Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [127]
destroyed.
When a woman gives birth to an infant--
(46) that has many white hairs on the head, the days of the king will be prolonged;
(47) that has much ipga on the head, the master of the house will die, the house will be destroyed;
(48) that has much pinde on the head, joy shall go to meet the house (that has a head on the head, the good augury shall enter at its aspect into the house);
(49) that has the head full of hali, there will be ill-will toward him and the master (king) of the town shall die;
(50) that has the head full of siksi the king will repudiate his masters;
(51) that has some pieces of flesh (skin) hanging on the head, there shall be ill-will;
(52) that has some branches (?) (excrescences) of flesh (skin) hanging on the head, there shall be ill-will, the house will perish;
(53) that has some formed fingers (horns ?) on the head, the days of the king will be less and the years lengthened (in the duration of his old age);
(54) that has some kali on the head, there will be a king of the land;
(55) that has a ---- of a bird on the head, the master of the house shall not prosper;
(56) that has some teeth already through (cut), the days of the king will arrive at old age, the country will show itself powerful over (against) strange (feeble) lands, but the house where the infant is born will be ruined;
(57) that has the beard come out, there will be abundant rains;
(58) that has some birta on the head, the country will be strengthened (reinforced);
(59) that has on the head the mouth of an old man and that foams (slabbers), there will be great prosperity in the land, the god Bin will give a magnificent harvest (inundate the land with fertility), and abundance shall be in the land;
(60) that has on one side of the head a thickened ear, the first-born of the men shall live a long time (?);
(61) that has on the head two long and thick ears, there will be tranquility and the pacification of litigation (contests);
(62) that has the figure in horn (like a horn ?) . . ."
As ancient and as obscure as are these records, Ballantyne has carefully gone over each, and gives the following lucid explanatory comments:--
"What 'ears like a lion' (No. 1) may have been it is difficult to determine; but doubtless the direction and shape of the auricles were so altered as to give them an animal appearance, and possibly the deformity was that called 'orechio ad ansa' by Lombroso. The absence of one or both ears (Nos. 2 and 3) has been noted in recent times by Virchow (Archiv fur path. Anat. xxx., p. 221), Gradenigo (Taruffi's 'Storia della Teratologia,' vi., p. 552), and others. Generally some cartilaginous remnant is found, but on this point the Chaldean record is silent. Variations in the size of the ears (Nos. 4 and 5) are well known at the present time, and have been discussed at length by Binder (Archiv fur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, xx., 1887) and others. The exact malformation indicated in Nos. 6 and 7 is, of course, not to be determined, although further researches in Assyriology may clear up this point. The 'round ear' (No. 8) is one of Binder's types, and that with a 'wound below' (No. 9) probably refers to a case of fistula auris congenita (Toynbee, 'Diseases of the Ear,' 1860). The instance of an infant born with two ears on the right side (No. 10) was doubtless one of cervical auricle or preauricular appendage, whilst closure of the external auditory meatus (No. 11) is a well-known deformity.
"The next thirteen cases (Nos. 12-24) were instances of anomalies of the mouth and nose. The 'bird's beak' (No. 12) may have been a markedly aquiline nose; No. 13 was a case of astoma; and Nos. 14 and 15 were instances of stenosis or atresia of the anterior nares. Fetuses with absence of the maxillae (Nos. 16 and 17) are in modern terminology called agnathous. Deformities like that existing in Nos. 20 and 21 have been observed in paracephalic and cyclopic fetuses. The coincident absence of nose and penis (No. 21) is interesting, especially when taken in conjunction
When a woman gives birth to an infant--
(46) that has many white hairs on the head, the days of the king will be prolonged;
(47) that has much ipga on the head, the master of the house will die, the house will be destroyed;
(48) that has much pinde on the head, joy shall go to meet the house (that has a head on the head, the good augury shall enter at its aspect into the house);
(49) that has the head full of hali, there will be ill-will toward him and the master (king) of the town shall die;
(50) that has the head full of siksi the king will repudiate his masters;
(51) that has some pieces of flesh (skin) hanging on the head, there shall be ill-will;
(52) that has some branches (?) (excrescences) of flesh (skin) hanging on the head, there shall be ill-will, the house will perish;
(53) that has some formed fingers (horns ?) on the head, the days of the king will be less and the years lengthened (in the duration of his old age);
(54) that has some kali on the head, there will be a king of the land;
(55) that has a ---- of a bird on the head, the master of the house shall not prosper;
(56) that has some teeth already through (cut), the days of the king will arrive at old age, the country will show itself powerful over (against) strange (feeble) lands, but the house where the infant is born will be ruined;
(57) that has the beard come out, there will be abundant rains;
(58) that has some birta on the head, the country will be strengthened (reinforced);
(59) that has on the head the mouth of an old man and that foams (slabbers), there will be great prosperity in the land, the god Bin will give a magnificent harvest (inundate the land with fertility), and abundance shall be in the land;
(60) that has on one side of the head a thickened ear, the first-born of the men shall live a long time (?);
(61) that has on the head two long and thick ears, there will be tranquility and the pacification of litigation (contests);
(62) that has the figure in horn (like a horn ?) . . ."
As ancient and as obscure as are these records, Ballantyne has carefully gone over each, and gives the following lucid explanatory comments:--
"What 'ears like a lion' (No. 1) may have been it is difficult to determine; but doubtless the direction and shape of the auricles were so altered as to give them an animal appearance, and possibly the deformity was that called 'orechio ad ansa' by Lombroso. The absence of one or both ears (Nos. 2 and 3) has been noted in recent times by Virchow (Archiv fur path. Anat. xxx., p. 221), Gradenigo (Taruffi's 'Storia della Teratologia,' vi., p. 552), and others. Generally some cartilaginous remnant is found, but on this point the Chaldean record is silent. Variations in the size of the ears (Nos. 4 and 5) are well known at the present time, and have been discussed at length by Binder (Archiv fur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, xx., 1887) and others. The exact malformation indicated in Nos. 6 and 7 is, of course, not to be determined, although further researches in Assyriology may clear up this point. The 'round ear' (No. 8) is one of Binder's types, and that with a 'wound below' (No. 9) probably refers to a case of fistula auris congenita (Toynbee, 'Diseases of the Ear,' 1860). The instance of an infant born with two ears on the right side (No. 10) was doubtless one of cervical auricle or preauricular appendage, whilst closure of the external auditory meatus (No. 11) is a well-known deformity.
"The next thirteen cases (Nos. 12-24) were instances of anomalies of the mouth and nose. The 'bird's beak' (No. 12) may have been a markedly aquiline nose; No. 13 was a case of astoma; and Nos. 14 and 15 were instances of stenosis or atresia of the anterior nares. Fetuses with absence of the maxillae (Nos. 16 and 17) are in modern terminology called agnathous. Deformities like that existing in Nos. 20 and 21 have been observed in paracephalic and cyclopic fetuses. The coincident absence of nose and penis (No. 21) is interesting, especially when taken in conjunction