of a woman's life is the age nf hysterectomies and t'or the sake of completenes:'l it is necessary to repeat here our personal 1·iews regarding the retention of ovaries in operations that require a t"emoval of the uterus. These views have been expressed me in rhe literature so frequently and discussed at such length that only ·he following brief statement is required: 'i'f{e do not believe in ~caving the ovaries h~ sitn in operations where a removal of the :.tterns is necessary. Our reasons for this belief may be summarized without further discussion by saying that experience has convinced us fhat ovaries left in siht though possibly diminishing to some extent the vasomotor disturbances of the artificial menopause are of no permanent benefit, but on the other hand may be the source of later serious complications. \Ye may add parenthetically that we also do not believe in those •nutilating operations, such as arc enthusiastically exploited by Blair Bell, of Liverpool, that seek to preserve minute portions of the ovaries and endometrium so as to maintain some semblance of the menstrual function. Such operations in our experience often lead to ,t premature, long-drawn out and distressing menopause, and may 1ecome associated with serious psychoneurotic states. If menstruacion is to be preserved, enough tissue should be left to maintain full menstrual activity. It remains now to discu;;;s the ovary from the standpoint of glandular therapeutics, Once more it is necessary to emphasize our estimate of the ovary a;; an organ of internal flecretion. Be it remembered that we do not deny the existence of an ovarian secretion, but we do maintain that after the age of full maturity it is devoted to the function of ''eproduction, and is of comparatively little· importance to the general organism in its other capacities. This theor~· seems to be substantiated the therapeutic eff.eets of ovarian extracts, for we find by experi" :mce that the influence exerted by ovarian substance iR eyident onl;r :n some relationship with the reproductiYe mechanism. 'l'hus we find that ovarian therapy is yaluable in treating the hot flushes of the artificial ancl natural menopause. It has an uncertain but nevertheless unequivoeal effect on certain dysmenorrheas. The
BAILEY: . METABOLISM STUDIES IN J<'ETAI, PERIOD
591
same. may be said of its influence in cases of amenorrhea, delayed menses, clotting, menstrual headaches, etc. \Ve have in our experience an increasing number of cases which seem to prove that it may stimulate fertility. Even at its best the action of ovarian extract is uncertain and excepting· in occasional brilliant instances rather feeble. Outside its specific relationship to the reproductive functions, the influence of ovarian substance on the rest of the bodily organism is slight. 244 1\IARLBOROUGH STREET.
(For discussion, see p. 663.)
THE APPLICATION OF METABOLISM STUDIES TO THE FE'l'AL AND NEONATAL PERIODS OF LIFE* BY HAROLD BAILEY,
M.D.,
NEw
YoRK,
N.
Y.
.dssociate Professor· of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cornell Umversity
C
ONSIDERABI,E attention by lay org·anizations and nursing bodie'l has been directed toward prenatal and postnatal care with the object of reducing infant mortality. Two-thirds of obstetric practice is in the hands of midwives and doctors untrained in this special branch of surgery and the maternity center organizations have done a great work in calling the attention of the public to the lack of scientific care in the treatment of the pregnant and parturient woman. Maternal mortality of pregnancy and labor has not been greatly reduced and the upward trend of other branches of modern surgery has left this subject behind. Infant mortality from stillbirths and deaths in the first month of life is as hig·h as 8.3 per cent (Cragin) 1 under the best conditions as regards obstetric care. In 10,000 cases from the Johns Hopkins Clinic 2 there were 7 per cent of infant deaths from the seventh month of pregnancy to two weeks postpartum and at the Sloane in the cases collected by Holt and Babbitt 3 for the same period of pregnancy and infant life, it was 7.2 per cent. The stillbirths at the Manhattan Maternity Hospital were 3.6 per cent in 14,468 births but the figures for the mortality during the first month are not available.4 Many of these stillbirths were due to accidents of labor (32 per cent at the Manhattan Maternity Hospital) or to syphilis or congenital anomalies but a considerable proportion were clue to prematurity. Of 389 cases collected by Cragin, of newborn infants dying from the hour of birth to the thirteenth day (series of 10,000, 3.89 per cent) 50.3 per cent were premature and 43.9 per cent had no other known abnormality than congenital weakness. Schwarz and Kohn,U found *Read at a meeting of the Acsociation Dece'mber 28, 1921.
for the Advancement of Science, Totonto, Ont.,
P.
