Anomalies and Curiosities of MedicineGould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Science
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
Gould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Abnormalities, Human; Medicine -- Anecdotes
Virchow in 1872, Boddaert in 1875, and Marchand in 1883 report cases of
duplication of the genitalia, and call their cases true hermaphrodites
from an anatomic standpoint. There is a specimen in St. Bartholomew's
Hospital in London from a man of forty-four, who died of cerebral
hemorrhage. He was well formed and had a beard and a full-sized penis.
He was married, and it was stated that his wife had two children. The
bladder and the internal organs of generation were those of a man in
whom neither testis had descended into the scrotum, and in whom the
uterus masculinus and vagina were developed to an unusual degree. The
uterus, nearly as large as in the adult female, lay between the bladder
and rectum, and was enclosed between two layers of peritoneum, to
which, on either side of the uterus, were attached the testes. There
was also shown in London the pelvic organs from a case of complex or
vertical hermaphroditism occurring in a child of nine months who died
from the effects of an operation for the radical cure of a right
inguinal hernia. The external organs were those of a male with
undescended testes. The bladder was normal and its neck was surrounded
by a prostate gland. Projecting backward were a vagina, uterus, and
broad ligaments, round ligaments, and Fallopian tubes, with the testes
in the position of the ovaries. There were no seminal vesicles. The
child died eleven days after the operation. The family history states
that the mother had had 14 children and eight miscarriages. Seven of
the children were dead and showed no abnormalities. The fifth and sixth
children were boys and had the same sexual arrangement.
Barnes, Chalmers, Sippel, and Litten describe cases of spurious
hermaphroditism due to elongation of the clitoris. In Litten's case a
the clitoris was 3 1/2 inches long, and there was hydrocele of the
processus vaginalis on both sides, making tumors in the labium on one
side and the inguinal canal on the other, which had been diagnosed as
testicles and again as ovaries. There was associate cystic ovarian
disease. Plate 4 is taken from a case of false external bilateral
hermaphroditism. Phillips mentions four cases of spurious
hermaphroditism in one family, and recently Pozzi tells of a family of
nine individuals in whom this anomaly was observed. The first was alive
and had four children; the second was christened a female but was
probably a male; the third, fourth, and fifth were normal but died
young; the sixth daughter was choreic and feeble-minded, aged
twenty-nine, and had one illegitimate child; the seventh, a boy, was
healthy and married; the eighth was christened a female, but when
seventeen was declared by the Faculty to be a male; the ninth was
christened a female, but at eighteen the genitals were found to be
those of a male, though the mammae were well developed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account