Favorable Maternal Influences.—Every now and then a sensational newspaper has an article on how mothers will tend to make their children physically handsomer by gazing at beautiful works of art, beautiful scenes in nature, and seeing only handsome (one feels like inserting well-dressed in the category, also) people during pregnancy. The reading of good books [{466}] containing moral lessons of the highest quality are supposed to have something of the same influence on the child's character. There is no doubt at all that the more carefully and simply and beautifully and healthily the mother lives, and the more her mind possesses itself in peace and happiness, the better will be her own nutrition and consequently that of her offspring, and, all things considered, this will contribute to the perfection of the infant's body and so give the best instrument for the expression of its soul. That these supposed favorable influences have any more direct power than this over the state of the infant that is to be is doubtful. It is worth trying for, but if the indefinite influence for good emphasizes, as it apparently does in many minds, the presumed direct and definite influence for evil, then it is not worth dwelling on.
Etiology of Deformities.—But if these curious deformities and markings are not due to maternal impressions, what, then, is their cause? To the question for many of the minor marks and slight deformities—naevi vascular and pigmentary, extra fingers, slight overgrowths, special peculiarities of bone and soft tissues—no satisfactory answer can be given. We must simply say that as yet we do not know. It is a good thing to say we do not know. Long ago Roger Bacon declared that the principal reason why man did not advance in knowledge more in spite of the amount of their work was that they were afraid to say "I do not know," and accepted inadequate reasons and insufficient authority in order to avoid this humiliating expression. On the other hand, there are many deformities and markings, the reasons for which have been found, and the more important they are the more we know about them, as a rule. Besides, with the advance of our knowledge of embryology we are getting to know more and more about these difficult problems and many things that were mysteries before are now clear. In addition to observation we have experiment and this is making observation more thoroughly scientific.
The more we know of the intricacies of the development of animals and human beings, the greater is our surprise that deformities do not occur even more commonly than they do. All the openings of the human as of the animal body gradually close in with the production of the finished form. The slightest interference with growth in the neighborhood of these openings, which involve nearly all of the front of the body, leaves various deformities. Nature has surrounded the developing embryo with fluid so that it is saved from jars of all kinds and from contact with other tissues that would disturb growth. Cell is laid on cell as brick is laid on brick in the building of a house, and the predetermined plan in the immense majority of cases is followed without accident to the minutest detail. That more mishaps do not occur, considering the delicacy of the process and the perfection of the finished structure, is hard to understand.
There are many factors likely to intrude in every pregnancy that may lead to the production of unfortunate results. Literally millions of cells are growing with apparent freedom from constraint in many portions of the fetus, yet all are directed with definite purpose corresponding to other cells and are destined to meet in due course of time. Each one of them or at least each group seems to be independent in its growth. Each growing cell doubles by dividing every few hours, yet all are co-ordinated to a definite end. We admire the men who begin at the two ends of a tunnel far distant from one another and work without any communication except through the engineer's plans [{467}] made long before, and yet make two bores that can be depended on to meet with but a few inches of divergence. The bridges of tissue that are built across the openings of the body jut out to meet one another in this way and in more than ninety-nine out of every one hundred cases there is not the slightest divergence. Many things may occur to disturb conditions—not connected with mental influences, but with distinctly physical factors—missteps, trips, jars on stairs or getting off and on cars, on the sidewalk, etc. These, and not the mythical factors that make up so-called maternal impressions, are the causes of deformities and mothers' marks.
SECTION XII
GENITO-URINARY DISEASES
CHAPTER I
PROSTATISM
It may seem impossible to include prostatic hypertrophy, or the train of symptoms connected with it, among those affections likely to be benefited by mental treatment. The history of this affection, however, and especially of its treatment in recent years since it has come to be the subject of special study, has furnished many examples of the value of suggestion in the relief of many of its symptoms. Many forms of treatment have been exploited for a time, attracting attention because of the cures attributed to them, and have then been relegated to the limbo of unsuccessful remedial measures. A striking example of the place of suggestion came with the development of organo-therapy some fifteen years ago. The succession of events illustrated well how much persuasion and a favorable attitude of mind might mean even in so purely physical an affection as interference with urination by enlargement of the prostate.
It was at a time when thyroid medication for myxedema having proved successful the medical journals were full of reports of other successful phases of organo-therapy. The spleen and the bone marrow were being used in the anemias, the ductless glands in various nutritional diseases and even extract of heart for heart disease. Just on what general principle it was assumed by some German investigator that possibly extract of prostate from animals might be of benefit in the treatment of prostatic hypertrophy is hard to understand. The German physician, however, gave an order to the butcher to send him prostates and as furnished they were administered to the patients. A number of patients began at once to improve on the treatment. They were able to empty their bladders much better than before, the residual urine was decreased, the tendency to fermentation was diminished and, above all, the patients' general symptoms were much improved.
The success was so marked that the German investigator published his cases and, with the public mind interested in organotherapy, they attracted wide-spread attention. He was asked how to obtain the material and only then did he take the trouble to investigate just what the butcher had been sending him. The description furnished the butcher by the doctor was that he wanted an organ lying below and somewhat in front of the bladder of the bull. It was found on careful inquiry that the abattoir attendants following these directions had supplied not prostates but seminal vesicles. As soon as this was found out some of the therapeutic suggestions failed. A number of cases, [{469}] however, continued to improve. German medical journals made fun of the whole proceeding and most people will consider the ridicule deserved.
Shortly before this time, however, we had had a very similar experience with another pair of organs. In spite of the fact that whatever we know about Graves' disease would seem to indicate that that affection is due to an increased thyroid secretion in the system, at the time of the organo-therapeutic fads, thyroid extract was reported as having been used successfully in the treatment of this affection. The name signed to the report was that of a trustworthy English clinical observer. A few practitioners of medicine got similar results, but most of them failed entirely to get his successes and some of them were sure that their patients were rather harmed than helped by the new medication. An investigation of just what material was being employed in the English cases showed that the butcher was supplying thymus and not thyroid glands. Suggestion did the rest, for thymus has proved to be quite ineffective, and the treatment was entirely expectant but acted on a favorable state of mind. Anyone who has had much experience with Graves' disease knows how amenable to suggestion the patients are. It would seem evident from the foregoing story of organo-therapy for prostatic hypertrophy that sufferers from prostatism are probably as prone to suggestion as patients with Graves' disease. This is all the more surprising as the two affections are so different in their etiology. Graves' disease being undoubtedly a ductless gland disease, while prostatism is due entirely to mechanical obstruction.