The problem of age, growth, and death : a study of cytomorphosis, based on lectures at the Lowell Institute, March, 1907 / by Charles S. Minot.

  • Minot, Charles Sedgwick, 1852-1914.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The problem of age, growth, and death : a study of cytomorphosis, based on lectures at the Lowell Institute, March, 1907 / by Charles S. Minot. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    struation ; the acceleration shows itself also in a curve constructed from averages taken from a large number of observations upon many girls, but the variation appears less than it Is for the individual and gives therefore an erroneous impression of the actual de- gree of prepubertal acceleration. This falsification necessarily ensues from the individual variations in the age of the first menstruation,—for the accelera- tions in one girl may occur at an older age than in another and a younger age than in a third, hence when a long series of observations is averaged the result shows an acceleration much longer in duration, but smaller in amount, than is characteristic for the in- dividual. Thus Dr. B. A. Gould found that the stature of American soldiers increased steadily up to thirty-five years to 1.7391 metres, which was the maximum average height for any age. This observa- tion does not prove that the growth period for Americans extends to thirty-five years, for the result noted may be due to more vigorous men growing more and surviving (but not growing) more years than the smaller and weaker men. The averaore at thirty-five is greater than at thirty because—if the suggested explanation is correct—the shorter men have died off. This might be decided by statistical study of the relation of the ages at death from dis- ease to stature. It would certainly be worth while to investigate the problem, with a view of ascertain- ing whether there is any correspondence between the length of life and the size of individuals. A positive