Generally most of the people are of normal height, but sometimes we come across people who are exceptionally tall or small. Persons who are exceptionally small are called dwarfs. In circus you must have seen such dwarfs who entertain you.

          Do you know why some people lack normal height? The growth of a person depends on many factors. Heredity plays an important role in determining the height of a man or a woman. Children of tall parents are generally tall while of dwarf parents are dwarf. In Africa, some tribes such as the Watusi and the Masai have many men who are about 200 cm tall. At the same time, there are Pygmy tribes in Africa, whose people are only about 130 cm tall. These variations are due to heredity only.

            Disease is also a reason causing dwarfness. There are cases of dwarfness in which head and trunk are normal in size, but arms and legs are short. This is caused by disease of cartilage. A normal body skeleton increases in length during childhood and adolescence because cartilage changes into bone at the growing ends of the bones. Disease of the cartilage prevents arms and legs from growing to a normal size.

            Dwarfness is often caused by the lack of hormones produced by pituitary gland. The underactive pituitary gland during childhood does not allow the body to grow normally. This type of dwarfness can be treated by injecting hormones. Too much or too little growth is also determined by some disorder in adrenal, pituitary, thyroid and male and female sex glands (testes and ovaries). The growth retardation may also be due to inadequate nutrition and intake of vitamins. The restoration of an inadequate diet, vitamins and mineral intake will also cause the child’s growth to spurt. A dwarf, named Jeffery Hudson, eighteen inches tall served as a captain of cavalry in the British Army. He lived from 1619 to 1692.