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In the brain there is a tiny gland known as the pituitary gland, weighing little more than half a gram, and divided into two portions the "anterior" and the "posterior" lobes. Hypertrophy of the anterior lobe causes gigantism. The bones grow to an exaggerated length; the hands, feet, and bones of the face grow enormous.
It may be mentioned here that Brissaud and Meige noticed the same loss in height, only more pronounced, in a case of gigantism, the loss being more than 15 inches. In Starr's case the tongue was normal and there was no swelling of the thyroid.
Acromegaly is distinguished from osteitis deformans in that it is limited to hypertrophy of the hands, feet, and face, and it usually begins earlier. In gigantism the so-called "giant growth of bones" is often congenital in character, and is unaccompanied by inflammatory symptoms. The deformities of the articulations may be congenital but in most cases are acquired.
Indeed, the proportions of "General Tom Thumb" were those of an ordinary infant of from thirteen to fifteen months old. Recently, the association of acromegaly with gigantism has been noticed, and in these instances there seems to be an acquired uniform enlargement of all the bones of the body.
Hypertrophy of the digits is the result of many different processes, and true hypertrophy or gigantism must be differentiated from acromegaly, elephantiasis, leontiasis, and arthritis deformans, for which distinction the reader is referred to an article by Park.
Robert Hale, the "Norfolk Giant," who died in Yarmouth in 1843 at the age of forty-three, was 7 feet 6 inches high and weighed 452 pounds. The skeleton of Cornelius McGrath, now preserved in the Trinity College Museum, Dublin, is a striking example of gigantism. At sixteen years he measured 7 feet 10 inches.
In other words, they are diseased, and fall within the domain of the pathologist. Here then, as Brissaud says, you have your giants despoiled of their ancient and favourite prestige. Mythology yields the place to pathology." The causes of gigantism and of dwarfs are now well known.
The authors agree with Dana and others that there is an intimate relation between acromegaly and gigantism, but they go further and compare both to the growth of the body.
The many theories of the cause of gigantism will not be discussed here, the reader being referred to volumes exclusively devoted to this subject. Celebrated Giants. Mention of some of the most famous giants will be made, together with any associate points of interest. Becanus, physician to Charles V, says that he saw a youth 9 feet high and a man and a woman almost 10 feet.
We had been to the London Hospital to see a remarkable case of acromegaly, and, as we returned, we discussed this curious affection, and the allied condition of gigantism, in all their bearings, from the origin of the "Gibson chin" to the physique of Og, King of Bashan.
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