FUNCTION"~
GRAVES, ~,f.D., BosTOl'"~, l\~!Ass.
co:!~::~~~l~~l~Sf :~:y Ol::::tei~I~\:f~~~i: ~~::pS~/~:::~~~::i;~ almost demands an apology. In the minds of many of the profession and laity the ovary is firmly established as the supreme arbiter not only of the pelvic functions, but also of many of the general forces that control the physical and moral character of woman. The high estate that the ovary has attained in professional esteem has been greatly enhanced by its somewhat tardy initiation into the sacred association of the endocrine glands, and the general belief thus created of an important direct and indirect influence exerted on its more powerful and vital fellow org·ans. By the majority of surgeons the question of ovarian conservation has been regarded therefore as forever settled, and it has become a well-nigh universal canon that in the performance of radical pelvic surgery, ovarian tissue, even if it be only a minute vestigium, must whenever possible, be religiously preserved. Unhappily the serenity of this doctrine has recently been disturbed by the advent of radium in the treatment of fibroids and hemorrhagic myopathies involving as it does the frequent destruction of ovarian function, and the conservationist is now confronted from a new angle by the same old problem, which he had supposed to be so comfortably solved. Moreover there has existed a small minority of operators who have detected in the overenthusiastic preservation of ovarian tissue in certain radical pelvic operations a serious menace to the patient's health. They have suspected that the alleged influence of the ovary on the mature human organism may possibly be exaggerated, and they have recognized that a permanent absence of the ovarian function may in certain cases be less detrimental to the patient than an irritating impairment of function resulting from mutilated organs. These and other considerations have determined me to undertake this brief review of the subject. The first step in such a review is to make a frank inquiry of what value the ovaries actually are to the human organism. In answering this it must first be realized that the glands of internal secretion possess different functional values at different periods of the individual's existence. An extreme example is the thymus gland, which though important during early life atrophies and becomes completely rlefunctionated after the age of puberty. *Read before the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, December 1, 1921.
583
)84
'l'HE A::\IERIC.a::-f JOURNAL 01!' OBSTETRICS -~KD GYKECOLOGY
I'he ovary is no exception to this law. vuring the deveiopmental !Nriod it appears to act chiefly as an org·an of internal secretion and s of great importance in the attainment of the normal growth and naturity of the entire organistic structure, including the brain. To he practical gynecologist the early phase of the ovaries is of little moment, for the occasions during thiR period for the necessity of mterfering with the ovarian function are so rare and are of such
GRAVES:
THE OVARIAN FUNCTION
585
are the result of repressed sentimentalism or emotionalism induced by intervening external influences usually of a domestic nature. There is no definite nerve connection between the ovaries and the brain, the breaking of which may produce a psychotic change in the cerebrum. Atrophy of the external genitals is, on the other hand, a real tissue change, constant in occurrence and anatomically demonstrable. It has some definite relationship to the absence of ovarian activity, and is
theoretically due to a direct local action on the part of other gland or glands previously held in check by the ovarian secretion. The ovarian conservationists have much to say of the dangers of genital atrophy, and it is necessary to pause a moment on this point. Genital atrophy appears quickly after castration and radium defunctionation. It comes on more slowly at the normal menopause, often appearing at a considerable period before the cessation of catamenia. Postoperative atrophy is confined exclusively to the genitals with a later, often unnoticeable, effect on the breasts. It is not accompanied by atrophic degeneration in other parts of the body either physical or mental, such as W'"hitening of the hair, defects of