(from Cyclopædia of the Diseases of Children, by John M. Keating; 1889)
Lewis Whaley, of Birmingham, Alabama, completes the history of the case. In the spring of 1887 he was called to see Mrs. B(icknell), who had been married about one year, on account of the following symptoms: pain in the left side, nausea, capricious appetite, headache and fever, amenorrhœa of two months' duration. She suffered from pain above the pubes, and thought an abcess was forming. Upon being informed that she was pregnant, she replied that she thought the physician was mistaken, but that she could have believed it more readily if the alleged pregnancy had been on the right side. Eight weeks later, after consultation with Drs. Haden and Aldridge, abortion was induced, under the twofold indication of contracted pelvis (antero-posterior diameter of outlet of left pelvis two inches, transverse one and one-half inches) and oncoercible vomiting, by puncture of the membranes. She was delivered of a well-developed fœtus of three months and one-half; her recovery was rapid and complete.
As described by Dr. Whaley, Mrs. B. is a refined woman, of some musical taste. Her very large hips are the chief thing noticeable about her. Her waist is also rather disproportionate to her height. She is a well-developed woman from the umbilicus up. About an inch from the navel is a second one partially developed. The lower extremities are present in pairs on either side of the median groove, which resembles the cleft of an ordinary pair of legs, except that there is no evidence of anus or genital organ. Between each pair of legs there is a complete, distinct set of genital organs, both external and internal, each supported by a pubic arch. Each set acts independently of the other, except at the menstrual period. There are apparently two sets of bowels (sic), and two ani; both are perfectly independent, - diarrhœa may be present on one side, constipation on the other. Menstruation began at the usual age, is normal, and occurs simultaneously from both sides. The two outer limbs, on which the woman walks, are well developed, though the foot of the right is in a state of equino-varus. The inner limbs are smaller, atrophied from disease, and, below the knee, very rudimentary." |
