444Section IV.R. Dupuy.
congenital or acquired, is called forth by disor lers or lesions, which concern
either the nervous system and the spinal corll, or one or more internal
glands (the thyroid and the parathyroid gland»; the hypophysis, the supra -
renals and the genital glands—the interstitial portion of the testicle and the
corpus luteum of the ovary). First of all v e must differentiate between
disorders and lesions. The disorders are but, disturbances of the physio
logical order which may be modified. Thr? lesions, which correspond
habitually to some form of sclerosis, are incurable. If the lesions have
touched the brain or the spinal cord, the types which result from it are
those of atrophic backwardness, which are incurable in the present state of
science, with the exception of certain forms of syphilis. These are the
paralytics, hemiplegics, certain epileptics, deaf mutes and blind persons
(central blindness), certain forms of hydrophaly and microcephaly, etc. Irx
all the other cases of backwardness, in which are affected the glands of
internal secretion, or in which there is cerebral and medullary mischief, due
to intoxication or lack of vasomoter stimulus, or troubles of internal secre
tion owing to defect or excess of the action of these glands—we are in pres
ence of dystrophic backwardness, which ought to be more or less curable. In
fact, these intoxications are modified by suitable treatment, and the secre
tory disorders can be remedied by organotherapy.
Taking the two groups of backward children, the atrophic and
dystrophic groups, we must add those of mixed origin, which are half
cerebral and half secretory; these are to some extent amenable to treatment,
and are certainly more numerous than is commonly believed. We will not
stop to study the pure atrophies, who, if they present a scientific interest at
all, can hardly be improved in the least by medical methods, properly so-
called. The dystrophic or mixed varieties, which are capable of cure, de
serve to attract the attention of every practitioner. Therefore, in spite of
the complexity of their symptoms, we will attempt to point out shortly their
different defects, bodily, psychical, or sensorial, which we shall consider
separately for convenience of description, only stating in advance, that
these anomalies are generally associated in proportions which vary for each
subject. Bodily anomalies may affect either the whole organism or one or several
of its systems, perhaps even a single organ, producing ultimately a state of
complete or incomplete infantilism. (Herthoge.)
These anomalies are either anatomical or physiological.
For the bony system, the habitual seat of dystrophies, they have ill effects
on the vitality (osteo-porosis) the form, dimensions, the processes of joining
together and of calcification (rachitism). The stoppage and the arrestation
shew themselves in the smallness of the bones in general. The anomaly is
either complete (nanism) or partial (ectromelism and micromelism of the
