Anomaly

ANOMALY (from Greek anomalos-irregular), deviation from the norm. The concept of A. can be established after a certain definition of the concept of "norm" and, in particular, "normal person." Leaving aside the metaphysical definition of Hildebrandt, who considers the norm an unattainable ideal, something similar to Plato's idea, one could first interpret the norm as a concept of statistical order, namely, as something average from a multitude of cases. From this average, within certain limits, deviations in one direction or another are possible, with the width of the variation curve, for obvious reasons, being greater the higher the organization of the given species. As such, A. should be interpreted as the extreme variants lying closer to both ends of the variation curve. As something average in content, the concept invested in the normal individual is thus, in essence, an abstract construction; and from the point of view of frequency or repeatability, the variants clustering around the average point of the abscissa of the variation curve should be considered as the most frequently occurring, while the extreme variants, conversely, as the least frequently occurring. It is clear that such a definition of norm and A. does not contain the concept of expediency. With respect, for example, to some species of animals, dying out due to lack of adaptation to environmental conditions, the rare specimens would still have to be considered anomalous, even if they possessed traits making them relatively more stable in the struggle for existence, and conversely, the more frequently occurring ones as normal, even if less viable. There are, however, also definitions of a somewhat different kind of norm, and consequently of A. According to Ribbert, for example, a normal person should be considered as one "whose organs are so correctly constructed that, according to generally recognized scientific experience, can be considered corresponding to the laws of physiology; and if, further, all these organs function in complete harmony with each other and in the absence of sharp deviations of all functions from some average magnitude, also known from experience." Between the ideal norm and A. in this case there is a long series of all possible intermediate stages." Grote gives such a definition: "norm consists in the correspondence of the life manifestations of the individual to the biological necessity arising from the coincidence of his external position in life with his physiological possibilities." "Every person is the measure of his own normality." The latter aphorism, however, contains a certain ambiguity: undoubtedly, as a need, and generally the energy of life manifestations varies in different individuals within wide limits, and what, for example, lies within the bounds of health for one person is already pathology for another. Generally speaking, one can agree with Bauer that the definition of norm, and consequently of A., presupposes the interpretation of the question on a mass, collective, rather than individual scale. Similarly, the tendency in Grote to equate the concept of norm with the concept of health, and A. with disease is hardly correct: disease is indeed the life of the organism in abnormal conditions, but still disease and A. are concepts that do not entirely cover each other. A sharply expressed deviation in body structure may in itself be a disease or lead to illness, but this is not always so: a nose that is too long, for example, or an accessory nipple are undoubtedly A., but these deviations from norm cannot be considered diseases as such. The cause of the appearance of A. may be changes in the germ plasma not always accessible to our research or abnormalities in embryonic development. A. of the first kind can be inherited, fixed by selection and cultivated (the muzzle of bulldogs, the legs of dachshunds, etc.); but in the absence of artificial support such A., being an obstacle in the struggle for existence, disappear (in genetics so-called lethal factors). A. of the second kind are usually not inherited, since they arise due to external influences on the soma of the embryo, however, in contrast to the first, they can be caused experimentally. These A. reduce to the following forms: 1. Heterotopia, i.e., the development of an organ in an improper place (thus, sometimes the lens develops on the dorsal side of the eye, hair on the lower surface of the eyelids, in the oral cavity, in the pericardium, teeth-on the palate, in the ovaries, etc.); displacement of paired primordia often leads to the fusion of corresponding organs (for example, eyes-cyclopia, nasal pits, kidneys, etc.). 2. Heterochrony-development of organs at an improper time, for example, mustaches and beards in boys 8-10 years old, breasts in girls 6-8 years old, etc. A special kind of A.-splitting of one primordium into several; for such anomalies Bateson established a special term "meristic variations," from which result individuals with an increased number of organs. Early division of blastomeres in the period of embryonic development leads to the formation of twins, triplets, etc. Cessation of growth or uneven growth of different parts of the body causes such A. as brachydactyly (short fingers due to cessation of cartilage growth), the so-called pseudohermaphroditism, harelip, i.e., unequal growth of one of the paired primordia of the upper lip. Such A. also include gynandromorphism (the appearance in individuals of one sex of secondary sexual characteristics of the other sex-mustaches, beards in women, female breasts in men), as well as heteromorphoses-very common in invertebrates the development of one organ instead of another-antennae instead of eyes in crustaceans, legs instead of antennae in insects, etc. In addition to morphological A., there are also functional A., including endocrine ones. Among functional A. of human constitution can be included idiosyncrasies (see), deviations in metabolism of an enzymatic nature, of the so-called alkaptonuria (see), and various constitutional deviations in relation to the performance capacity of individual organs-finally, such developmental anomalies as infantilism (arrest at an earlier stage of development) and senilism (premature old age).