anomalies and curiosities of medicine-第77部分

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It　is　said　that　while　digging　in　France　in　1613　there　was　disinterred　the　body　of　a　giant　bearing　the　title　〃Theutobochus　Rex；〃　and　that　the　skeleton　measured　25　feet　long；　10　feet　across　the　shoulders；　and　5　feet　from　breast　to　back。　The　shin…bone　was　about　4　feet　long；　and　the　teeth　as　large　as　those　of　oxen。　This　is　likely　another　version　of　the　finding　of　the　remains　of　Bucart。

Near　Mezarino　in　Sicily　in　1516　there　was　found　the　skeleton　of　a　giant　whose　height　was　at　least　30　feet；　his　head　was　the　size　of　a　hogshead；　and　each　tooth　weighed　5　ounces；　and　in　1548　and　in　1550　there　were　others　found　of　the　height　of　30　feet。　The　Athenians　found　near　their　city　skeletons　measuring　34　and　36　feet　in　height。　In　Bohemia　in　758　it　is　recorded　that　there　was　found　a　human　skeleton　26　feet　tall；　and　the　leg…bones　are　still　kept　in　a　medieval　castle　in　that　country。　In　September；　1691；　there　was　the　skull　of　a　giant　found　in　Macedonia　which　held　210　pounds　of　corn。

General　Opinions。All　the　accounts　of　giants　originating　in　the　finding　of　monstrous　bones　must　of　course　be　discredited；　as　the　remains　were　likely　those　of　some　animal。　Comparative　anatomy　has　only　lately　obtained　a　hold　in　the　public　mind；　and　in　the　Middle　Ages　little　was　known　of　it。　The　pretended　giants'　remains　have　been　those　of　mastodons；　elephants；　and　other　animals。　From　Suetonius　we　learn　that　Augustus　Caesar　pleased　himself　by　adorning　his　palaces　with　so…called　giants'　bones　of　incredible　size；　preferring　these　to　pictures　or　images。　From　their　enormous　size　we　must　believe　they　were　mastodon　bones；　as　no　contemporary　animals　show　such　measurements。　Bartholinus　describes　a　large　tooth　for　many　years　exhibited　as　the　canine　of　a　giant　which　proved　to　be　nothing　but　a　tooth　of　a　spermaceti　whale　（Cetus　dentatus）；　quite　a　common　fish。　Hand　described　an　alleged　giant's　skeleton　shown　in　London　early　in　the　eighteenth　century；　and　which　was　composed　of　the　bones　of　the　fore…fin　of　a　small　whale　or　of　a　porpoise。

The　celebrated　Sir　Hans　Sloane；　who　treated　this　subject　very　learnedly；　arrived　at　the　conclusion　that　while　in　most　instances　the　bones　found　were　those　of　mastodons；　elephants；　whales；　etc。；　in　some　instances　accounts　were　given　by　connoisseurs　who　could　not　readily　be　deceived。　However；　modern　scientists　will　be　loath　to　believe　that　any　men　ever　existed　who　measured　over　9　feet；　in　fact；　such　cases　with　authentic　references　are　extremely　rare　Quetelet　considers　that　the　tallest　man　whose　stature　is　authentically　recorded　was　the　〃Scottish　Giant〃　of　Frederick　the　Great's　regiment　of　giants。　This　person　was　not　quite　8　feet　3　inches　tall。　Buffon；　ordinarily　a　reliable　authority；　comes　to　a　loose　conclusion　that　there　is　no　doubt　that　men　have　lived　who　were　10；　12；　and　even　15　feet　tall；　but　modern　statisticians　cannot　accept　this　deduction　from　the　references　offered。

From　the　original　estimation　of　the　height　of　Adam　（Henrion　once　calculated　that　Adam's　height　was　123　feet　and　that　of　Eve　118）　we　gradually　come　to　10　feet；　which　seemed　to　be　about　the　favorite　height　for　giants　in　the　Middle　Ages。　Approaching　this　century；　we　still　have　stories　of　men　from　9　to　10　feet　high；　but　no　authentic　cases。　It　was　only　in　the　latter　part　of　the　last　century　that　we　began　to　have　absolutely　authentic　heights　of　giants；　and　to…day　the　men　showing　through　the　country　as　measuring　8　feet　generally　exaggerate　their　height　several　inches；　and　exact　measurement　would　show　that　but　few　men　commonly　called　giants　are　over　7　1/2　feet　or　weigh　over　350　pounds。　Dana　says　that　the　number　of　giants　figuring　as　public　characters　since　1700　is　not　more　than　100；　and　of　these　about　20　were　advertised　to　be　over　8　feet。　If　we　confine　ourselves　to　those　accurately　and　scientifically　measured　the　list　is　surprisingly　small。　Topinard　measured　the　tallest　man　in　the　Austrian　army　and　found　that　he　was　8　feet　4　1/2　inches。　The　giant　Winckelmeyer　measured　8　feet　6　inches　in　height。　Ranke　measured　Marianne　Wehde；　who　was　born　in　Germany　in　the　present　century；　and　found　that　she　measured　8　feet　4　1/4　inches　when　only　sixteen　and　a　half　years　old。

