Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by George M Gould and Walter L Pyle

Original Copyright 1896 by W.B. Saunders
bearded lady
Lamprey has made a minute examination of the much-spoken-of "Horned Men of Africa." He found that this anomaly was caused by a congenital malformation and remarkable development of the infraorbital ridge of the maxillary bone (See below).
 
He described .several cases, and through an interpreter found that they were congenital, followed no history of traumatism, caused little inconvenience, and were unassociated with disturbance of the sense of smell. He also learned that the deformity was quite rare in the Cape Coast region, and received no information tending to prove the conjecture that the tribes in West Africa used artificial means to produce the anomaly, although arch custom is prevalent among many aborigines. Probably the most remarkable case of a horn was that of Paul Rodrigues, a Mexican porter, who, from the upper and lateral part Of his head, had a horn 14 inches in circumference and divided into three shafts, which he concealed by constantly wearing a peculiarly shaped red cap. There is in Paris a wax model of a horn, eight or nine inches in length, removed from an old woman by the celebrated Souberbielle. The picture below is from a wax model supposed to have been taken from life, showing an enormous grayish-black horn proceeding from the forehead.
< Back Next >
Site and graphics constructed and designed by Pete (PeetFeet) Marsden. Contact me at peetfeet@geocities.com