title: [A physician from Finnmark who pointed out the significance of heredity in congenital hip dysplasia].
abstract: In 1918 A.B. Wessel, district physician in Sør-Varanger, Northern Norway, published an article titled Limping families in the county of Finnmark. Based on his own investigations, he concluded that the congenital dislocation of the hip joint was a hereditary disease, and that the prevalence of the disease was high in the Sami population, especially among Sami women. Dr. Wessel observed an association between tuberculosis and the poverty of the population. The miserable hygienic conditions in small and overcrowded houses were a serious risk factor for the development of tuberculosis. Wessel was active in politics and tried to improve the living conditions of poor people. Dr. Wessel was interested in the history of the county of Finnmark as well as in ornitology and entomology.
authors.affiliation: Institutt for samfunnsmedisin, Universitetet i Tromsø.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forsdahl
mesh_terms: D005006:Ethnicity / Q000266:history; D005194:Family Practice / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D006618:Hip Dislocation, Congenital / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000266:history; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000266:history; D011203:Poverty / Q000266:history; D012936:Social Medicine / Q000266:history*