In the recorded cases of such precocious menstruation the menstruation recurred as a rule at regular intervals of four weeks; only in quite exceptional cases were the intervals three to five months.
Some of the most striking and well-authenticated cases of precocious menstruation recorded in the recent literature of the subject are appended.
Observed by _Combys_: A girl aged 6 years and 2 months had the appearance of a girl aged 14 or 15; she was a brunette, 3′ 10½″ in height, with full, firm, rounded breasts, girth of chest 28⅓″, mons Veneris covered with hair, uterus normal on rectal examination, hymen intact; menstruation had occurred regularly since the second year of life. Mother and five sisters began to menstruate between the ages of twelve and fourteen. General condition good.
Case recorded by _Diamant_: A girl aged 6 years, weight 75 pounds, thighs, buttocks, and breasts developed like those of a sexually mature woman, axillæ and mons Veneris covered with hair. Menstruation began at the age of 2 and recurred regularly, the flow lasting 4 days.
Case recorded by _Plyette_: A girl with precocious physical development began to menstruate in the fourth year of life; menstruation continued regularly with the exception of two monthly periods, when vicarious epistaxis occurred.
From the collection made by _Gebhard_ of the records of fifty-four cases of precocious menstruation, giving the first appearance and the type of menstruation, the development of the breasts, the other signs of premature sexual development, and any complications that may have been observed, we extract the age at which the first menstruation occurred. This was:
In a new-born infant in 1 case. At the age of 2 weeks in 1 case. At the age of 2 months in 1 case. At the age of 3 months in 1 case. At the age of 4 months in 1 case. At the age of 5 months in 1 case. At the age of 7 months in 1 case. At the age of 9 months in 4 cases. At the age of 10 months in 2 cases. At the age of 12 months in 5 cases. At the age of 15 months in 1 case. At the age of 16 months in 1 case. At the age of 18 months in 2 cases. At the age of 19 months in 1 case. At the age of 22 months in 1 case. At the age of 2 years in 4 cases. At the age of 2½ years in 1 case. At the age of 2 years and 9 months in 1 case. At the age of 3 years in 6 cases. At the age of 3½ years in 1 case. At the age of 4 years in 4 cases. At the age of 4 years and 3 months in 1 case. At the age of 5 years in 1 case. At the age of 5½ years in 1 case. At the age of 6 years in 1 case. At the age of 6½ years in 1 case. At the age of 7 years in 3 cases. At the age of 9 years in 2 cases. At the age of 11½ years in 1 case.