Did Napoleon Bonaparte suffer from hypopituitarism (dystrophia adiposo-genitalis) at the close of his life? / by Leonard Guthrie.

  • Guthrie, Leonard George, 1858-1918.
Date:
1913
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Did Napoleon Bonaparte suffer from hypopituitarism (dystrophia adiposo-genitalis) at the close of his life? / by Leonard Guthrie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    French) or 22'5 inches—was not above the average. The apparent disproportion was probably due to the large size of the face and the powerful lower jaw which characterised Napoleon. But the mandibular prognathism of acromegaly was absent, and the only signs of acromegaly which may be detected in Henry’s description were the width of the hips and general feminine appearance of the pelvic regions, which are in keeping with the pelvic characters observed in male acromegalic subjects by von Bonin, Lannois, Koy, and shown, as von Bonin states, in illustrations of cases recorded by Buday, Thomson, and others. Cushing has drawn attention to the ‘ ‘ maxillary prognathism ” noticeable in subjects of hypopituitarism, and contrasts it with the “ mandibular prognathism ” of acromegaly. Cushing’s photo- graphs illustrating “ maxillary prognathism ” have a marked likeness to each other, and some may detect a resemblance between these subjects of hypopituitarism and the portraits of Napoleon in his later years. As regards the nature of the lesion in Napoleon’s case, it is hardly likely to have been a tumour, because there is no evidence that the optic commissure was involved or that vision was in any way afEected. But the presence of a tumour is not essential for the production of gigantism, acromegaly, and dystrophia adiposo-genitalis. All these conditions may occur singly or combined, as the result of excess, defect, or alteration of the functions of the component parts of the pituitary body. In conclusion, we have evidence that Napoleon towards the close of his life suffered from hypopituitarism of the anterior lobe in the shape of genital atrophy, sexual alopecia, skeletal and tissue changes of feminine type, and lowered temperature. Hypopituitarism of the posterior lobe was, perhaps, indicated by obesity and lowered metabolism. How far his gradual failure of mental and physical energy was attributable to hypopituitarism on the part of the anterior or posterior lobes or of the organ as a whole must be left undetermined. In regard to evidence of hyperpituitarism in Napoleon up to the zenith of his career one is on less sure ground. One can only adduce the habitual slowness of pulse, the life-long frequency of micturition, the “libido sexualis,” and the anomalous cerebral attacks to which he was liable, as evidence of some form of dyspituitarism. Time is not yet ripe for drawing any sweeping conclusions as to the importance of our ductless glands, but knowledge grows apace, and physiologists may in future come to regard not only our physical and sexual development, but also our mental, moral, and intellectual faculties as measures of the activity of our glandular secretions. Upper Berkeley-street, W.