IN December, 1892, the subject of this paper was first brought to me for treatment, and the case presented so many peculiar and unusual features that I deemed it of sufficient interest to report.
The patient, Kate R., aged nine years, is the fourth child and only daughter of a family of seven children, four of whom are still living and are strong and robust.
Of the three dead, one died of diphtheria; one from fracture of the skull, a result of accident; and the third at one and a half years of age from cerebrospinal meningitis. The family history is as follows:
The maternal great-grandmother died of dropsy, cause unknown; the maternal great-grandfather died of apoplexy; the maternal grandfather died from chloral poisoning. The maternal grandmother is still living, is about sixty years of age, and, except for chronic rheumatism from which she is a great sufferer, is in good health. The mother is strong and hearty, and is able to do the housework and sewing for the entire family. The paternal grandfather died at an advanced age from some acute disease; was sick only a few days. The paternal grandmother is still living and is nearly ninety years of age. She is a large woman and perfectly well. The father is a large, healthy man, weighing over two hundred pounds, and has never been sick.
J Cutan Genito-Urin Dis.
July 1895;13:269-270.