INFLUENCE OF SYPHILIS ON THE TEETH. 95 



Mr. Hutchinson read the following paper 



On the influence of Hereditary Syphilis on the 

 Teeth, By Jonathan Hutchinson, M.R.C.S. 

 Eng., Surgeon to tlie Metropolitan Free Hos- 

 pital, &c. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen, — The type of 

 malformed and dwarfed teeth, which the casts, 

 portraits, &c., before the meeting exemplify, are, 

 I believe, quite peculiar to those who during 

 infancy have suffered hereditary syphilis. This 

 conclusion is based upon so large a series of 

 observations, that I place the utmost confidence 

 in it, and I am now accustomed to make use of 

 the teeth as a means of diagnosis as to the syphi- 

 litic nature of certain symptoms. 



In order to understand rightly the manner in 

 which the disease in question influences the for- 

 mation of the teeth, it is necessary to bear in 

 mind two general propositions. The first of 

 these is, that as a rule, no specific inflammations 

 occur during inter-uterine life. Almost all obser- 

 vers agree that the majority of infants who suffer 

 from hereditary syphilis are born healthy. The 

 second is, that this disease does not, by any 

 means, generally impair the development of the 

 whole frame. Its effects upon the physiognomy 

 and upon various structures (the bones, eyes, &c.) 

 are always to be explained by reference to some 

 inflammation which has occurred previously, and 



