Organotherapy, British Physiology, and Discovery of the Internal Secretions Author(s): Merriley Borell Source: Journal of the History of Biology, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Autumn, 1976), pp. 235-268 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4330654 . Accessed: 21/06/2014 01:04 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the History of Biology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.2.32.134 on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 01:04:35 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Organotherapy, British Physiology, and Discovery of the Internal Secretions MERRILEY BORELL Department of History University of California, Berkeley In April 1891, the Frenchphysiologist and neurologistC.-E. Brown- Sequard (1817-1894) and his assistant Arsene d'Arsonval(1851-1940) suggested to the Society of Biology at Paris that potent substances, which they called "internalsecretions," ought to exist in animaltissues, and that disease probably resulted from their lack. Brown-Sequardand d'Arsonvalproposed to their colleagues that one might discover these substancesby using extracts of specific tissues to treat certaindiseases.