Idiocy

(id'-e-o-se). A condition of mental deficiency, usually accompanied by physical degeneracy. It is characterized by a peculiar coarse, brutal, and cunning nature, with marked physical peculiarities. It is more common in males than in females. I. of Deprivation, that in which from birth there is a lo of two or more of the senses, with consequent lack of external impre ions. I., Eclampsic, that following infantile convulsions. Fourteen per cent, of cases of idiocy are said to be of this origin. I., Epileptic, that a ociated with epilepsy. Such cases are the subjects of epileptic convulsions through life. I., Ethnic, a characteristic of certain idiocies of the Caucasian race, in which individuals are seen who present a kind of mimicry of various other races of mankind. Among the types of idiocy thus characterized, writers have described the American- Indian type, the Ethiopian or the Kalmuck, the Malayan, and the highly characterized Mongolian type, which includes about ten per cent, of all cases of idiocy. I., Gene to us, those cases in which, although the causation is indefinite, the condition dates from fetal life. I., Hydrocephalic, that dependent upon hydrocephalus. I., Inflammatory. See I, Traumatic. I., Microcephalic, that a ociated with smallne of the head. A circumference le than eighteen inches implies idiocy. I., Paralytic, that from paralysis following injury before or after birth. I., Traumatic, that due to injury during labor or in early childhood. Idioderma (id-e-o-der' -mah). Same as Dermatitis tuberosa.