He considers that they
are all dependent upon an inherited or acquired deficiency or
disease of the thyroid gland, and he presents cases illustrating
each affection. Figure 285 shows a case of myxedema, one of
myxedema in a case of arrested development--a transition case
between myxedema of the adult and sporadic cretinism--and a
typical case of sporadic cretinism.
Cagots are an outcast race or clan of dwarfs in the region of the
Pyrenees, and formerly in Brittany, whose existence has been a
scientific problem since the sixteenth century, at which period
they were known as Cagots, Gahets, Gafets, Agotacs, in France;
Agotes or Gafos, in Spain; and Cacous, in Lower Brittany. Cagot
meant the dog of a Goth; they were of supposed Gothic origin by
some, and of Tartar origin by others. These people were formerly
supposed to have been the descendants of lepers, or to have been
the victims of leprosy themselves. From the descriptions there is
a decided difference between the Cagots and the cretins. In a
recent issue of Cosmos a writer describes Cagots as follows:--
"They inhabit the valley of the Ribas in the northwestern part of
the Spanish province now called Gerona. They never exceed 51 1/2
inches in height, and have short, ill-formed legs, great bellies,
small eyes, flat noses, and pale, unwholesome complexions.
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