Hereditary hypoplasia in man, due to degeneracy : the underlying basis of those cases having a hereditary origin, and the relation of this underlying cause to the functional neuroses, tuberculosis, infections and immunity / Charles P. Noble.

  • Noble, Charles P. (Charles Percy), 1863-1935.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Hereditary hypoplasia in man, due to degeneracy : the underlying basis of those cases having a hereditary origin, and the relation of this underlying cause to the functional neuroses, tuberculosis, infections and immunity / Charles P. Noble. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    organism shall in due time become evolved into a nor- mal human being. When the defect in the ovum is very great in degree the resulting individual is very abnormal. Without stating it as a fact, I will suggest that this is the ex- planation of certain abortions and of certain monsters under the so-called congenital abnormalities of struc- ture, while others doubtless are due to the environment of the ovum while yet in the womb of the mother. This is the explanation of idiocy, imbecility and dul- ness of intellect in the group of cases not caused bv accidental influences acting through the mother during pregnancy. It is the explanation of what happens when a sub- normal child goes to school. He either has a fairly good body with a dull intelligence (the microcephalic type), so that he does not learn his lessons so easily as his fel- lows; or, on the other hand, he is unusually bright, but has not the physique to withstand the pressure even of childlife, and so that it is said the child is all brain, but has a very poor body. Between these types are those of the so-called nervous children—that is, those who have an unstable nervous system. When the subnormal girl reaches puberty, those changes which convert the girl into a maiden fail to take place at or about the eleventh year. At this period the neck of the normal girl loses its flatness, such as a boy has, and it is no longer possible to see the sterno- cleido-mastoid muscles. This is due largely to the development, physiologic hypertrophy, or evolution, of the thyroid gland, aided somewhat by the increase in the thickness of the adipose tissue of the neck. The sub- normal girl retains the body form of the child, wherein girl and boy are very much alike in their figures. The bones fail to develop, the hips fail to broaden, and the limbs, the body and the face do not attain the rotundity which characterizes the woman as distinguished from the man. The breasts do not develop, and in extreme cases the pubic hair is late in growing. In other words, as it is stated, puberty is delayed. The body retains the form of a neuter—that is, of a child. The pelvic organs do not develop, the vagina remains more like that of a girl, and so do the uterus, Fallopian tubes and the ovaries. It is equally true of the ligaments of the womb. This failure in development may be com-