الفهرس 
INTRODUCTION
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Abstract
The present study was carried out to study the growth of the blind school-children and to determine the age of menarche of the blind girls.
The study was conducted on 900 school-children aged 7-16 years old, divided into 10 age groups (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 years) each age group included 30 complete blind, 30 partially sighted and 30 normally sighted school-children of the both sexes. Weight, height, biacromial diameter, bicristal diameter and age of menarche were measured. The examined school-children were taken from schools for normally sighted and from Al-noor schools for blind in different governorates; Cairo, El-Gharbia, El-Monofia, El-Dakahlia and Kafr El-sheikh. A consent was taken from the parents of the school-children.
The obtained data were analysed statistically; the mean, standard deviation and standard error were calculated for each age group, also, the annual increments of the growth per year was calculated. The statistical values were represented in the form of growth tables, distance curves, growth velocity curves and histograms.
The present results stated that the weight of the completely blind school-children was less than that of the normally sighted school-children, but after 12 years of age, the weight of the completely blind school-children became more than the weigh of the normally sighted school-children. The height of the completely blind school-children was less than the height of the normally sighted school-children in all ages. The completely blind boys and girls were lighter and shorter than normal boys and normal girls respectively. The boys tended to became taller and heavier than girls but the sexual difference in the growth was observed in 11 –14 years age groups where the girls became heavier and taller than boys. The widths (biacromial and bicristal diameters) of the completely blind school-children were less than the widths of the normally sighted school-children. The age of menarche of the completely blind girls was earlier than that of the normal girls. There was no difference in growth nor the age of menarche between the partially and the normally sighted school-children.
The growth delay of the completely blind school-children
may be caused by disturbed secretions of the growth hormone.
The early age of menarche of the completely blind girls may be caused by the cause of the blindness or by disturbed secretory activity of pineal body.
The results of the current study suggested that the light stimuli, even the little amount of the light stimuli, has an important role in the growth of the school-children.
Future studies are recommended to demonstrate if the final height of the blind individuals will be impaired actually or if it is only a delay in the growth velocity. Also, a study of the onset of the puberty in the blind boys is recommended.