the teeth, senility or other aspects of aging. Occasionally the local atrophy is extreme and causes distressing symptoms, and it is this outcome that the conservationalists have seized upon as one of their most potent arguments against the ablation of the ovaries during an operation of hysterectomy. It may be said, however, that abnormal postoperative atrophy is a rare occurrence, and is no more frequent after hystero-oophorectomy than after the natural menopause. Personal experience convinces me that in both cases the condition is due to a specific idiosyncrasy residing in the other glands of internal secretion, or possibly in the local tissues themselves. Patients of this type when not operated upon have an early menopause, and undergo a general premature senility. In other words artificial ablation or defunctionation of the ovaries in normally constituted individuals does not produce abnormal progressive genital atrophy even when performed in comparatively young women. The vasomotor disturbances of the artificial menopause need ouly a passing notice. They are not an inevitable sequence of ablation, occurring in about 80 per cent of cases. They appear with equal frequency after castration and radiation. They are more frequent, but of shorter duration, in the artificial than in the natural menopause, and are somewhat more frequent after a hysterectomy where the ovaries have been ablated than after one where the ovaries have been left in situ. They are of temporary duration lasting for an average of three or four months. They may be persistent in women of unstable nervous equilibrium, or in association with long standing disquieting postoperative complications, and especially following improperly performed hysterectomies that result in pelvic adhesions, or sagging of
086
THE AMERIC"\.N JOURNAL
Q]'
'OBSTE'l'RICS AXD GYNECOLOGY
: i1e pelvic suppor·tiug structure. The thousand and one other nervous
symptoms commonly ascribed to the influence of ablation are not in ;my sense definitely characteristic of the operation, occurring as they .lo with equal frequency after other surgical operations that do not ·.~ntail a removal of the ovaries. Consider now a -«·oman whose ovarian function has been terminated C!ither by surgery or by radium, and who has passed through the temporary disturbances of the menopause. Do we find in such a patient Jegenerative changes of an organic or functional nature that can be dscribed to the presence of ovarian activity? In our personal experiexception of the genital atrophy ·which ,,nce we do not, with the cl:'l we have pointed out is pathologically significant only in rare in,ranceR. Omitting the possible effects of unforeseen surgical complicawe find no impairment of any of the vital organs. ~either do we observe after close follow-up study of our cases extending over vears any specifically detrimental influence on the general nervous wganization. In fact in the majority of eases the reverse is true, for ,t;.; a rule the condition for which the operation or treatment was :nitiated, has been the Rource of nerve irritation, and its removal has c~onsequently served as a means of relief to the nervous system. This ;mportant phase of the subject I have discussed at length in other ~;apers.
follo·wing loss of The popular fallacies regarding bodily ,,, arian activity need something more than passing mention for even at the present day it is necessary frequently to discuss them ·with ')atients, when radical treatment for certain pelvic lesions is contem;)lated. One of the commonest and most extravagant of these super~titions is the £ear of a reversion, or perhaps one might more manifested by a :;orrectly say a metaphysis to the masculine ;leepening of the voice, appearance of facial hair and acquisition of male instincts and mental attributes. How so absurd a notion as this c:,1uld ever have attained such wide credence it is difficult to imagine. H can only be explained by an unreasoning converse analogy to the '1igh-pitched voices of eunuchs. It is quite probable that after full matmity ovarian defunctiona·:ion causes little if any impairment of sexual sensibility if such has Dreviously been normally established. Neither does it produce any ;liminution in intellectual energy and productivity, nor in the skill 'hat is dependent on nicely balanced physical reflexes. '"\Ve make this statement ·with confidence after the intimate observation of nrtists, singers, players of musical instruments, etc., who for various ~auses have been subjected to a loss of ovarian function by means .•f surgery or radium. A fear of the acquisition of abnormal fat after ovarian ablation
