The Measurement of a Giantism Patient

Abstract

In February 1957, the authors had an opportunity to take the body measure-ments of a male patient suffering from gigantism, 21 years of age, in Shin-shu University. No abnormal individuals were found among his family, though his father is tall (1725mm). The patient is 2186mm, in stature, while the average stature of the Japanese people is ca. 1640mm, among students and ca. 1600mm, among farmers. But the body proportions are very abnor-mal -short trunk, long limbs, and meagreness in body and extremities. The cephalic index is 76.9; the head is heavy and triangular in frontal view; the face is notably asymmetric and rhomboidal with slant eyes and the nose is comparatively wide. Darwin's tubercle is observable on the ears. In spite of a relatively narrow bigonial diameter, the jaws, especially the chin, are enormous and his lips are swelling. The patient is, therefore, considered to be not only suffering from gigantism but also from acro-megaly. The epiphysial lines still persist in the various long bones. His intelligence does not appear to be subnormal. Detailed data are contained in the Japanese text.