In　giants；　as　a　rule；　the　great　stature　is　due　to　excessive　growth　of　the　lower　extremities；　the　size　of　the　head　and　that　of　the　trunk　being　nearly　the　same　as　those　of　a　man　or　boy　of　the　same　age。　On　the　other　hand；　in　a　natural　dwarf　the　proportions　are　fairly　uniform；　the　head；　however；　being　always　larger　in　proportion　to　the　body；　just　as　we　find　in　infants。　Indeed；　the　proportions　of　〃General　Tom　Thumb〃　were　those　of　an　ordinary　infant　of　from　thirteen　to　fifteen　months　old。

Figure　156　shows　a　portrait　of　two　well…known　exhibitionists　of　about　the　same　age；　and　illustrates　the　possible　extremes　of　anomalies　in　stature

Recently；　the　association　of　acromegaly　with　gigantism　has　been　noticed；　and　in　these　instances　there　seems　to　be　an　acquired　uniform　enlargement　of　all　the　bones　of　the　body。　Brissaud　and　Meige　describe　the　case　of　a　male　of　forty…seven　who　presented　nothing　unusual　before　the　age　of　sixteen；　when　he　began　to　grow　larger；　until；　having　reached　his　majority；　he　measured　7　feet　2　inches　in　height　and　weighed　about　340　pounds。　He　remained　well　and　very　strong　until　the　age　of　thirty…seven；　when　he　overlifted；　and　following　this　he　developed　an　extreme　deformity　of　the　spine　and　trunk；　the　latter　〃telescoping　into　itself〃　until　the　nipples　were　on　a　level　with　the　anterior　superior　spines　of　the　ilium。　For　two　years　he　suffered　with　debility；　fatigue；　bronchitis；　night…sweats；　headache；　and　great　thirst。　Mentally　he　was　dull；　the　bones　of　the　face　and　extremities　showed　the　hypertrophies　characteristic　of　acromegaly；　the　soft　parts　not　being　involved。　The　circumference　of　the　trunk　at　the　nipples　was　62　inches；　and　over　the　most　prominent　portion　of　the　kyphosis　and　pigeon…breast；　74　inches。　The　authors　agree　with　Dana　and　others　that　there　is　an　intimate　relation　between　acromegaly　and　gigantism；　but　they　go　further　and　compare　both　to　the　growth　of　the　body。　They　call　attention　to　the　striking　resemblance　to　acromegaly　of　the　disproportionate　growth　of　the　boy　at　adolescence；　which　corresponds　so　well　to　Marie's　terse　description　of　this　disease：　〃The　disease　manifests　itself　by　preference　in　the　bones　of　the　extremities　and　in　the　extremities　of　the　bones；〃　and　conclude　with　this　rather　striking　and　aphoristic　proposition：　〃Acromegaly　is　gigantism　of　the　adult；　gigantism　is　acromegaly　of　adolescence。〃

The　many　theories　of　the　cause　of　gigantism　will　not　be　discussed　here；　the　reader　being　referred　to　volumes　exclusively　devoted　to　this　subject。

Celebrated　Giants。Mention　of　some　of　the　most　famous　giants　will　be　made；　together　with　any　associate　points　of　interest。

