Nutrition and growth in children (1922) (14598311807)

A TYPICAL MALNOURISHED CHILD: Alfred H., aged nine years. Notice his serious expression, mouth breathing, lines under the eyes, thin arms and legs, and pronated feet.
Identifier: nutritiongrowth00emer (find matches)
Title: Nutrition and growth in children
Year: 1922 (1920s)
Authors: Emerson, William R. P. (William Robie Patten), b. 1869
Subjects: Children Growth
Publisher: New York, London, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



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nutrition.The serious, drawn look with lines under theeyes is significant. There is usually pallor, alack of the glow of health, and the hair seemsdead. The skin loses its normal, pink color,becomes rough, and is sometimes so loose thatit can be picked up and separated from thesubcutaneous tissues. The lips of the mouthbreather are dry and crusted. The malnourished childs muscles are flabby.This is most easily tested by feeling the musclesof the upper arm. Similar weakness is shownby the very common fatigue posture, evi-denced both in sitting and standing. By thiswe mean the position with the head set forward,round shoulders with protruding shoulderblades, flat chest, prominent abdomen, and pro-nated or flat feet. This fatigue posture isone of the most serious results of malnutrition.The prominent abdomen, due to relaxed walls,may not be evident when the child is lying flat,but is well marked in a standing position. Thevisceroptosis causes digestive disturbance andlowered vitality. 28
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FlGUKE 7. A TYPICAL MALNOURISHED CHILD Alfred H., aged nine years. Notice his serious expression, mouthbreathing, lines under the eyes, thin arms and legs, and pronated feet.Alfred was under observation over three years before his case wasfinally diagnosed as congenital duodenal obstruction. His defects were:underweight 17 per cent (9 lb.) ; naso-pharyngeal obstruction; cariousteeth teigbt) ; fatigue posture: habit spasm; congenital duo-denal obstruction tbands) with gastric dilatation. PHYSICAL-GROWTH EXAMINATION Naso- Pharyngeal Obstruction.—Obstructionin the nose and pharynx is perhaps the mostimportant of all defects in its relation to nutri-tion, and its most common symptom is mouthbreathing. As the child may keep his mouthclosed while receiving the attention of the ex-aminer, this sign may pass unnoticed, but heshould be watched when he is not aware of ob-servation, and if the lips are parted, the throatspecialist should be consulted. Controlled observation in the nutrition cl