Teratology

TERATOLOGY. - It is the science that studies monsters in their genesis and in their characteristics. An individual is called a monster when it presents one or more anomalies such as to make it gravely aberrant from normality. The distinction between monster and ano-

TERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS AND OF THE HOLY FACE, saint - Last part of the letter of St. T. of the C. J. written on 27 Jan. 1897 to Brother Simeon, founder of the "St. Joseph" - Rome, Archive of the College of St. Joseph.

bad, of a purely quantitative order, therefore remains of subjective value and such that, in borderline cases, it is sometimes not easy to draw a clear boundary between grave anomaly and slight monstrosity.

The formation of a monster must be considered a consequence of ontogenetic alterations that develop in the pre-fecundation stage of the egg and spermatozoon, or in the phases of the fertilized ovum that follow until complete organogenesis; therefore the anomaly may be such as to affect it even in its intimate constitution, and in that case the damage is far more serious, or it may simply present itself as a defect of the further phases of its development. The causes may be the most varied, from anomaly of the sexual elements (spermatozoa with multiple heads or multiple tails seem to be important for explaining the origin of multiple monstrosities), to hereditary causes, to mechanical, physical, chemical causes, to intoxications (alcohol) and to infections both acute (rubella) and chronic (syphilis), to psychopathies, to consanguinity; the importance of purely psychic causes (impressions, emotions, frights, etc.) is controversial. The vitality of the monster is affected by the extent of the malformation and can range from the impossibility of extrauterine life to many years of survival (the monster pair "Siamese twins" lived to the age of 63 and had 22 children, all normal).

The monstrous malformation may affect the whole individual or only certain parts of it; thus, from failure of closure of the skull or of the vertebral column there arise cranioschisis, anencephaly, rachischisis; affecting the face and neck: prosoposchisis, cleft lip, cleft palate, cyclopia; affecting the thorax and abdomen: sternal fissures, exstrophy of the bladder, pseudo-hermaphroditism and true hermaphroditism; affecting the extremities: amelia, phocomelia, symmelia, polydactyly; affecting the external covering tissues (integuments): spines, horns, albinism, alopecia, onychogryphosis. The monstrosity may manifest itself in multiple or compound form, each monster presenting itself free on its own account (this falls within the field of twinning) or united symmetrically or asymmetrically to the other. The union may be between the skulls (craniopagi) or between the thoraxes (thoracopagi) or between the caudal extremities (ischiopagi), etc.; otherwise, in the asymmetric form, the parasitic individual may be cranial, thoracic, or gastro-parasitic.

Some monstrosities, whether individual or multiple, contained within particular regional and severity limits, are susceptible to surgical repair.

Alessandro Marolla