Morquio's disease is hereditary and often occurs in multiple siblings, causing dwarfism and kyphosis. The condition was incompletely described from 1913 to 1928, but the first complete report of Morquio's disease was not reported until 1929 [24]. Morquio is a rare disease. There are less than one hundred reported cases in the literature today. This condition effects mainly children in the sixth to eighteenth month of development. It is also very sibling oriented to about fifty percent likeness. The condition reflects abnormal conversion of cartilage to mature bone. A world of skeletal deformities appear. The size and contour of long bones' epiphysis are greatly affected. The progress of deformities continues with time. A person will live until the crippling effect of the deformities can no longer match the requirements of the environment.
(This is a excerpt taken from HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, AND DISEASES which is part of a project entitled Electronic Textbook Home Page: The Skeletal System written by students of Biomedical Engineering Applications from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering department of North Carolina State University )