The Elephant Man. Part I.

Joseph Merrick was one of three children. His mother and younger sister were cripples, but their disease is unknown. Joseph's own swellings began to appear in early childhood and he rapidly became so grotesque, that he eventually sought a living as a freak. After an unhappy continental tour, he was given asylum in The London Hospital at the instigation of Mr Frederick Treves, and stayed there until he died. Books, a play and a film have featured his unique story, but each presented it with varying degrees of artistic license. However, contemporary accounts of his condition survive. Both bony abnormalities and substantial soft tissue masses contributed to his deformity. Features of these considered separately suggest neurofibromatosis as a diagnosis, but because the presentation is more extreme than seen in any other recorded patient, other diagnoses have been entertained. In the following three papers, the evidence which supports this diagnosis is reviewed, together with a consideration of the disease affecting his left hip and the manner of his death. This first article reviews the Elephant Man's life story.