Karl Mondt, age 13, of San Diego, Calif., for his question:

WHAT EXACTLY IS A MIDGET?

A midget is a diminutive human being who has stopped growing in early childhood but retains normal bodily proportions and often matures sexually and is capable of bearing normal children. Some midgets have been known to start growing again in middle years and many achieve normal

Dwarfs are persons who are less than normal size as a result of a combination of genetic factors and endocrine malfunctions involving pituitary and thyroid deficiencies. Dwarfs often have stunted limbs and normal trunks.

A pygmy is not scientifically regarded as a dwarf since his tiny stature is uniform and hereditary and his fertility unimpaired.