They were composed of several layers, whitish
interiorly, reddish-gray on the exterior, and full of black
points. These nails fell off at the end of four months and were
succeeded by others. There were also horny laminae on the knees
and shoulders and elbows which bore a resemblance to nails, or
rather talons. They were sensitive only at the point of insertion
into the skin. Various other parts of the body, particularly the
backs of the hands, presented these horny productions. One of
them was four inches in length. This horny growth appeared after
small-pox. Ash, in the Philosophical Transactions, records a
somewhat similar case in a girl of twelve.
Anomalies of the Teeth.--Pliny, Colombus, van Swieten, Haller,
Marcellus Donatus, Baudelocque, Soemmering, and Gardien all cite
instances in which children have come into the world with several
teeth already erupted. Haller has collected 19 cases of children
born with teeth. Polydorus Virgilus describes an infant who was
born with six teeth. Some celebrated men are supposed to have
been born with teeth; Louis XIV was accredited with having two
teeth at birth. Bigot, a physician and philosopher of the
sixteenth century; Boyd, the poet; Valerian, Richard III, as well
as some of the ancient Greeks and Romans, were reputed to have
had this anomaly.
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