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(5.) Median longitudinal, consisting of frontal and parietal, (c.) Bi-latenl longitudinal, consisting of fronto-nasal, fronto-maxillarv, fronto-ethnoidal, fronto-malar. fronto-sphenoi- dal, parieto-splienoidal, parieto-squamous, and parieto-mastoid. T ircliow first clearly demonstrated that the brain-case in- creases in a direction perpendicular to its normal sutures; it follows, therefore, that growth perpendicular to the transverse ETHNOLOGY OF THE CHUAS OF SIIAWDOWLA TEM- sutures increases its aggregate length, that growth perpendicular ? PLE, GOOJRAT, PUNJAB. to the lateral longitudinal sutures increases its height, and, By J. WILSON JOHNSTON, M.D., M.K.C.S.E., finally, that growth perpendicular to the median longitudinal sutures increases its breadth. Civil Assistant-Surgeon, Loobiana. Glance at the subjoined measurements of the adult malo The of the Shawdowla is:?In Akbar's history Temple reign, "chua" as with a skull of a " skull, compared correspo nding fuily Shawdowla, a Sonnee Mussulman fakir, surnamed Vullie," par developed adult of the same sex, caste, and age. excellence, aged 18 years, migrated from Peshawur and founded a at Childless women consulted him at temple G-oojrat. mid- Greatest breadth. and the first-horn was as tribute. The Semi-circle, night, presented origin from fron- of the name "Chua" is the fancied resemblance of head to Longitudi- the. Inter-mastoid arc. nal arc. tal suture to a rat, the first woman who consulted Shawdowla having given occipi- tal protu- birth to a rat-headed child. Shawdowla's three sons married, and berance. in Aurungzebe's reign (Akbar's son) numbered a colony of 100 nouls. His descendants still minister at the temple, which is held in great reverence, and thousands yearly flock to the Shaw- Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Chua'a . " mela." There are now resident in the 9 } 9-5Q dowla temple chuas, Skull j 10 6 5 4 the eldest 40, the 3 years of age. male, female; youngest Normal adult") J Women stealthily seek the temple, and there pas3 the night; on Skull. 113 awaking next morning they find only a chua beside them ; this is supposed to influence conception, and re-produce chuas ad The contrast is apparent, and we are now able to account for libitum. the speciality of the triconcephalous skull of the chua ; growth " The typical skull of the Chua" is trigonocephalous ; its imme- has been stunted in a direction perpendicular to the median lon- diate morphological fcrm is dependent upon a premature amal- gitudinal frontal suture; the anterior vertex has been narrowed gamation of the frontal bone, producing a marked keeled ridge in its transverse diameter or breadth, producing the retreating with its expanded base resting on the nasal bone3, and running forehead, while the parietals have expanded in their transverse longitudinally upwards, until it meets the coronal or fronto- diameter, and are proportionally increased. parietal synchondrosis ; there is an entire absence of the dome- Two theories have been advanced to account for allied mal- like rotundity, so characteristic of the frontal bone, no frontal formations : are but a eminences visible, gradual backward slope of the bila- (a.) The frontal bona germinated from one ossific centrum. teral surfaces, with a defined central carina. The cerebral as- (b.) Normal ossific centres, with premature amalgamation. pect of the frontal protrudes in a sphenoidal form into and The defined carina militates against a central ossific cell; and dovetails with the parietals. Neither fontanelle nor Wormian although all actual sutural trace is lost, the raised linear ridge bones are present. necessitates the normal frontal ossific centras with early con- The longitudinal, vertical transverse, and bilateral, longitudinal fluence and partial obliteration. the sutures are patent; sphenoido-basilar, generally united in one That thb subtle laws of organization have a major part in this from the of 18 to is compact mass, age 25, likewise patent, and special development, there can be no doubt; but, whatever the as the crania of cretins are merits notice characterized by distinctive foetal characteristics may be, compressive agents an? the sphenoido-basilar unity at the earliest age ; posterior clinoid employed to abet Nature's plays of fancy. processes are remarkably developed, and ridge upwards and lied American-Indian and New Zealand skulls have been dis- forward*, overhanging the Sella Turcica. torted into hideous forms by continued pressure ; and it does seem It is of noteworthy that abnormal development the cranium somewhat strange that so many triconocephaloid skulls should may take place by? have been developed without some of them being subjected to (<;.) Unequal progress of ossification from centres, any one mechanical agency to complete, if in certain cases not to deve ? encroaching on any second normal area. lope, the chuoid cranium. (?'>.) By premature ossification of bilateral, or adjacent bones, I am acquainted with a mother whose first-born was a chua, causing a blending and limiting expansive power. ar.d whose second and third sons are strong, healthy, stalwart artificial measures. (c.) By men, in every way equal to ordinary Sonnee Mussulmen ; like- and (d.) By protracted labor pathological changes. wise with two Hindoo lads of high birth, who exhibit a develop- (e.) By decay or posthumous results. ment quite analogous to the Shawdowla chuas, and whose or more combined. (/.) By any two crania have never been tampered with in any way. In the cases under consideration, (e) must be excluded, as The question naturally arises, the chua's cranium being a hours after I disinterred the body within six death. malformation, is there corresponding alteration of cerebral mass, With the view of clearly tracing any abnormality of the and diminution of mental power ? cranium, we must recall the fact that there are two different In the only brain I had the opportunity of examining, there bones :? methods of development in its constituent was a decided diminution in bulk of the anterior lobes, the (?.) Lateral and vertex, from a membrano-cartilaginous special-sense ganglia, although shrunk, did not exhibit any struc- matrix. tural peculiarity, but the parietal or central portion of the cere- (i.) Basal and baso-lateral from a cartilaginous matrix*. brum was expanded in extreme proportion to the absolute size of The human skull presents three typical series of sutures :?? the brain-mass. (<>.) Transverse vertical, consisting of coronal, lamdoidal. The cerebellum was abnormally small; no miscroscopic lesioa sphcnoido-malar, sphenoido-squamous, and mastoido -occipital. could be traced, or other speciality observed. 112 , THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE. [Mat 1. 18?6. In the living chua3 examined, the reasoning power was "Well nigh nil. Each exhibited.? (?.) An almost total inability to articulate, depending ap- parently upon a loss of the regulative action of the tongue muscles, and incapacity for combined movement so as to deve- lope speech. (b.) A total inability to discern the quality of food, any- thing being equally greedily devoured. (c.) An entire absence of sexual powers and puerile deve- lopment of pro-creative organs. They have a special aztic look;, the trunk and limbs are dwarfed and withered ; however, diminutive development in no way regulates brain-mass, or is incompatible with great mental tension. Witness Philetas, " the most considerable man in Greece for fifty years, who was so short and small that he was obliged to put lead in his shoes to keep the wind from blowing him away." I had once the opportunity of lithotom.izing a male chua, exhibiting every characteristic of formation and intellectual aberration ; the operation was successful, but on the evening of the third day, when the wound was fleshing most favorably, he signalled for a drink ; while swallowing it, he was suddenly seized with centric convulsions, and died. I regret that every effort failed to obtain an autopsy ; and having no reason for supposing any active disease of the brain to exist, conclude that just as the curing of fistula in ano, in phthisical cases, leads to a rapid development of pulmonary ulceration, the excision of cancerous tumours accelerates the appearance of cancer in local organs, the rapid closing of haemorrhoids arouse hematuria and haemoptysis, or stricture of the ureters lead to cuticular pemphigoid bullee, charged with urates; so the removal of the cystoid irritation, caused by the mulberry calculus, led to the accession of grave cerebral disorder in a malformed brain, terminating in sudden death. .

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