830. 



PETER BASSOE 



sphenoid bone, the bony skull shows premature obliteration of the sutures ; 

 exostcses, especially of the muscle attachments ; enlargement of the antrum 

 and of the*f rontal sinus ; increase in the volume of the superciliary arch, 

 the zygomatic arch, and the inferior maxilla. Investigation of the his- 

 tology of the bones shows that the .changes usually are due, not to specific 



pathological processes, but 

 to the deposition and re- 

 sorption of bony substance, 

 in a manner identical with 

 that of the normal growth 

 of bones. In addition, hy- 

 poplasia or degeneration 

 of the sexual glands is a 

 frequent accompaniment 

 of the condition." 



There is agreement 

 among most authors on the 

 point that the bone changes 

 essentially represent a re^ 

 action and readjustment 

 secondary to the enlarge- 

 ment of the soft parts, 

 hence the emphasis on 

 thickening at points of 

 muscular and ligamentous 

 insertions. The fact must 

 not be lost sight of that 

 rarefaction and absorption 

 of bone is as characteristic 

 a feature as the progres- 

 sive changes. The regres- 

 sive changes are particu- 

 larly emphasized by H. 

 Curschmann. The finer 

 changes in the bones, 

 which are said to consist 



of thickening of the osteogenic layer of the periosteum and in- 

 crease in the spongy at the expense of the compact substance, were early 

 studied in detail by Duchesneau and are thoroughly discussed in the excel- 

 lent review of M. B. Schmidt (a). Osborne, one of the first Americans to 

 describe an acromegalic skeleton, called attention to the fact that all of the 

 spongy bones of the body are more or less thickened, and that all articular 

 surfaces, whether of long or spongy bones, show a tendency to spread out, 

 widen and grow more prominent. The flat, thin bones, while increasing in 



Fi<?. 1"). Spine shows co-ossification of bodies of 

 dorsal vertebrae and many bony unions of spinous 

 and transverse processes. 

 Jour., Dec., 1897.) 



(After Osborne, Yale Med. 



