Evening star., 1937-04-24

A man or woman of 40 may be "just
growing up"
Definite evidence based on thousands
of measurements that the stature con-
tinues to increase during the fourth
decade of life is presented by DR.. Ales
Hrdllcka, curator of physical anthrO-
pology of the Smithsonian Institution.
The phenomenon appears not only in
DR.. Hrdlicka'S own measurements of
American whites and Indians but in
extensive measurements made Of Union
soldiers during the Civil War and in
various European Investigations. All
show that the stature may increase a
centimeter or more after the individual
has become mature.
There is a universal notion says DR..
Hrdlicka, that when the adult stage of
life has been reached all growth of the
human body and its parts, except in
bulkiness, has been accomplished and
henceforth ceases. The very definition
of an adult is a person grown to full
size and strength Scientifically speak
ing, the view is erroneous That the
notion has remained so long unchalleng-
ed has been due to the difficulties and
scarcity of observations on adults. A
large amount of work has been done
on the child and the adolescent, but
the changes that may be taking place
in the human frame and organs between
the time the adult stage has been
reached and marked senile changes set
in have received little attention"
The age of "a, DR.. Hrdlicka says, gen.
orally is accepted as that of full maturity
of the human male. At about the time,
or shortly afterward, the joints pre-
sumably have attained their permanent
condition. Growth from that point on
can consist only of "interstitial accre-
tons
Apparently in men of all races, DR..
Hrdlicka finds, the legs and trunk grow
at about the same length during adult
life. Some data acquired from extensive
measurements among the Pueblo In
dians, however, indicate that the case
is quite different with women. The
trunk grows at slightly accelerated rate
over the lower limbs. When the changes
incident to old age set in the stature
Of the trunk decreases faster than the
length of the legs. Arm length also ap-
pears to increase slightly and then
decrease during adult life.
In both white Americans and Indians,
DR.. Hrdlicka finds, the hands and feet
tend to become larger during the adult
years. This growth may be slightly
greater, relatively, than that of the
whole body. Among the whites the
changes are more or less obscured by
close-ftting shoes. Among the Indians
the adult growth of the foot was slightly
more in women than in men, DR..
Hrdlicka's measurements showed.
AS for the chest, DR.. Hrdlicka found
that ''in the Indians it keeps on in
creasing slightly in breadth until approx
imately 40-50, and in white seemingly
even later. After that it decreases. The
depth and the relationship between
depth and breadth augment very appre-
ciably throughout the period comprised
by the records or up to 65 years of age"
There now exists" says DR.. Hrdlicka,
sufficient evidence to show that the
growth and development of the body
as whole and of many, if not all, it's
parts is not fully accomplished by what
is generally regarded as the reaching
Of maturity, but proceeds more or less
into the adult stage. Not all the parts
advance at the same rate nor equally as
lOllS anu ItleIe are COIlSlQeTdDlc IN
dividual variations.
"The majority of the dimensions or
characters, headed by stature, progress
perceptibly on the average until well into
the fourth decade of life Others in
crease slightly until the fifth or even
sixth decade. Still others, such as the
dorsal length and breadth OF the nose.
the length of the ears, width Of the
mouth, depth Of the chest, keep On aug