dwarfism, condition in which an animal or plant is less than
normal in size and lacks the capacity for normal growth.
Dwarfism is deliberately produced and perpetuated in certain
species (e.g., in breeding miniature dogs and cultivating dwarf
plants). Among humans, dwarfism usually results from a
combination of genetic factors and endocrine malfunction. It can
also be caused, however, by acquired conditions, such as kidney
disease. Pituitary dwarfism is caused by an insufficiency of the
pituitary growth hormone (hypopituitary dwarfism). Typically,
the pituitary dwarf stops growing in early childhood but retains
normal body proportion, mental capacity, and sexual development.
Pharmaceutical companies are cloning human growth hormone to
stimulate growth in children afflicted with hypopituitary
glands. This type of dwarf, who is completely normal except for
size, is commonly called a midget. Cretinism is a type of
dwarfism accompanied by mental retardation and distortion of the
body, resulting from an insufficie