Facial hemiatrophy is an incurable disease, as yet of unknown
pathology. It consists of wasting of the bones, subcutaneous tissues,
and muscles of one-half of the face or head, the muscles suffering but
slightly. The accompanying illustration shows a case in which there was
osseous depression of the cranium and a localized alopecia. The disease
is very rare, only about 100 cases having been reported. Of five cases
seen by Dana, three were in females and two in males; in all the cases
that could be found the origin was between the tenth and twentieth
years. It is a chronic affection, usually beginning in early life,
increasing slowly for years, and then becoming stationary. It is
distinguished from one-sided muscular atrophy by the electric reaction,
which is not lost in the facial muscles in facial hemiatrophy, and
there is no atrophy of other muscles of the body.

Burr contributes an exhaustive paper on hemiatrophy of the tongue with
report of a case as follows: "L. B., female, mulatto, thirty-one years
old, married, came to the Medico-Chirurgical Hospital, Philadelphia,
September 23, 1895, complaining that her 'tongue was crooked.' Save
that she had had syphilis, her personal history is negative. In
February, 1895, she began to suffer from headache, usually behind the
left ear, and often preventing sleep. At times there is quite severe
vertigo. Several weeks after the onset, headache persisting, she awoke
in the night and found the left side of the tongue swollen, black, and
painless. For some hours she could neither speak nor chew, but
breathing was not interfered with. After a few days all symptoms passed
away except headache, and she thought no more of the matter until
recently, as stated above, she noticed by accident that her tongue was
deformed. She is a spare, poorly-fed, muddy-skinned mulatto girl. The
left half of the tongue is only about one-half as large as the right.
The upper surface is irregularly depressed and elevated. There are no
scars. When protruded it turns sharply to the left. Fibrillary
twitching is not present. The mucous membrane is normal. Common
sensation and taste are preserved. The pharyngeal reflex is present.
The palate moves well. There is no palsy or wasting of the face. The
pupils are of normal size and react well to light and with
accommodation. Station and gait are normal. There is no incoordination
of movement in the arms or legs. The knee-jerks are much increased.
There is an att