Ateliosis

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Ateliosis or ateleiosis is a diagnosis used in the early 1900s to describe patients with short stature. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it is, “dwarfism associated with anterior pituitary deficiencies and marked by essentially normal intelligence and proportions though often retarded sexual development”^[1]. The physical characteristics include: normal facial features, child-like high pitched voice, proportioned body, and abnormal genitalia. Their mental development is normal to slightly delayed. Hastings Gilford originated the term in 1911 to describe patients with "continuous youth"^[2].

Case Studies

A girl age 18 in year 1926: The patient is 4 ft. 1 in. tall and weighs 3 st. 5 lb. She is described as a miniature version of a woman. Her mental capacity is below average but not considered a form of retardation. There are no other cases of ateliosis in her family. The patient is treated with thyroid extract. According to the medical record, “the condition of this patient shown, it will be agreed, corresponds with Lorain types of infantilism, that is, a delicate, undersized individual with the bodily proportions of an adult, but without secondary sexual characteristics”^[3].

A man age 42 in year 1910: The patient is 47.7 in tall and weighs 4 st. 13 lb. He is described as having the physical development of a nine or ten year old boy. According to the medical examination, his growth and development stopped at age nine. The lungs, heart, blood vessels, and abdomen are normal. His head size is abnormal in proportion to his body. He has no facial or pubic hair. He has underdeveloped sex organs. Mentally, he has no developmental delays^[4]. There are no other cases of the disease in his family. The cause of the patient’s disease is unknown.

A woman age 20 in year 1913: The patient is 135 cm tall and weighs 34 kilograms. The patient’s physical development stopped at age twelve. According to the medical examination, the patient has psoriasis and a chronic middle ear disease^[5]. She has had measles, mumps, chronic tonsillitis, pneumonia and scarlet fever. There is no family history of dwarfism or infantilism in her family. A gynecological exam showed that the patient has underdeveloped sex organs, a nearly absent uterus, and no ovaries. Her hands and feet are abnormally large in proportion to her body. A psychological examination concluded that the patient’s mental development was slightly abnormal probably resulting from her hearing disability. The patient also suffered from slight spinal scoliosis. The medical report concluded, “I think the present case should be included amongst the “ateleiosis” group according to the descriptions of Hastings Gilford, the originator of the term”^[6].

References