The funnel pelvis / by J. Whitridge Williams.

  • John Whitridge Williams
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The funnel pelvis / by J. Whitridge Williams. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    black women—a total incidence of 13,33 and 40.93 per eent. re- spectively. As the usual types of contracted pelvis were noted in 7.46 per cent, of the former and 34.5 per cent, of the latter, it is evident that they occur nearly five times more frequently in black than in white women. Furthermore, when we consider that typical funnel pelvis were also present in 5.87 and 6.43 per cent, of the cases, respectively, it would appear that they are of relatively greater importance in the white race, in which they constitute 44 per cent, of all abnormal pelves, as compared with 15.23 per cent, in the black race. In other words, they represent the most common variety of contracted pelvis in white women, while they only rank fourth in order of frequency in black. As was pointed out in my previous paper, these findings are of great interest in connection with the etiology of outlet contrac- tions. The fact that the usual types of contracted pelvis occur four or five times more frequently in colored women renders it highly probable that the explanation for the difference must be sought in certain conditions peculiar to that race, and, from the study of colored women as seen in my service, these would appear to consist in imperfect general development and rhachitis, which may be regarded as resulting from the imperfect nutrition and poor hygienic conditions under which the colored women live in large cities. On the other hand the fact that typical funnel pelves occur equally frequently in the two races, inevitably leads to the conclusion that the etiological factor concerned in their production must be sought in some eondition which is common to both, which, as I have already indicated, usually consists in lumbosacral assimilation. On the other hand, I am inclined to regard the gener- ally contracted funnel pelvis as merely an exaggeration of the imperfect general development of the entire pelvis, and consider that the outlet eontraction is rarely associated with lumbo-sacral assimilation. For this reason, I do not regard the generally contracted funnel pelvis as a distinct type, but consider it merely a variety of the justo-minor pelvis. Upon counting the two together, my figures show that they make up 34.29 and 53.72 per cent, of all pelvic abnormalities in the two races respectively. Effect upon Labor.—^Fortunately, for its effect upon the course of labor, the typical funnel pelvis usually presents only a moder- ate degree of contraetion. Thus, in the seventy-seven white women the distance between the tubera ischii measured