In the investigation of the morphologic constitution, the variations in fat distribution in women are of special importance. It has been found that the different body types, e. g., those described by Mills, Sigaud and Kretschmer, are far less clear in women than in men. Bauer, who has used the type system of Sigaud in a large number of cases, even thought this system unsuitable for the classification of the female habitus. He considered the distribution of subcutaneous fat a much more characteristic sign. Other observers, however, have found these morphologic types useful in the study of women, and the types of Mills and Kretschmer have been indicated in women by anthropometric methods dealing only with skeletal proportions.1 That it is more difficult to differentiate these morphologic types in women than in men is undoubted.
Another point that adds to the importance of variations in fat distribution in women