Cretinism

Knaggs, R. Lawford

doi:10.1002/bjs.1800166304

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The endocranial volume ( ECV ) of LB1 is only 417 cm 3 , although this may have been reduced by post-mortem deformation. Synchondroses in the basicranium (Madeline & Elster 1995), including the paired posterior intraoccipital, anterior intraoccipital and petrooccipital synchondroses, and the single spheno-occipital synchondrosis tend to remain open (cartilaginous) in adult cretins (Dolega 1891;Knaggs 1928). Widths of 2-4 mm are reported (Stoccada 1915;Schinz et al 1952) and a 13-year-old cretin skull displayed a very wide petro-occipital gap (MacCallum & Fabyan 1907).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are the small human-like fossils found on Flores human endemic cretins?

2008

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Fossils from Liang Bua (LB) on Flores, Indonesia, including a nearly complete skeleton (LB1) dated to 18 kyr BP, were assigned to a new species, Homo floresiensis. We hypothesize that these individuals are myxoedematous endemic (ME) cretins, part of an inland population of (mostly unaffected) Homo sapiens. ME cretins are born without a functioning thyroid; their congenital hypothyroidism leads to severe dwarfism and reduced brain size, but less severe mental retardation and motor disability than neurological endemic cretins. We show that the fossils display many signs of congenital hypothyroidism, including enlarged pituitary fossa, and that distinctive primitive features of LB1 such as the double rooted lower premolar and the primitive wrist morphology are consistent with the hypothesis. We find that the null hypothesis (that LB1 is not a cretin) is rejected by the pituitary fossa size of LB1, and by multivariate analyses of cranial measures. We show that critical environmental factors were potentially present on Flores, how remains of cretins but not of unaffected individuals could be preserved in caves, and that extant oral traditions may provide a record of cretinism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two sporadic cretins have been well described, a 28-year-old European male, Dolega's case (DC; Dolega 1891; Knaggs 1928), and a 23-year-old Singhalese female we refer to as Hill's cretin (HC;Hill 1936). Summaries of further descriptive data are provided from the literature and additional skulls that have been inspected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%