Infantilism 



AUGUST STRAUCH 



CHICAGO 



Introduction 



The Essential Nature of Infantilism. During the entire evolutionary 

 time from the embryonic stage to the full development of postnatal life, 

 developmental disturbances can occur whereby either the whole body or 

 single organs retain the forms and especially the size or other qualities 

 that normally belong to a transitional stage of evolution. For the designa- 

 tion of the persistence of childish characteristics into the adult life, phys- 

 ical as well as psychical, Lasegue has coined the term Infantilism. This 

 simple and general definition allows a wide range of application; with 

 the increasing knowledge and understanding of various clinical pictures 

 it underwent modifications, being circumscribed by different authors in 

 .varying ways, by Anton, Peritz and the French, perhaps with the widest 

 limits. Though a definite differentiation from a number of related or 

 similar pathologic conditions has at the present not yet met with general 

 acceptance, and though the various attempts to make subdivisions of this 

 anomaly are not free from objections, much progress has been made in 

 elucidating this highly fascinating subject that ie one of the most fruitful 

 in the domain of medical research. 



We speak of a partial and a universal infantilism. Partial infantilism 

 signifies the abnormal persistence of one organ, or organ system, or its 

 part inla stage of development that normally is only temporary ; when such 

 a stoppage of evolution begins during the intra-uterine life, some authors 

 speak of embryonalism or fetalism, as for instance in the case of the 

 persistence of an open foramen ovale, coloboma of the eye, cleft-palate 

 and the various congenital fissures of the face. Tandler distinguishes a 

 formal and topic form of infantilism (embryonalism) depending on 

 whether the form and size or the location of the organ remains infantile. 

 The first type is exemplified by micrognathy, small cartilaginous larynx 

 with a high pitched voice, an infantile pug nose in the adult of those 

 races who normally have straight or convex noses ; the retention of infan- 

 tile proportions of the skeleton or its parts, a cecum that tapers off grad- 

 ually to the appendix, a disproportionately long flexure of the sigmoid 



855 