GRAVES;
THE OVARIAN
FUKCTIO~
587
is another popular superstition for which there is no foundation in e!X:perience when the operation has been. performed after !till mat1tr'ity. Certain .circulatory and chemical changes in the body have been noted after ablation, but these changes are inconstant and are of doubtful significance. After a study of cases observed over many yean; we are confirmed in onr belief that after complete constitutional maturity the chief province of the ovary is one of reproduction and that as an organ of internal secretion it is otherwise comparatively unimportant to the general human organism. This conclusion, contrary as it is to generally accepted beliefs, is one of unusual importance at the present time for the advent of radium with its astonishing influence on the functions of the pelvic organs is introducing new possibilities for treating certain ailments in the presen·ce of which we were formerly more or less helpless. In other words the question of the advisability of defunctionating ovarian activity in order to attain· certain constitutional results is one that is confronting the gynecologist more and more frequently. The bald statement of our views concerning the status of the ovary as an organ of internal secretion is peculiarly liable to misinterpretation, as the writer is well aware from previous experience. In order therefore to make our position as clear as possible, it is necessary to enumerate specific examples of the more important crises in which the question at issue is presented. The following is a brief recapitulation of our views based on personal experience. During the period of infancy and childhood the ovaries are essential as glands of internal secretion in growth and development either by their own agency or in intimate association with other more powerful organs. Their preservation is therefore all-important. Pelvic surgery is at that time, however, so rarely necessary that it needs no discussion here. After puberty the ovaries assume their role as reproductive organs, and probably continue in a gradually lessening degree to be of influence in development until the age of complete physical and mental maturity, the average of which may be set at about twenty-two years though it has >vide individual variation. During this period the ovaries should be sacredly preserved, both for their reproductive and secretory value. Omitting such rare conditions as bilateral dermoids, sarcomata, etc., the chief dangers that beset the ovaries between puberty and full maturity are the destructive processes of pelvic peritonitis, and the intractable menorrhagias. If operation is required for the former, it should be as conservative as possible, and should not be deferred until the inflammatory processes have destroyed the ovarian tissue beyond all possibility of repair. The entire endometrial
~)88
THE A~H:RIUAN JOURNAL OF OBSTE'rRICS J.ND GYNECOLOGY
:;urfaee should be spared. As much ovarian tissue as possible in both ~lvaries should be preserved, even if it involve;; tedious dissection from shreds. I£ together of ;Jeds of adhesions and careful tissue ovarian of auto-transplantation sacrificed be both tubes must into the uterine cornua should be carried out to furnish at least a :·i1ance for future impregnation. The severe intractable menorrhagias 11·hich in former times occasionally required a radical pelvic operation iU'e fortunately now entirely amenable to radium. Radium may be ,tpplied in these immature cases with practically no danger of termimenstruation, or of causing permanent sterility. By judicious dosage the excessive flow may be modulated and the periods restored with more or less aceuracy to a normal rhythm. In our earlier cases e were greatly apprehensive of establishing a complete menopause 'u these young girls, but our experience seems to prove that the Younger the ovary the more difficult it is to stop the menses by ~adiation.
