INFANTILISM 



477 



[in eunuchoidism].) Also the psyche of typical eunuchoids is not childish 

 throughout. The feeling of absent virility here often leads to timidity and 

 eventually to deep mental depression, while the childish features [of the dis- 

 ease] are absent. Woljf, just as has Peritz, has spoken against the designation 

 eunuchoid, with incorrectness. Of the four cases that Woljf communicates, 

 case 3 probably belongs to true dwarfism, associated with genital disturbance 

 (Paltaufs type). He is certainly not an eunuchoid, but a mixed form be- 

 tween true dwarfism and infantilism. The other three cases are however 

 typical infantilism, distinguished from true eunu- 

 choids by their childish psyche and by the pro- 

 portioning of their bodies. 



The delimitation of true infantilism from 

 typical juvenile hypophysial dystrophy is easy. 

 In this too is found the disturbance in growth, 

 but to the disturbance is added the typical dis- 

 tribution of. fat, and the disturbance of develop- 

 ment of the genitalia is much more severe and is 

 eventually retrogressive. There are also present 

 symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. I 

 would here point out, as I have already in the 

 chapter on -the hypophysis, that it is quite un- 

 justifiable to refer off-hand to the hypophysis a 

 disturbance of growth, if other manifestations of 

 hypophysial insufficiency are not otherwise pres- 

 ent. Aschner has described a sixteen-year-old 

 dwarf girl, 132 cm. tall; the ossification and den- 

 tition were delayed, her proportions were childish, 

 and psychically and intellectually she was child- 

 ish. She became pregnant in consequence of a 

 rape. This indeed does not speak much against 

 existing infantilism of the genitalia, as under cir- 

 cumstances children may become pregnant before 

 the onset of menstruation. Aschner rejects the 

 expression infantilism as indefinite, and regards 

 the cause of the disturbance of growth as hypo- 

 physial without furnishing any evidence for his 

 opinion. I regard this case as true infantilism or 

 as a hypoplastic dwarf. 



Naturally there are numerous cases that con- 

 stitute transitional cases between true infantilism and the hypophysial or 

 eunuchoid form of dystrophia adiposo-genitalis. As example I cite the 

 following: 



Observation LXI. B. A., sixteen years old; entered the clinic February, 1911. Father 



FIG. 85. Mixed form between 

 true infantilism and dystrophia 

 adiposo-genitalis. 



