Mr. Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man, was born on August 5th 1862, one year after the initiation of the American Civil War, in Leicestershire, Great Britain.

His mother was slightly crippled but one brother, was normal. Apparently Joseph Merrick's development was also normal until about the age of two when small growths began to be noticed on his face, the first signs of a frightful disorder which would transform him into the "Elephant Man".

By the age of seventeen Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man, joined the British labor force working in a menial capacity at a workhouse and left it at twenty-one for greater opportunity with freak shows in 1883. It was here that show promoters christened him the "Elephant Man" ... Showed first 120 words of 667 Size (words) ...

... Continuing with another 115 out of 667 Size (words) ...sewage vessels in the body - lymphatics - that leads to tissue swelling, but this is not currently in favor. Neurofibromatosis had been a very strong contender for a number of decades until 1976 when a very rare condition called Proteus syndrome was forwarded. Proteus is so rare that less than one hundred cases to date have ever been documented, but it agrees with the 'fossil' evidence left by Mr. Joseph Merrick. It describes overgrowth of soft tissues and bone, sometimes only on one side of the body (hemihypertrophy). Classical neurofibromatosis on the other hand, is a tumorous growth of nerve schwann sheaths (insulated covering like that around copper wiring), and does not readily ...Essay still continues 100 more words...