t is one in whom there is degeneration of the pituitary
after too much action of the anterior and too little of the posterior
glands. A tumor or disease process in the gland is most often
responsible.

If the overaction of the anterior happens after puberty, when the
long bones have set, and can not grow longer, a peculiar diffuse
enlargement of the individual occurs, especially of his hands and feet
and head. The nose, ears, lips and eyes get larger and coarser.
As these people are rather big and tall to begin with, the effect
produced is that of a heavy-jawed, burly, bulking person, with bushy
overhanging eyebrows, and an aggressive manner. For there is, too,
something distinctive about their mentality which has been as often
portrayed as those of the pathologic giant. Rabelais' most famous
character, Gargantua, belongs to the group. We recruit more
drum-majors than prime ministers from among these people. They
often suffer much from torturing boring headaches, and a consequent
despondency and feeling of hopelessness which colors gray the entire
spiritual spectrum. Up to a certain point these sufferers have a
remarkable alertness and capacity. When conscious of the malady, they
often meet it with a doggedly courageous optimism, which is another
characteristic, although women occasionally commit suicide.

In both the semi-hibernators who remind one of cattle, and in the
giant or acromegalic types who remind one of the anthropoid ape, there
develops a distinct diminution of sexual life. An abnormal process in
the anterior gland, whether of oversecretion or of undersecretion,
may interfere with the proper functioning of the posterior gland, the
secretion of which is tonic not only to the brain cells, but also to
the sex cells. Thus, young animals deprived of the pituitary will not,
if male, grow spermatozoa, nor ripe ova in the female. Moreover, the
feeding of pituitary increases sexual activity. In the case of hens,
this has been demonstrated to be about thirty per cent by a pretty
experiment. At a time of the year when eggs diminish, six hundred
and fifty-five hens laid two hundred and seventy-three eggs upon an
ordinary diet. When pituitary was added to their food for four days,
the number of eggs rose to three hundred and fifty-two, an increase of
seventy-nine. In addition, the fertility of the chicks born of these
eggs was augmented, especially if both parents had been fed on
pituitary. There are other aspects of