Elephant ManIn 1885, a medical report of the deformities of Joseph Carey Merrick was presented to the Pathological Society of London by Dr. Frederick Treves. After a brief career as a professional "freak," he became the best-known resident patient of London Hospital from 1886 until his death in 1890. Merrick, known as the "Elephant Man," had a head had become enormous (3 feet in circumference), with large bags of brownish spongy skin hanging from the back of his head and across his face. His deformed jaws limited his speech to a difficult to understand splutter, and he was unable to show facial expression. Modern researchers identify this as an example of an extremely rare disease known as the Proteus syndrome. |
