ACQUIRED IDIOCY, beginning in in fancy or childhood, is due to the toxic influence of infectious diseases, to in juries, rachitis, meningeal inflammation, fright, convulsions, and improper train ing.
Symptoms.—The physical stigmata of degeneration are well marked in idiocy. Of these the most notable is micro cephaly, or abnormal smallness of the cranium. This may be due either to im perfect growth of the brain from in trinsic causes, or to premature closure and ossification of the cranial sutures.
The last-named cause was formerly posed to be much more potent than it is regarded at present.
In contrast to microcephaly, many cases of idiocy show a larger skull than normal. In these cases there is usually hydrocephalus, which may sometimes be extreme.
Irregularity or asymmetry of the skull and brain are also present at times. Defective development of the re mainder of the body is frequent.
Eleven cases of funnel-breast collected from the literature and five new cases reported. Funnel-breast is one sign of Pareses and paralyses are among the physical symptoms often noted. Epi
lepsy and other forms of convulsions are also frequent complications. There may be various tics, athetosis, and atrophy of paralyzed limbs. Strabismus is common.
Deafness is extremely uncommon among the feeble-minded; on the con trary, an acuity of hearing with a con siderable development of the musical sense, is not infrequent.
physical degeneration. In ten of the re ported cases there were hereditary psy chopathic conditions (idiocy, epilepsy, imbecility, and delusional insanity). In only one of the cases was there slight scoliosis. No evidence of rachitis. In the other cases the history was incom plete. J. Ramadier and P. Serieux (Nouvelle Icon. de la Salpetriere, Sept., Oct., '91).
The comparative smallness and weak ness of the heart peculiar to idiots is general, and not the result of atrophy or degeneration following disease. The di