HYPOTHERMIA IN CASES OF HYPOTHALAMIC LESIONS

Abstract

The extensive anatomic and physiologic investigations of the hypophysis and of the nuclear masses of the hypothalamic region in cases of polyuria, polydipsia, adiposity and genital dystrophy are fairly conclusive. Most observers agree that these symptoms are caused by lesions of the hypothalamic nuclei or of their pathways which are in direct communication with the hypophysis. The exact localization of the center for the regulation of body temperature is still doubtful. A number of clinical and experimental facts seem to indicate that the nuclei in the walls of the third ventricle are concerned with heat regulation. These observations, however, were concerned not with the abnormal loss of heat but with the abnormal production of heat, i. e., hyperpyrexia. The subnormal temperatures described as occurring in cases of tumor, as in cases of carniopharyngioma or of lesions about the tuber cinereum, were not much below 97 F. The more marked reductions