Abstract
People who live under primitive conditions are often credited with a higher development of the
senses than scientific investigation justifies. To
some extent this is true of the eyesight and hearing of
the African native. It appears that as a result of a greater :Dependence for existence upon the senses, the
sense organs are used with more directness and concentration, the reverse being true of certain types of
senile deafness.
A greater acuity of vision, hearing and smell
may be more psychological, more a result of a lesser
sensory inhibition and to some extent, of habituation
and concentration, than of some organic or anatomic
development. It is more likely that the apparent
better development of the senses amongst primitive
people depends chiefly on the fullest use of the same
quality of organs that other People possess.
Disease patterns do differ in many respects
between Negro and white patients, particularly in the
uneducated, uncivilised, native in Nigeria. 'white people
reflect an attitude conditioned by a greater knowledge of
the subject of human sickness. The Negro on the other
hand lives at peace with his various organs (1) and his
attitude to various forms of sickness seems to be one of
disregard. Thus the disorders in whites are commonly
functional; but organic disorder takes the place of
functional disorder in the Negro and is often of an advanced variety.