However, there are
many authentic cases of infantile menstruation on record, which
were generally associated with precocious development in other
parts as well. Billard says that the source of infantile
menstruation is the lining membrane of the uterus; but Camerer
explains it as due to ligature of the umbilical cord before the
circulation in the pulmonary vessels is thoroughly established.
In the consideration of this subject, we must bear in mind the
influence of climate and locality on the time of the appearance
of menstruation. In the southern countries, girls arrive at
maturity at an earlier age than their sisters of the north.
Medical reports from India show early puberty of the females of
that country. Campbell remarks that girls attain the age of
puberty at twelve in Siam, while, on the contrary, some observers
report the fact that menstruation does not appear in the
Esquimaux women until the age of twenty-three, and then is very
scanty, and is only present in the summer months.
Cases of menstruation commencing within a few days after birth
and exhibiting periodical recurrence are spoken of by Penada,
Neues Hannoverisehes Magazin, Drummond, Buxtorf, Arnold, The
Lancet, and the British Medical Journal.
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