152 THE CAUSATION OF DISEASE. 



place, the altered shape of the bony framework of the chest will 

 cause secondary modifications in other parts of the skeleton — 

 in the curves of the spine, the inclination of the clavicles, 

 the peculiar hanging of the scapula?, and so forth. These are 

 some of the results that may follow chronic enlargement of the 

 tonsils in children ; and such enlargement is itself the mere 

 expression of a more general morbid condition. 



This case is a good example of correlation, i.e., of one or 

 more parts specifically varying in correspondence with another 

 part ; and I have already said that the true explanation of 

 correlation is to be sought in the influence of one tissue upon 

 another, through a modification of internal cell-E. The so- 

 called strumous condition, of which the enlarged tonsils are an 

 outcome, results from imperfection of external-E. The child! 

 has been subjected to improper influences, and no doubt, in. 

 many cases, there is a hereditary cc strumous " tendenc} r 

 through imperfection of ancestral E. Thus, we see that u cor- 

 relation " ultimately depends upon' modification of external 

 E. But this by the way. My object in citing this case of 

 enlarged tonsils is to show how a small local change is capable 

 of causing a serious upset in the developmental processes of 

 the body. 



Similarly, how far-reaching may be the effects of a chronic 

 constipation during the period of development, say, in 

 a boy of six to ten years. In consequence of, it may be, a 

 slight error in diet, he suffers from constipation. The mucous- 

 membrane of the rectum takes on catarrhal inflammation ;. 

 threadworms soon infect the lower bowel, and cause an 

 intolerable itching. The sexual system is sympathetically 

 excited ; there is priapism and a kindling of sexual desire ; 

 or the evil may result solely from a too long prepuce and 

 the consequent accumulation of irritating smegma. Now the 

 feelings control the thoughts. Unhealthy sexual thoughts 

 will rage in the brain of this young child ; soon the vice of 

 masturbation is contracted, and practised, it may be, for 

 years. Talk as we may, this must interfere with proper- 

 development. I am convinced it interferes with proper cere- 

 bral evolution, and that indirectly the entire individual is» 

 thereby altered. 



