The prolusion held by Prof. Gedda at the beginning of his Course of Medical Genetics at the Rome University is reported. Il deals with the question, what contribution may be brought by Medical Genetics to the culture and education of medical students.

As a first contribution, the introduction and the development of a very concrete and constant criterion of evaluation is considered, namely, the study of the family from which the patient derives, that very often leads to the first hospitalization of the patient himself.

Hereditary diseases, as well as the receiptivity to acquired diseases, reveal such a marked family imprint as to induce the geneticist to paraphrase the old slogan « there are no diseases but diseased persons » into the new one « there are no diseases but families of diseased persons ».

The study of the family, which is so important for both Medical Genetics and the physician, represents also a useful corrective for the tendency in modern medicine to fractionate excessively the medical care. The study of twins is a special case of the study of the family, which acquires a methodological importance.

Secondarily, Medical Genetics, being introduced as a subject of teaching in the last year of the program of studies in the Rome University, represents a useful recapitulation of the studies accomplished in the preceding years. In such a way, these may be advantageously synthetized and considered in the unitary and practical light of the individual heredity.

The A. refers a case of a family living in a little country town of Sardinia: five males among 12 siblings are affected by myopathy (pelvic) while only one female shows a doubtful or very early form of it.

Parents, grand-parents and relatives are free from muscolar diseases, while among relatives there are four cases of psychopathy, one of mental deficiency, one of epilepsy.

The family is described as a case of recessive sex-linked disease with irregular phenomenology in a female.

In the same place lives a sporadic case with negative familiarity, which is not easy to discus because only child of two normal parents: anyway it deservers mention because the patient has the same family-name of two members of the case referred above.

In six monozygotic and six dizygotic healthy twin pairs the urine elimination after rapid drinking of 1000 cc of water (Fishberg-Volhard test) was studied. Considerabbe variation wes observed in the diuretic response of these individuals, particularly in the maximum rate of the reactive diuresis. The minute volumes of urine during the half-hour period of the largest output were compared between the partners of each twin pair. It was found that the difference of the maximum rate of urine flow was significantly (0.01 level) smaller between one-egg than between two-egg twins under otherwise equal conditions. The concept of genetic factors controlling the function of the renal tubular cells is discussed.

The dermatogliphics of an incestuous family (a couple, their daughter and the daughter's 5 children) have been studied. The couple's daughter had 5 children with her own father. Thus the man is the children's father and grandfather at the same time.

Compared with the results of monozygotic twins some features of the children's digital patterns are of great similarity whereas other ones differ strongly. The palmar ridge configurations of the children, especially the terminations of the main lines and the interdigital patterns show striking conformity. The children with their mother and father (respectively grandfather) differentiate clearly from the grandmother, above all in the palmar charac-

The problem is how to explain the features mentioned above which vary markedly among the children and which show configurations absent in the three ancestors.

The Authors refer the results of the genetical research on 199 probands with cancer of the cervix uteri (unselected sample of the 418 collected cases). In comparison with a suitable control material a significant higher familial incidence does not result.

A case is described of uncommon vertebral malformation simulating a duplication of the spine. Pathogenesis, etiology and terminology of such an anomaly are briefly discussed.

Le attuali conoscenze sulla fisiopatologia dei connettivi ci permettono di considerare questi tessuti sopratutto per la loro attiva partecipazione agli scambi metabobolici e, in condizioni patologiche, per le loro funzioni difensive ed in genere reattive. È venuto a crearsi un grande raggruppamento nosologico — le mesenchimopatie reattive (impropriamente dette malattie del collageno) — la cui base istopatologica e patogenetica consiste in una particolare alterazione del connettivo, particolarmente della sostanza fondamentale di questo.

La riconosciuta essenziale importanza di questo tessuto nello svolgersi dei processi flogistici ed istoreattivi in genere non deve tuttavia far dimenticare l'altro aspetto della funzione del connettivo da più tempo noto, quello della sua funzione di sostegno, da intendersi non solamente in senso meccanico passivo, ma quale partecipazione attiva alla regolazione ed alla eufunzionalità dei vari tessuti, organi ed apparati.

Una primitiva turba della funzione meccanica di sostegno del connettivo può essere responsabile di molteplici quadri morbosi e soprattutto può costituire quella patologia di sfondo capace di creare, più spesso condizionare e modificare una eventuale patologia di primo piano.

Accanto ad una patologia del connettivo schiettamente flogistica (le mesenchimopatie reattive) deve essere considerata pertanto una patologia dei tessuti di origine mesenchimale a impronta non flogistica (nella quale i fenomeni flogistici, se presenti, costituiscono una contaminazione secondaria non obbligata) il cui momento patogenetico essenziale risiede in una primitiva alterazione della funzione di sostegno, che, pur nella più ampia visione attuale delle funzioni dei connettivi, rimane sempre fondamentale.