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== Modern speculations on Goliath and the combat ==

== Modern speculations on Goliath and the combat ==

=== Medical speculation ===

=== Medical speculation ===

[[Image:Robert-wadlow.jpg|200px|thumb|Robert P. Wadlow of Alton, Illinois, who, at 8' 11.4" tall, was just 6 inches shorter than the Biblical height of Goliath.  The man standing next to him is his father.]]

[[Image:Robert-wadlow.jpg|200px|thumb|Robert P. Wadlow of Alton, Illinois, who, at 8' 11.1" tall, was just 6 inches shorter than the Biblical height of Goliath.  The man standing next to him is his father.]]

Goliath was almost certainly a [[giant]]. The question arises as to how he came to be one. Did he suffer from a [[medicine|medical]] condition? Modern [[doctor]]s have suggested that, if Goliath actually lived, then he suffered from a [[pituitary adenoma]] that over-produced the [[human growth hormone]] during his [[adolescence|adolescent]] years. This would indeed produce the disease called [[giantism]] today. Many such "pituitary giants" are known to medical science, and they generally have all their organs and bones, all in proper proportion to one another.  The tallest man on record was [[Robert Pershing Wadlow]] (1918-1940) of [[Alton]], [[Illinois]]. (See image at right.) Wadlow, who was still growing at his death from a foot infection, stood 8 [[Foot (length)|feet]] and 11.1 [[inch]]es tall and was otherwise healthy and even entertained as an occasional basketball player with local high school players.<ref>Authors unknown. [http://www.maniacworld.com/worlds_tallest_man.htm The World's Tallest Man]. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref> Had he been as muscular as he was tall, he would no doubt have been strong enough to carry Goliath's armor, even armor as heavy as the Bible describes.

Goliath was almost certainly a [[giant]]. The question arises as to how he came to be one. Did he suffer from a [[medicine|medical]] condition? Modern [[doctor]]s have suggested that, if Goliath actually lived, then he suffered from a [[pituitary adenoma]] that over-produced the [[human growth hormone]] during his [[adolescence|adolescent]] years. This would indeed produce the disease called [[giantism]] today. Many such "pituitary giants" are known to medical science, and they generally have all their organs and bones, all in proper proportion to one another.  The tallest man on record was [[Robert Pershing Wadlow]] (1918-1940) of [[Alton]], [[Illinois]]. (See image at right.) Wadlow, who was still growing at his death from a foot infection, stood 8 [[Foot (length)|feet]] and 11.1 [[inch]]es tall and was otherwise healthy and even entertained as an occasional basketball player with local high school players.<ref>Authors unknown. [http://www.maniacworld.com/worlds_tallest_man.htm The World's Tallest Man]. Retrieved May 29, 2007.</ref> Had he been as muscular as he was tall, he would no doubt have been strong enough to carry Goliath's armor, even armor as heavy as the Bible describes.