86 



INANITION AND MALNUTRITION 



Guttman ('22), using Bornhardt's ('86) index, and Van der Loo ('22) claim 

 that by using the chest measurement as one factor in the formula, a better 

 correlation with the clinical findings is obtained. The thoracic circumference is 

 utilized also in the index of Pignet (cited by Ivanovsky '23), and by Dreyer and 

 Hanson ('20); while Davenport ('23) uses the ratio weight: chest-girth 2 as the 

 "index of build." 



Bardeen ('20) uses a weight-height formula with the English units of inches 

 and pounds. For the sake of uniformity, however, the metric system is pref- 

 erable, and in the present work I have used Rohrer's weight-height index = 

 body weight (grams) 



height (cm.) 3 



Assuming the density as one, this expresses what 



(• 



weight (g.) 



)- 



leight (cm.)' XN """ / "* 334 

 consecutive necropsies of children at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Data obtained through 

 courtesy of Professor John Howland. Note that in only 43, or 12.9 per cent, of these cases is 

 the weight-height index above Bardeen's norm, and the extremely emaciated cases are more 

 than 50 per cent below. 



percentage of the volume of the cube of the body length would be occupied by 

 the body. According to the data compiled by Bardeen ('20), this weight- 

 height index normally remains at about 2.54 in the fetus and infant up to about 

 six months of age, then decreases gradually to about 1.20 at maturity. 



Since the weight is relatively depressed during emaciation (see Fig. 36), 

 this index is correspondingly lowered during inanition. The relative degree of 

 emaciation may therefore be accurately expressed by the weight-height index, 

 as shown by Fig. 37, indicating graphically the index for 334 consecutive cases 

 of children autopsied in the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It will be noted that in 



