Congenital absence of the abdominal muscles.

In the most recent, authoritative, British text-book of diseases of infancy and childhood10, congenital absence of the abdominal muscles is dismissed in the following words:' Congenital absence of the abdominal muscles has also been recorded. In the case illustrated, the leathery, wrinkled appearance of the skin is seen. On palpation, the abdomen felt like a soft bag. The infant was extremely constipated and, being unable to cough properly, soon succumbed to pulmonary infection.' This does not by any means, epitomize the whole story of a condition that has been very much recorded, especially in Germany. In the present monograph a new case is reported in detail and a discussion of the etiology of the condition follows a summary of the chief points of interest in the other thirty-three published cases.