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146
e.g., St. Joseph's and Lea Bridge. Another less important factor
is climatic—schools inspected during a spell of fine dry summer
weather should have somewhat better figures than schools inspected
during a period of damp, cold weather, as the latter predisposes
to catarrhal conditions, e.g., bronchitis, enlarged tonsils
and adenoids, conjunctivitis and otitis media.
If we examine the commonest defects requiring treatment in
this group we find that:—
(i) Dental Defect is found to be by far the most common defect,
being found in 47.23 per cent. of children examined.
(ii) Nose and Throat Defects constitute 16.30 per cent. of the
total.
(iii) Eye Defects = 7.69 per cent.
(iv) Mentally Retarded 4.76 per cent. (This is an amazingly
high percentage, and a most disturbing fact disclosed by this
percentage analysis of the " Entrants' " defects.)
(v) Lung Defects = 4.61 per cent.
(vi) Enlarged Cervical Glands = 3.84 per cent.
(vii) Subnormal Nutrition == 3.38 per cent.
(viii) Deformities = 3.38 per cent.
(ix) Heart and Circulatory Defects — 3.07 per cent.
(x) Ear Defects = 2.46 per cent.
It will be noted from the above figures that no less than
63.53 per cent. of all the defects marked up for treatment at the
"Entrants" routine school medical inspection are due to dental
and nose and throat defects added together. That there is some
relation between serious dental decay and unhealthy tonsils has
been suggested, and certainly one cannot fail to be impressed by
the frequency with which these two conditions are found to be
present together in the same child.