GIGANTISM 



819 



the publication of A chard and Loeper's paper, and the necropsy findings 

 are related by Launois and Roy. There was a large hypophysis tumor. 

 A true splanchnomegaly existed: the heart weighed 510 grams, the liver 

 4650 grams, the spleen 370 grams, the pancreas 250 grams, the thyroid 

 250 grams, and the kidneys together 715 grams. 



Zondek gives a clinical description of a somewhat similar case in a 

 Russian, Fedor Machnow, 23 years old, whose maternal grandfather 

 was over 2 meters tall. The patient's abnormal growth began at 5 years, 

 and he reached a height of 236 

 cm. His feet were 36.3 cm. 

 long, and the width of the 

 shoulders, 53.5 cm. During the 

 entire period of active growth 

 he slept a great deal. His in- 

 telligence was good. The nose, 

 occipital protuberances and 

 frontal sinuses were large; the 

 sella is not mentioned. Mach- 

 now is also described by Lis- 

 sauer and v. Luschan (1903). 

 who give his height as 238 cm. 



Gushing relates an exceed- 

 ingly instructive case in which 

 it is clearly shown how active 

 hyperpituitarism in childhood 

 and early youth produced gen- 

 eral gigantism, how a second ac- 

 cess of glandular overactivity 

 produced further increase in 

 height and acromegalic features 

 and, finally, the development of 

 adiposity and high sugar toler- 

 ance, indicating hypophyseal secured^ at a circus in Chicago.) 

 insufficiency. The patient was 



a man 35 years old. He was a healthy 10-pound baby at birth, and 

 developed normally until 13 years old, when he began to grow rapidly. 

 At 19 he measured 6 ft. 4 in., and weighed 200 pounds. He was 

 intelligent and of unusual physical strength: he could lift a 900-lb. 

 rail to a truck. At 23 years he had a severe illness with marked 

 polyuria, followed by persistent furunculosis. A photograph at 25 

 shows no sign of acromegaly. At 27 he again began to grow in height. 

 At 28 there was severe frontal headache. At 30 vision began to fail. 

 At 32 his features showed change, becoming coarse, and he was losing 

 his strength, was drowsy and tired easily. The sexual power was lost. 



Fig. 4. The Giant Hugo. ( Photograph 



