Hrdlicka. 35 



they are among the rare abnormalities. The nose, which may be 

 very low, or very broad at the root in very early age, will gradually 

 assume ordinary proportions and lose its abnormal aspect, as the 

 child grows up. 



On the other hand, certain abnormalities will increase in fre- 

 quency with the age of the children. Such is the case principally 

 with many of the abnormalities of the cranium, such as asym- 

 metries of the head and depressions or elevations along the 

 sutures. Asymmetries of the face are generally well derined during 

 childhood, and I am not satisfied whether or not there is any in- 

 crease in their proportion with the age. Abnormalities of the ears 

 become more marked and also increase somewhat in proportion 

 from infancy onward. All the habit abnormalities tend to increase 

 in proportion as we advance from early childhood. From my ob- 

 servations of adults and adolescents outside of the Institution, I think 

 that after the age of 15 or 16, these abnormalities tend again to 

 diminish, a certain proportion of them being spontaneously cor- 

 rected. Irregularities of the palate increase with age. About those 

 of. the uvula I am uncertain though they also seem to increase in 

 frequency with age. Certain abnormal gums do not become 

 manifest until after the subject has reached a certain age. Such is 

 principally the polygonal gum. Prognathism of the gums is also 

 not marked in early childhood; it begins to show from the fourth 

 year of childhood onward, not attaining its ultimate degree until 

 adult life. 



The genital organs deserve special mention. Certain abnormal- 

 ities of these organs in the male, principally adhesions of the 

 prepuce, diminish very rapidly after the puberty period. Other 

 irregularities, principally those of the size of the organs, become 

 more manifest as the child grows older. The descent of the testi- 

 cles will be occasionally found to be retarded in young boys; it will 

 generally be accomplished before the age of puberty. In connec- 

 tion with this a care should be taken not to mistake testicles reflexly 

 drawn up for non-descended testicles. 



A certain number of abnormalities, almost all of which are of 

 congenital origin, do not change in proportion with the age of the 

 children. Such characters are the different abnormalities of the 

 toes, the additional wmirls of hair, etc. Almost all of these char- 



