348 STUDIES ON PATHOLOGIC OVA. 



on the part of the married, which is responsible for this difference. However, until 

 a far larger group can be obtained, such a surmise remains unsupported. 



In contrasting the number of abortions per woman in 344 women giving birth 

 to conceptuses classed as normal with those suffered by 264 women who aborted 

 conceptuses classed as pathologic, we find (table 19) that the former had sustained 

 an average of 1.7 abortions and the latter only 1.79, or practically the same number. 

 However, upon referring to table 20, it will be seen that a slight tendency to earlier 

 abortion of pathologic conceptuses is indicated. Yet table 21 indicates that abor- 

 tion of a conceptus classed as pathologic strangely enough seems to have had no 

 discernible effect in reducing the number of children per woman. This is, of 

 course, contrary to what one should expect, and undoubtedly contrary also to the 

 facts. The 256 women giving birth to conceptuses classed as pathologic really 

 had more children on an average than the 337 who had aborted conceptuses classed 

 as normal, for women giving birth to conceptuses classed as pathologic had an 

 average of 2.3 children, but those aborting conceptuses classed as normal only 2.1 

 children. Hence, one would seem to be led to the startling and impossible con- 

 clusion that pathogenicity of the conceptus, whatever its cause, does not reduce, 

 but enhances, fertility! 



It may be recalled in this connection that Hellier found that 96.5 per cent of the 

 1,800 married women who had abortions "almost up to the maximum" nevertheless 

 later bore one or more children. But the explanation for the above anomalous and 

 self-contradictory result probably lies in the fact that many conceptuses classed 

 as pathologic very likely are merely macerated normal specimens, the form of which 

 was changed during long retention. 



The women aborting conceptuses classed as pathologic aborted somewhat 

 earlier, for 86.7 per cent of them had done so before the beginning of the fifth 

 month of gestation, as compared with 76.5 per cent of those who aborted specimens 

 classed as normal. Since the groups in table 20 contain 402 normal and 290 

 pathologic cases, this difference in percentages of early abortions might seem to 

 imply that conceptuses classed as pathologic actually had developed under un- 

 favorable conditions, died, and were aborted sooner. Since, as previously stated, 

 most of these are young, while those classed as normal are relatively older, one 

 may assume that young conceptuses are retained relatively longer after death 

 than older ones. This conclusion is borne out also upon comparing the menstrual 

 with the estimated or anatomic ages of specimens grouped as normal and pathologic. 

 From such a comparison it is evident that the specimens classed as pathologic 

 were retained relatively longer after death than those classed as normal, and that 

 had they been aborted as soon after their death as were those classed as normal, a 

 still larger percentage of them would have been aborted before the fifth menstrual 

 month than actually was the case. 



From table 22 we learn that 50 per cent of the women aborting conceptuses 

 classed as pathologic and 60.9 per cent of those aborting conceptuses classed as 

 normal were below 30 years. Hence the women aborting conceptuses classed as 

 pathologic would seem to have been somewhat older. 



