UNCHASTITY 317 



act, is another condition which is declared by medical 

 authors to be most commonly due to previous habits of 

 self-abuse. In consequence of overexcitement, the or- 

 gans become relaxed, the natural tone is lost, and they 

 become so much depleted that they are unable to re- 

 spond to the natural stimulus, and the sexual act is 

 not only not accompanied by sensation, but is even 

 attended by disgust and a sense of extreme exhaustion. 

 Among many cases of this sort which have come to the 

 notice of the author, in only one or two has he been 

 unable to trace the abnormal conditions to the practice 

 of self-abuse in early life. 



Atrophy of Mammae,— Closely connected with 

 other local results is the deficient development of the 

 breasts when the vice is begun before or at puberty, 

 and atrophy if it is begun or continued after develop- 

 ment has occurred. As previously remarked, this is 

 not the sole cause of small mammge, but it is one of 

 the great causes. 



Pruritis, or Itching Genitals.— This is an affec- 

 tion not infrequent in these subjects. Continued con- 

 gestion produces a terrible itching of the genitals, which 

 increases until the individual is in a state of actual 

 frenzy, and the disposition to manipulate the genitals 

 becomes irresistible, and is indulged even in the pres-' 

 ence of friends or strangers, and though the patient 

 be at other times a young woman of exceptional mod- 

 esty. In cases of this kind, marked hypertrophy of 

 the organ of greatest sensibility has been observed, and 

 in some cases amputation of this part has been found 

 the only cure. 



Nocturnal Ejaculation in Females.— A disorder 

 analogous to nocturnal emissions in the male, occurs in 

 females who have been addicted to this vice. An erotic 



