Dwarfism

The Dwarf Don Sebastián de Morra, by Velázquez.

Dwarfism is used to describe a person of short stature, less than 4 feet, 10 inches (147 cm). This is often, though not always, because of a medical condition. People with this condition are called dwarves or little people. A similar term for short people is midget; however, dwarves and midgets are not the same. Midgets are perfectly proportioned humans, while dwarves have a large head and misshapen limbs and torsos.

Dwarfism is usually caused by the person inheriting an allele (a mutant gene), which produces a defect in development. Defects caused by genetics are the main kind of congenital defects, and usually cannot be cured.

The most common cause of dwarfism is a defect in bone development called achondroplasia, in which the limbs are short in proportion to the body. This accounts for 70% of cases.

Extreme shortness, but with body parts of normal proportions, may be caused by growth hormone deficiency, once known as pituitary dwarfism.

There are more than 200 other conditions which may cause dwarfism.

Rossow Midgets, circus poster, 1897

In the 19th century in the United States, people with dwarfism were a major attraction of many circus sideshows. The most famous little people in the history of the American circus are General Tom Thumb and Michu.

Dwarfism Media

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  Dwarfism occurs in animals as well as humans; horses can have achondroplastic symptoms, as shown here next to a person with dwarfism. All small dog breeds exhibit dwarfism (the standard size of dogs, without interference from humans, is the same as that of the wolves).

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  Seneb, court official and priest for the Ancient Egyptian rulers Khufu and Djedefre, with his wife Senetites and their children

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  Lavinia Warren, an actress with pituitary dwarfism (growth hormone deficiency)

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  Two Norse dwarfs as depicted in a 19th-century edition of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá (1895) by Lorenz Frølich

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  Pedal extenders for short statured individuals (skeletal dysplasia)

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  Ivory statuette of a woman with dwarfism, Gerzeh culture (Naqada II), Prehistoric Egypt

Related pages

• Category:People with dwarfism

Other websites

• NHS information