Abstract

THE hypothesis that mongolism is a special form of congenital syphilis appears to be gaining ground, particularly in France, but it must be admitted that the pathological evidence for such a view remains extremely scanty. Indeed, with the solitary exception of a report by Babonneix¹ syphilitic lesions in the brain of the mongol do not appear to have been recorded. In the case of Babonneix, in addition to vascular and meningeal changes, a small tumour having the histological features of a gumma was found in the sulcus separating the right prefrontal and postfrontal gyri. To this case I am now able to add a second in which the outstanding feature was a syphilitic affection of the cerebral vessels.