In the decade following the establishment of full maturity the in'egrity of the ovaries should be carefully guarded for this is the most nnportant child-bearing epoch of the woman's life. Hence from this ;.;tandpoint all that has been said regarding pelvic inflammation and ~uenorrhagia of prematurity applies also to this period. In addition w these two affections, one must also take into consideration in the third decade the not infrequent appearance of bleeding or rapidly :;?,"rowing fibroids. These must be treated with the utmost regard to }treserving the reproductive power. Unless there be some serious con;;titutional contraindication to surgical operation fibroids at this age -.,hould not he treated by radium since their growth can be inhibited mly by a dosage of radium that will also terminate the menses, and uroduce sterility. Pibroids at this age should in all cases wherever physically possible be treated by myomectomy with a conscientious safeguarding of the endometrium and ovarian tissues. Even extensive dissections are permissible, but extreme care should be exercised in repairing rhe uterus thus mutilated, to prevent weak areas in the wall that may mpture in future pregnancies. Inasmuch as the ovaries have fulfilled their chief function as organs ot internal secretion in the early part of the third decade, and are thenceforward less necessary to the constitutional well-being of the natient, they demand from that partic711ar standpoint correspondingly 1.ess consideration if the question arises of their ablation in order to J.ttain a permanent cure. In order to make this point clear, let us take a specific example. ~tssnme that a woman of twenty-seven, married and with two living children, has been suffering from a chronic pelvic inflammation that tequires operation. The patient is poor, and does her own work. She
GRAVES :
THE OVARIAN FUKCTION
589
stipulates that she wishes never to have another operation. On opening the abdomen the adnexa are found extensively involved. It would be possible to leave only sufficient ovarian and endometrial tissue to maintain for a while a scanty menstruation. The possibility of restoring fertility is out of the question. In such a case in our personal practice, we should not hesitate to make a clean sweep of the pelvis by a supra vaginal hysterectomy with removal of the adnexa. We should consider ihe incomplete prese'rvation of the ovarian function as of little weight in comparison with the chance of reformation of adhesions, recurring invalidism and a future operation, or if such he not the case the liklihood of a premature, prolonged and disquieting menopause. In this case we have made our decision of radicalism only after taking the patient's social condition into careful consideration. In ablating the ovaries we have done so with a clear conscience, confident that the absence of ovarian activity will do the patient no permanent harm, and that our operation has given the best assurance of freedom from future invalidism that might otherwise result from a recurrence of her pelvic disability, had extreme conservatism been carried out. We may summarize by saying that during the third decade conRervatism should be observed as far as possible but that if radicalism seems necessary for the patient's "\Velfare, it may be practiced "\vithout fear of injury from the loss of ovarian function. Complete defunctionation by radium is. rarely necessary during this period. During the fourth decade of life, occasions raising the question of ovarian preservation or ablation multiply rapidly. During the early thirties much the same conditions obtain as during the third decade and the same rules are in general to be observed. As the years go on however and one enters the second hal£ of thiR period, that is, the age from thirty-five to forty, women have in the majority of cases established their families or have beeome reconciled to a life of sterility or maidenhood. The question of safeguarding the reproductive function becomes gradually less poignant. The gynecologist is correspondingly better prepared to meet at this age the newer problems of treatment that are evolving from our increasing experience with radium. These problems appertain chiefly to the treatment o£ menstrual disorders, and embrace such conditions as menorrhagia from uterine insufficiency, men.orrhagia from fibroids, severe menstrual headaches, uncontrollable dysmenorrhea, periodic psychoneuroses, and the various other ailments that depend for their existence on the presence o£ the menses. The value of radium in terminating ovarian and menstrual function in this class of cases is :now firmly established.
