Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare LombrosoLombroso, Gina
Science
Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso
Lombroso, Gina
Criminal anthropology; Criminology
The hair covering the head is generally thick and dark, the growth is
often abnormal with square or triangular zones growing in a different
direction from the rest, or in small tufts like those inserted in a
brush. Still more frequently do we find anomalies in the position of the
vortex, or that point whence the hair-growth diverges circularly, which
in normal persons is nearly always situated on the crown. In degenerates
it is frequently on one side of the head and in cretins on the forehead.
Precocious greyness and baldness are common in the insane criminals, and
cretins, on the contrary, show these initial signs of senility at a much
later period than normal persons.
_Teeth._ The greatest percentage of anomalies is found in the incisors;
next come the premolars, the molars, and lastly the canines. In
criminals, especially if epileptics, the middle incisors of the upper
jaw are sometimes missing and their absence is compensated by the
excessive development of the lateral incisors. In other cases the
lateral incisors are of the same size as the middle ones, and sometimes
the teeth are so nearly uniform that it is difficult to distinguish
between incisors, canines, and molars, a circumstance which recalls the
homodontism of the lower vertebrates. After the incisors, the premolars
show the greatest number of anomalies. While in normal persons they are
smaller than the molars, in degenerates they are frequently of the same
size or even larger. Supernumerary teeth, amounting sometimes to a
double row, are not uncommon. In other cases there is extraordinary
development of the canines. Inherited degeneracy from inebriate,
syphilitic, or tuberculous parents frequently manifests itself in
rickety teeth with longitudinal and transverse _striæ_ or serration of
the edges, due to irregularities in the formation of the enamel. In
idiots and epileptics, dentition is often backward and stunted; the
milk-teeth are not replaced by others, or are almond-shaped and
otherwise of abnormal aspect.
_Ears._ The ears of criminals and epileptics exhibit a number of
anomalies. They are sometimes of abnormal size or stand out from the
face. Darwin's tubercle, which is like a point turned forward when the
helix folds over, and turned backward when the helix is flat, is
frequently encountered in the ears of degenerates. The lobe is subject
to a great many anomalies, sometimes it is absent altogether, in some
cases it adheres to the face or is of huge dimensions and square in
shape. Sometimes the helix is prolonged so as to divide the concha in
two. Idiots often show excessive development of the anti-helix, while
the helix itself is reduced to a flattened strip.
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