Nigerian Igbo Research Articles

A Comparison of Reversal and Extra Dimensional Shifts in IGBO (Nigerian) Children

Seventy-two Nigerian (Igbo) children learned reversal (R) or extradimensional (ED) shifts under one of the two conditions of locality (Urban or Rural) and one of three conditions of Age (4, or 7, or 10 years). Results showed three significant main effects of shift ( p < 0.001); Age ( p < 0.05), and locality ( p < 0.025). Shift by age interaction was also significant. Reversal shift was more difficult for the younger subjects but performance improved as age increased. The ED-shift did not follow a developmental trend: the 7-year-olds found it more difficult than either the 4-yearor the 10-year-olds. Urban subjects learned both shifts faster than their rural counter-parts, and the 7-year-olds from both localities experienced greater difficulty with the ED-shifts problem than either the 4-year-olds or 10-year-olds. The result were interpreted as consistent with the Kendlers' (1962) mediational theory.

PERFORATION OF THE APPENDIX DURING PREGNANCY; A RARE COMPLICATION OF ENDOMETRIOSIS

Perforation of the appendix in a 23-year-old Nigerian Igbo woman during the 35th week of pregnancy is reported. In the perforated area, the wall of the appendix was replaced largely by decidualized endometriotic tissue.

Child spacing and child mortality among Nigerian Igbos.

Until recently, a birth interval of at least two years was the norm in the Nigerian Igbo culture, a practice necessary for infant health and survival. A study of antenatal patients of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria, shows that this cultural pattern has been disrupted by Westernization, urbanization and consumerism. The patients studied had an average of four pregnancies in five years. Roughly half of those conceived did not survive: 41% of the patients reported having lost at least one child. Modern family planning methods are urged as replacements for the abandoned traditional methods of child spacing.

Bacteriologic study of IUDs removed from Nigerian Igbo women.

Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) removed from 50 Igbo women were subjected to bacteriologic studies. High vaginal swabs from the women were cultured simultaneously. In 49 of the 50 IUDs, the culture was negative. The author concludes that the African IUD wearer, like her Caucasian peer, can safely combat any bacterial nidus introduced during device insertion.

Lip lesions in Nigerian Igbos

Lip lesions in Nigerian Igbos

Adolescent breast masses in Nigerian Igbos

In the Igbos of Nigeria, most adolescent breast masses were due to gynecomastia in males and to fibroadenoma in females. The peak ages for both diseases differed from those reported in a recent American series. An exotic finding was a mammary mass due to onchocerca worms. Curiously, there were as many as two cases of a rare tumor, namely, alveolar soft part sarcoma.

Lip lesions in Nigerian Igbos

Lesions of the lip seen over a 7-year period at a central laboratory serving the Igbos of Nigeria are reviewed. In approximately 8,500 surgical specimens, there were 63 jaw tumors but only 16 lip lesions. Two of the lip lesions alone were carcinomas. Both were (a) squamous celled, (b) associated with sunlight-induced degeneration of the dermal collagen, and (c) found in young adult albinos. Accordingly, albinism should be recognized as one of the etiologic factors in lip cancer. The appropriate preventive action is the wearing of wide-brim hats by albinos.

Jaw tumours in nigerian igbos

Sixty-three cases of jaw tumours in Nigerian Igbos are reviewed. Burkitt's tumour, fibroosseous lesions, ameloblastoma and carcinoma were seen in progressively older patients. The Igbos, like fellow Nigerians, suffer from ameloblastoma at relatively earlier ages than other Africans. Although the Igbos are as prone to keloid formation as other Negro peoples, it is noteworthy that this fibrous tendency was not evident in their jaw tumours. None of the tumours exhibited melanin pigment. The incidence of Burkitt's tumour appears to be lower in the easterly Igbos than in the ethnic groups living in the westerly part of Nigeria.

Acalculous cholecystitis in Nigerian Igbos

Twenty-six patients undergoing cholecystectomy for suspected gallbladder disease in hospitals serving the Igbos of Nigeria were studied. Sixteen patients had chronic acalculous cholecystitis, seven exhibited cholelithiasis, and three showed normal gallbladders. Of the sixteen with acalculous cholecystitis, there were ten males and six females whose ages averaged twenty-eight and forty-two years, respectively. This disease deserves worldwide comparative studies.

Resolution of the appendiceal mass in Nigerian Igbos.

Appendicitis is reputed to be rare or unknown in African communities, but this is not true of the Igbos of Nigeria, West Africa. This paper reports the histologic features of appendices from eight Igbo patients who underwent interval appendectomy two to six months after conservative treatment for appendiceal masses that resolved satisfactorily. Resolution was complete histologically in the two children in the series. In five adult patients, one or more sections of the appendix contained residual inflammation or luminal obliteration. In the remaining adult patient, schistosomiasis coexisted with both inflammation and obliteration.

Cancer of the oral cavity in Nigerian Igbos.

An unselected biopsy material of 31 Nigerian Igbo patients with cancer of the oral cavity is presented. The descending order of localization was gingiva, palate, tongue and floor of mouth. Burkitt's tumour was limited to the jaw and affected older rather than younger children. There was scarcely any preponderance of squamous cell carcinoma in males. It would appear that cancer of the oral cavity is not a great problem in the Igbos and that potent carcinogens concerned with the causation are lacking in the community.

A biopsy study of gallstones in Nigerian igbos.

Within 6 years, approximately 7,500 surgical specimens were collected at a central laboratory serving the Igbos of Nigeria. Only 28 specimens were gallbladders. Gallstones were found in 5 females and 2 males. As in other developing communities in which the diet consists largely of traditional foods, pigment stones outnumbered cholesterol stones, the ratio being 6:1. The know complications were single instances of carcinoma and rupture of the gallbladder.

Enucleations in Nigerian Igbo Children

A series of 32 eyes enucleated from Nigerian Igbo children has been reviewed. Retinoblastoma accounted for 19 enucleations, both sexes being equally affected and most growth being far advance. The seven cases of known trauma were with one exception encountered in boys and involved mostly plant material. Inflammatory pseudotumor was seen in two girls during the first year of life and malignant lymphoma in a boy of 15 years. Corneal ulceration was responsible for enucleation in three boys, one of them being the aftermath of measles.

Alimentary tract carcinomas in Nigerian Igbos.

Geographic oncology has taken immense strides in recent times.¹The current trends are typified by a successful symposium²on alimentary tract cancers in Africans. Although Nigerian data were included, these pertained to the Yorubas, who live in the western region. Accordingly, the eastern Igbos³are considered here. From February 1970 through August 1974, approximately 5,000 surgical specimens were submitted to me by numerous physicians working among the Igbos. Adequate clinical summaries were the only condition required for the free histologic service rendered. Varieties of tissues were received, the general run of them being revealed by the following examples: appendix, 460; cervical lymph node, 134; prostate, 123; thyroid, 104; alimentary tract (esophagus to rectum), 95; liver, 91; salpinx, 64; testis, 57; enucleated eye, 34; kidney, 22; larynx, 20; and lung, 16. Doll⁴stated that pathologic series provide useful information about the distribution of cancer in rural Africa.