Fig. 34.—A group of cretins in the valley of Aosta (Piedmont). The alteration of the thyroid gland is of endemic origin.
Renato L.,[31] age twenty-nine; stature 1.30 m. (average stature at the age of ten, 1.28 m.; at eleven, 1.32 m.) weight, 32 kilograms (average weight, age of twelve, 31 k.). It appears from his history that he developed normally up to the age of nine, after which period an arrest of development occurred, both physical and psychic. An arrest of the genital organs dates back also to early childhood. His intelligence is that of a backward child; he has never been able to read or write, but can count up to 1000. He has never been able to learn a trade, but shows some talent for drawing.
His criminal instincts seem to be especially developed. He spends whole hours, turning over the leaves of popular illustrated novels, and whenever he comes across a picture representing a homicide or an assassination, he utters loud exclamations of delight. He has only one passion, tobacco, and only one object of adoration, Ravachol. Very violent, extremely irritable; when he is angry, he would kill someone, if, as he says, "he had the strength for it." Although, as a rule, he docilely obeys the orders given him, it is because he is "afraid of being scolded." His ideal is to be able some time to obtain refuge in the Hospice de Bicêtre.
From De Sanctis's work, Gli Infantilismi, I obtain the following data, that are very suggestive on the anthropological side, regarding a case of infantilism observed by the professor in his asylum-school for defective children, in Rome.
Vincenzo P., seven years of age. Father in good health and of good character. Mother small, thin, weak, underfed; has had nine children, of which five are living, all feeble. Vincenzo was born in due time, birth regular; had five wet-nurses; cut his teeth at the normal intervals; began to walk at the end of the second year and to speak at the end of the first. According to his mother, all went well until the fourth year. At this period, Vincenzo became very troublesome and ceased to "grow taller." Later on he was sent to the communal school, but the director of the school in the Via Ricasoli, seeing how undersized and backward he was, sent him to the Asylum-School for defective children.
In appearance the child is eurhythmic, excepting that the head appears a little too big in proportion to the rest of his body; but it is not of the hydrocephalic type (an infantile characteristic). He is slightly asymmetric, the postero-inferior portion of the right parietal bone being more depressed than that of the left (infantile plagiocephaly).
| Measurements | Age at which the Vincenzo would be normal | |
|---|---|---|
| Of the child | Normal measurements at the age of seven | |
| Stature, 0.870 m. | 1.10 m. | Three years, stature, 0.864 m. |
| Weight, 12.400 kg. | 20.16 kg. | Two years, weight, 12 kg. |
| Circumference of chest, 0.507 m. | 0.55 m. | Four years, circumference of chest, 0.505 m. |
| Vital index, 59 | Vital index, 54 | Two years, vital index, 59. |
The bust is greatly developed in comparison with the lower limbs, which are unquestionably short. (The sitting stature was not taken, but this note, recorded from simple observation, reminds us of the enormous difference between the indices of stature at the age of two or three and at the age of seven: Index at two years=63; at three=62; at seven=56.)
But although we lack the index of stature, we may make use of the vital index, which is given by the proportion between the circumference of the chest and the stature, and consequently gives us an index of the morphology of the bust in its relation to the whole personality; thus we find that the vital index corresponds in the present case to that of a child of two, as is also true of the weight, so that we may deduce that the index of stature was probably about 62-63.