Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 87-88. (Budapest, 1979)

TANULMÁNYOK - Czeizel, Endre: A heredodegeneraciós tan történeti értékelése (angol nyelven)

The second chapter of his monography is entitled "To the question of isohaemagglutination"

. On the basis of ABO blood typing in 1000 individuals he found that the distribution of A, B, AB, and O blood groups is 37,5; 26,3; 10,3 and 25,9 per cent. He could not find any connection between the blood groups and the 40 body measures and 60 anthropologic traits respectively he had registered. He had dermatoglyphics from 842 individuals, but the blood groups did not show any valuable correlation with these either. So he justly stated that "blood type is but one of the many anthropologic traits as unsuited in itself for the racial determination of the individual as most of the other traits.

.." At that time world literature had data on ABO blood groups of 2000 persons of about 900 families. Károly Csörsz's 180 full-worth families "increased with about one fifth the total number of cases published so far" and proved right Bernstein's hypothesis of three genes. The third chapter is entitled "Data to the frequency of lues". At that time syphilitic infection of the inhabitants in the region beyond the Tisza was estimated at 15—20 per cent. Out of the 997 persons examined at Tépe, however, only one proved to be tabetic, and that was not an original inhabitant so "he could have acquired his syphilis elsewhere." Positive Wassermann reaction was found in further four persons. Károly Csörsz rightly puts the question if we should not revise the general opinion on the frequency of syphilis. In the fourth chapter he makes known "An interesting case of the inheritance of drawing talent", a conspicuous familial cluster of drawing skill. The starting point is a simple peasant who "was one of those many thousands of clever, precise, thirsty for knowledge, absolutely honest Hungarian men of the Plain who most often had but one single fault that is their poverty"

. Even if they could not become famous artists, people from remote parts of the country and also many experts came to admire their skill. After analysing the pedigree he states that "Talent is not a simple character but a resultant of several components. To find out the respective components is partly a task of genetics, too". The fifth chapter is a contribution "To the question of palpable kidney". This trait was considered a characteristic parameter, easily lending itself to examination, of Stiller and Kretschmer's asthenic constitution. As he wrote: "My plan to approach the problem is an exact genetic analysis first separately, later together, of the more important symptoms and manifestations." Out of 525 women and 510 men, 211 women's (40 per cent) and 26 men's (5 per cent) kidney could be palpated. In the course of the analysis of the family members the prevalence of the Mendelian law could be excluded. Károly Csörsz rightly stated that "looking through the glasses of modern genetics the constitutional theory does not seem as simple as believed by its descriptors"

. The subject of the sixth chapter "On costa decima fluctuans" (loose attachment of the tenth rib) is connected with the previous chapter since this trait is known as a conspicuous symptom of the asthenic type, too. Károly Csörsz perceived such a rib in 223 persons : 110 men (out of them 14 had palpable kidney) and 113 women (54 had palpable kidney). In the course of family studies he found that this trait is dominantly inherited. It means "the costal sign and the palpable kidney, the two symptoms so much emphasized by Stiller show two incompatible modes of inheritance"

. "To the heredity of polydactylia" is the theme of the seventh chapter. He analyses