DURING POST-NATAL DEVELOPMENT. 541 



While the short-legged individuals are usually stockier than long-legged 

 individuals, this is not always the case. For broad or stocky build Manouvrier has 

 offered the term "megasomie," for slender build the term "microsomie," for the 

 process leading to the former condition the term "eury plastic," for that leading to 

 the latter condition "macroplastie." He has offered interesting suggestions as to 

 the physiological conditions underlying these processes. Women, while short- 

 legged (brachyskelic),are of slender frame (microsomie). Godin (1910) has shown 

 that short-legged individuals as a rule first begin to manifest marked relative thick- 

 ening of the trunk and limbs (euryplastie) in the latter part of adolescence. 



W. W. Mills (1917) has given an interesting and beautifully illustrated descrip- 

 tion of the differences in the topographical anatomy of the thorax and abdomen 

 in those of stocky as compared with those of slender trunk. From this point of 

 view he subdivides individuals into six classes, the hypersthenic (very stocky), 

 hypersthenic-sthenic, sthenic, sthenic-hyposthenic, and hyposthenic (very long 

 slender trunks) . 



4. Manouvrier has pointed out that physiological conditions may greatly 

 modify the relative proportions of the body. Muscular work during childhood and 

 adolescence tends to decrease stature (especially length of lower extremities through 

 pressure on epiphyses) and increase stockiness of build. Sedentary life tends to 

 promote length of lower extremities and slenderness of skeletal framework and 

 musculature. In the former case we have increase of the height-weight index of 

 build, in the latter a decrease. This last, however, may be modified by a relative 

 increase of fat, which in turn increases height-weight index. 



From this summary of the chief factors influencing height-weight index of 

 build it may be seen that our judgment of build from height-weight index is greatly 

 helped if we have some means of estimating relative length of the lower extremities 

 and relative adiposity. Relative length of limbs may be most simply estimated 

 from sitting-height as compared with stature. Relative adiposity may be most 

 simply estimated from the relative circumference of the abdomen, or better from 

 its relative antero-posterior diameter, since adiposity makes itself most clearly 

 manifest here. 