j!:JQ
THE _UlERlUA:\f JOCRXAL 01'' 0B8:L'ETHlCS _\.XD GYXECOLOGY
j.fter the age of forty there is a great iucrease in the munher ~H' uelvic diseases, the treatment of ·which both by surgery and radiation .lemands for the best interest of the ' future an 'tblation or defunctionation of the ovaries. During this decade the !.mportance of the ovary as an organ of internal secretion becomes :ess and less significant until hy the middle of the period it need ;;earcely be regarded at all, except from a purel~r sentimental stand:)oint. This decade of a woman's life is the age nf hysterectomies and t'or the sake of completenes:'l it is necessary to repeat here our personal 1·iews regarding the retention of ovaries in operations that require a t"emoval of the uterus. These views have been expressed me in rhe literature so frequently and discussed at such length that only ·he following brief statement is required: 'i'f{e do not believe in ~caving the ovaries h~ sitn in operations where a removal of the :.tterns is necessary. Our reasons for this belief may be summarized without further discussion by saying that experience has convinced us fhat ovaries left in siht though possibly diminishing to some extent the vasomotor disturbances of the artificial menopause are of no permanent benefit, but on the other hand may be the source of later serious complications. \Ye may add parenthetically that we also do not believe in those •nutilating operations, such as arc enthusiastically exploited by Blair Bell, of Liverpool, that seek to preserve minute portions of the ovaries and endometrium so as to maintain some semblance of the menstrual function. Such operations in our experience often lead to ,t premature, long-drawn out and distressing menopause, and may 1ecome associated with serious psychoneurotic states. If menstruacion is to be preserved, enough tissue should be left to maintain full menstrual activity. It remains now to discu;;;s the ovary from the standpoint of glandular therapeutics, Once more it is necessary to emphasize our estimate of the ovary a;; an organ of internal flecretion. Be it remembered that we do not deny the existence of an ovarian secretion, but we do maintain that after the age of full maturity it is devoted to the function of ''eproduction, and is of comparatively little· importance to the general organism in its other capacities. This theor~· seems to be substantiated the therapeutic eff.eets of ovarian extracts, for we find by experi" :mce that the influence exerted by ovarian substance iR eyident onl;r :n some relationship with the reproductiYe mechanism. 'l'hus we find that ovarian therapy is yaluable in treating the hot flushes of the artificial ancl natural menopause. It has an uncertain but nevertheless unequivoeal effect on certain dysmenorrheas. The
BAILEY: . METABOLISM STUDIES IN J<'ETAI, PERIOD
591
same. may be said of its influence in cases of amenorrhea, delayed menses, clotting, menstrual headaches, etc. \Ve have in our experience an increasing number of cases which seem to prove that it may stimulate fertility. Even at its best the action of ovarian extract is uncertain and excepting· in occasional brilliant instances rather feeble. Outside its specific relationship to the reproductive functions, the influence of ovarian substance on the rest of the bodily organism is slight. 244 1\IARLBOROUGH STREET.
(For discussion, see p. 663.)
THE APPLICATION OF METABOLISM STUDIES TO THE FE'l'AL AND NEONATAL PERIODS OF LIFE* BY HAROLD BAILEY,
M.D.,
NEw
YoRK,
N.
Y.
.dssociate Professor· of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cornell Umversity
C
ONSIDERABI,E attention by lay org·anizations and nursing bodie'l has been directed toward prenatal and postnatal care with the object of reducing infant mortality. Two-thirds of obstetric practice is in the hands of midwives and doctors untrained in this special branch of surgery and the maternity center organizations have done a great work in calling the attention of the public to the lack of scientific care in the treatment of the pregnant and parturient woman. Maternal mortality of pregnancy and labor has not been greatly reduced and the upward trend of other branches of modern surgery has left this subject behind. Infant mortality from stillbirths and deaths in the first month of life is as hig·h as 8.3 per cent (Cragin) 1 under the best conditions as regards obstetric care. In 10,000 cases from the Johns Hopkins Clinic 2 there were 7 per cent of infant deaths from the seventh month of pregnancy to two weeks postpartum and at the Sloane in the cases collected by Holt and Babbitt 3 for the same period of pregnancy and infant life, it was 7.2 per cent. The stillbirths at the Manhattan Maternity Hospital were 3.6 per cent in 14,468 births but the figures for the mortality during the first month are not available.4 Many of these stillbirths were due to accidents of labor (32 per cent at the Manhattan Maternity Hospital) or to syphilis or congenital anomalies but a considerable proportion were clue to prematurity. Of 389 cases collected by Cragin, of newborn infants dying from the hour of birth to the thirteenth day (series of 10,000, 3.89 per cent) 50.3 per cent were premature and 43.9 per cent had no other known abnormality than congenital weakness. Schwarz and Kohn,U found *Read at a meeting of the Acsociation Dece'mber 28, 1921.
for the Advancement of Science, Totonto, Ont.,