ABSTRACT
In early life the diagnosis of the slighter forms of weak-mindedness is extremely difficult; but, as development proceeds, the recognition becomes easier and the deeper grades are less difficult to discover. The general aspect of a backward child gives some clue to the amount of mental deficiency. We may always observe that brothers and sisters who most resemble each other have heads similarly formed, and that children, whose heads resemble that of one or other parent, manifest the mental qualities of that parent. The frontal sinus, the cavity at the root of the nose which divides the two plates of the skull in adults, presents no difficulty, since it is non-existent or, at the most, of insignificant size in children. With increased mental work the frontal brain shows increased growth. The differences in the mental powers of members of the same family arise wholly from the various degrees of development in the different cerebral parts.