Becanus；　physician　to　Charles　V；　says　that　he　saw　a　youth　9　feet　high　and　a　man　and　a　woman　almost　10　feet。　Ainsworth　says　that　in　1553　the　Tower　of　London　was　guarded　by　three　brothers　claiming　direct　descent　from　Henry　VIII；　and　surnamed　Og；　Gog；　and　Magog；　all　of　whom　were　over　8　feet　in　height。　In　his　〃Chronicles　of　Holland〃　in　1557　Hadrianus　Barlandus　said　that　in　the　time　of　John；　Earl　of　Holland；　the　giant　Nicholas　was　so　large　that　men　could　stand　under　his　arms；　and　his　shoe　held　3　ordinary　feet。　Among　the　yeoman　of　the　guard　of　John　Frederick；　Duke　of　Hanover；　there　was　one　Christopher　Munster；　8　1/2　feet　high；　who　died　in　1676　in　his　forty…fifth　year。　The　giant　porter　of　the　Duke　of　Wurtemberg　was　7　1/2　feet　high。　〃Big　Sam；〃　the　porter　at　Carleton　Palace；　when　George　IV　was　Prince　of　Wales；　was　8　feet　high。　The　porter　of　Queen　Elizabeth；　of　whom　there　is　a　picture　in　Hampton　Court；　painted　by　Zucchero；　was　7　1/2　feet　high；　and　Walter　Parson；　porter　to　James　I；　was　about　the　same　height。　William　Evans；　who　served　Charles　I；　was　nearly　8　feet；　he　carried　a　dwarf　in　his　pocket。

In　the　seventeenth　century；　in　order　to　gratify　the　Empress　of　Austria；　Guy…Patin　made　a　congress　of　all　the　giants　and　dwarfs　in　the　Germanic　Empire。　A　peculiarity　of　this　congress　was　that　the　giants　complained　to　the　authorities　that　the　dwarfs　teased　them　in　such　a　manner　as　to　make　their　lives　miserable。

Plater　speaks　of　a　girl　in　Basle；　Switzerland；　five　years　old；　whose　body　was　as　large　as　that　of　a　full…grown　woman　and　who　weighed　when　a　year　old　as　much　as　a　bushel　of　wheat。　He　also　mentions　a　man　living　in　1613；　9　feet　high；　whose　hand　was　1　foot　6　inches　long。　Peter　van　den　Broecke　speaks　of　a　Congo　negro　in　1640　who　was　8　feet　high。　Daniel；　the　porter　of　Cromwell；　was　7　feet　6　inches　high；　he　became　a　lunatic。

Frazier　speaks　of　Chilian　giants　9　feet　tall。　There　is　a　chronicle　which　says　one　of　the　Kings　of　Norway　was　8　feet　high。　Merula　says　that　in　1538　he　saw　in　France　a　Flemish　man　over　9　feet。　Keysler　mentions　seeing　Hans　Brau　in　Tyrol　in　1550；　and　says　that　he　was　nearly　12　feet　high。

Jonston　mentions　a　lad　in　Holland　who　was　8　feet　tall。　Pasumot　mentions　a　giant　of　8　feet。

Edmund　Mallone　was　said　to　have　measured　7　feet　7　inches。　Wierski；　a　Polander；　presented　to　Maximilian　II；　was　8　feet　high。　At　the　age　of　thirty…two　there　died　in　1798　a　clerk　of　the　Bank　of　England　who　was　said　to　have　been　nearly　7　1/2　feet　high。　The　Daily　Advertiser　for　February　23；　1745；　says　that　there　was　a　young　colossus　exhibited　opposite　the　Mansion　House　in　London　who　was　7　feet　high；　although　but　fifteen　years　old。　In　the　same　paper　on　January　31；　1753；　is　an　account　of　MacGrath；　whose　skeleton　is　still　preserved　in　Dublin。　In　the　reign　of　George　I；　during　the　time　of　the　Bartholomew　Fair　at　Smithfield；　there　was　exhibited　an　English　man　seventeen　years　old　who　was　8　feet　tall。

Nicephorus　tells　of　Antonius　of　Syria；　in　the　reign　of　Theodosius；　who　died　at　the　age　of　twenty…five　with　a　height　of　7　feet　7　inches。　Artacaecas；　in　great　favor　with　Xerxes；　was　the　tallest　Persian　and　measured　7　feet。　John　Middleton；　born　in　1752　at　Hale；　Lancashire；　humorously　called　the　〃Child　of　Hale；〃　and　whose　portrait　is　in　Brasenose　College；　Oxford；　measured　9　feet　3　inches　tall。　In　his　〃History　of　Ripton；〃　in　Devonshire；　1854；　Bigsby　gives　an　account　of　a　discovery　in　1687　of　a　skeleton　9　feet　long。　In　1712　in　a　village　in　Holland　there　died　a　fisherman　named　Ger