The germ, even before its vivification in the ovary, may have a morbid taint communicated to it from the system of the female in whom it resides, or from that of the man with whom she cohabits, so that the tendency to disease or malformation sometimes precedes the first im pulse that leads to the establishment of life. Another source of abnormal conditions in the fistus occurs in the cohesion or intus-susception of germs, in consequence of more than one ovulum being contained within the same vesi cle; under which circumstances unnatural union may take place between two foetuses, and give rise to the production of such anoma lies in organization as the Siamese twins, or to other forms of fistal duplicity, more or less re sembling the remarkable instance represented in the annexed sketch of two children born a few years since at Boyle, in the county of Ros common.
They were born alive, and lived for more than a week ; after death they were sold to the College of Surgeons in Dublin, in whose mag nificent Museum a preparation of their skeleton is preserved.• The writer lately received from the President of the College of Physicians, Dr. Croker, two hen's eggs united at their end by a connecting stalk as thick as one's little finger, which, in common with the two eggs, was covered by a tough white membrane.
From intus-susception of one germ within another, arise also some very singular pheno mena, such as the existence of perfect teeth set in bony sockets, long hair, &c. in situations far remote from those in which such structures are naturally formed ; and the still more extra ordinary fact of foetuses being found within the bodies of males;t facts which, in the opinion of the writer, can be explained only on the supposition of original intus-susception of germs, constituting that abnormal condition which has been called monstrosity by inclu an accident which appears to he by no means confined to the germs of the mammalia nor even of the animal kingdom. The writer has in his museum a small egg about as large as a gooseberry, which was found within ano ther egg of the common hen, which also oc curred to Harvey,§ who says, " I have seen an exceeding small egge, which had a shell of its own, and yet was contained within another egge, greater and fairer than it, which egge also had a shell too. And this egge I skewed King Charles my most gracious master in presence of many others ; and that very year cutting up a large lemon, I found another, small, but yet a perfect lemon in it, which had also a yellow rind." Many other instances of anomalies resulting from cohesion and intus-susception,* might be referred to, but they will find their place with more propriety under the article MONSTROSITY.
Mislocation of the germ during its growth and development is well known to be produc tive of serious consequences, not only to the fetus, but unfortunately involves great danger to the mother also, as in those instances in which it has been developed in the ovary,t the Fallopian tube, the cavity of the abdomen, or in the substance of the uterus constituting in terstitial pregnancy.t Atrophy.—A very common occurrence to the fcetus in utero is atrophy, or a complete arrest of growth from disease attacking its en velopes, especially the placenta or cord; in which case, a deficient and unhealthy supply of nutrition is furnished to the child, which either perishes completely or has its develop ment retarded to such a degree, as not to pre sent dimensions or characters corresponding to perhaps half the period that has really elapsed since conception ; as happened in the follow ing case : a lady who menstruated in the last week of July, began about the middle of August to exhibit unequivocal symptoms of pregnancy, which proceeded regularly till the middle of October, when indications of' threat ened abortion appeared, with pain, and the re peated expulsion of large coagula and sub stances of various appearances. After this, the previously existing symptoms of pregnancy en tirely disappeared, and it was supposed that miscarriage had occurred and that the ovum had escaped, unnoticed, amidst the masses of coagula. The lady resumed her ordinary habits and went into society as usual, without expe riencing any uneasiness or unhealthy symptom, except irregular uterine discharges, which were supposed to be menstrual : so matters proceed ed until the 7th January, when, after a long drive, she was seized with periodical pains ac companied by smart uterine haemorrhage, in consequence of which I was sent for. I found the os uteri open and an ovum partly protruded through it, this I succeeded in disengaging and bringing away ; on examination itpresented the general appearances as to size, form, and growth of the fcetus, of an ovum of less than two months, but the placenta was as large and as much formed as it should be at three months, and was moreover quite unhealthy, being throughout affected with what is usually called the tubercular state of that organ ; the fetus seemed perfectly healthy, but very small ; and the umbilical cord was only about half an inch in length, much hypertrophied, being sud denly enlarged on leaving the placenta, to three or four times its natural diameter, and azain as suddenly contracted almost to a thread, where it joined the abdomen of the foetus. See sub joined sketch, of the natural size.