On the pathology and treatment of the contagious furunculoid / by Thomas Laycock.

  • Laycock, Thomas, 1812-1876
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the pathology and treatment of the contagious furunculoid / by Thomas Laycock. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of the derma, manifested in the form of eczema, pemphigus, and phlyctense. 3. Suppurative inflammation of the derma, resembling impetigo and ecthyma. 4. Carbuncular inflammation. 5. Two or more of these occurring coincidentally. More recent observation shows that we may add to these—6. Sloughing gangrene of the lip, eye, tongue, vagina, scrotum, etc. 7. A diffused inflammation of the cellular tissue returned to the Registrars, as a cause of death of late years, under the term phlegmon ; and, 8. Another form, seldom fatal, that of whitlow. I will now refer to each of these specially. 1. Simple Furuncle.—The course of the simple furuncle is very definite. An itching is usually first experienced, and then a small hard pimple may be felt in the skin, not larger commonly than a small pea. This enlarges from day to day, and the skin be- comes red over it. About the fourth day the centre softens, and on the fifth suppuration is established, with partial destruction of the subcutaneous cellular tissue (the slough or “ core”). By the seventh day there is commencing cicatrization. Rarely more than four or five of these occur at once. 2. The Furuncle, with vesication or pemphigus.—Tn the furuncle with vesication, the inflammation is preceded bv a vesicle; the pruritus is greater, the erysipelatous redness more extended, and, in bad cases, true phlyctense form. These may be prolonged to the fourteenth day. In a few rarely occurring cases there is a plilyc- tsena only. 3. Ecthyma.—In the impetiginous and ecthymatous form, the boils are usually interspersed with ecthyma, impetigo, or eczema. It is not uncommon to find this variety preceded by a pemphigoid eruption, in which the serum is opaque and purulent, and terminat- ing in crusts. This sometimes attacks the eye, constituting a stye. 4. The Carbuncular form.—When the disease is carbuncular, it may appear as true carbuncle, or as a spurious form, in which there is, in fact, a confluence or blending of furuncles. Both these are usually seen on the nucha, back, or loins. The true carbuncle may be either solitary, or, as is most common, may arise amongst a number of furuncles. The eruption in all these forms is usually seen on the back nates, thighs —less frequently on the legs and face, still less so on the trunk. The bend of the joints, or the ends of the fingers (as in whitlow), are not unusual situations. The seat of the disease will, however, depend upon the nature and locality of the exciting cause. Wherc- ever a local irritation is induced, there will most probably be the seat of the specific inflammation A blister is one of the commonest of the exciting causes ; the application of a poultice, or of an irritant