The eyebrows were merely indicated by a few fine and
very short hairs; the free edges of the eyelids were without
cilia, but the bulb of each of these was indicated by a small,
whitish point. The beard was so thin and weak that Beauvais
clipped it off only every three weeks. A few straggling hairs
were observed on the breast and pubic region, as in young people
on the approach of puberty. There was scarcely any under the
axillae. It was rather more abundant on the inner parts of the
legs. The voice was like that of a full-grown and
well-constituted man. Beauvais was of an amorous disposition and
had had syphilis twice. His mother and both sisters had good
heads of hair, but his father presented the same defects as
Beauvais.
Instances are on record of women devoid of hair about the genital
region. Riolan says that he examined the body of a female
libertine who was totally hairless from the umbilical region
down.
Congenital alopecia is seen in animals. There is a species of
dog, a native of China but now bred in Mexico and in the United
States, which is distinguished for its congenital alopecia. The
same fact has been observed occasionally in horses, cattle, and
dogs. Heusner has seen a pigeon destitute of feathers, and which
engendered a female which in her turn transmitted the same
characteristic to two of her young.
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