[Chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin / Extracted from his "Commentaries on Diseases of the Skin."].

  • Thomson, Anthony Todd, 1778-1849
Date:
[1839-1840]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: [Chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin / Extracted from his "Commentaries on Diseases of the Skin."]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    GENUS II. LEPRA*. Lepra is a chronic inflammation of the skin, characterized by scaly patches, of a circular form, elevated at the border, slightly depressed in the centre, and seated upon an inflamed base. At first, they are extremely minute (PL 1, Pig. 1, a), but they gradually enlarge and coalesce, forming patches of various dimensions and figure, in which, however, the circular forms of the component patches can always be traced (fig. 1, b). As the patches enlarge, they become depressed in the centre, and surrounded by a prominent circle of accumulated scales. They are, occasionally, spread over the greater part of the body; but, most frequently, confined to the extremities, ap¬ pearing especially on those parts where there is little else than the integuments covering the bones ; as, for instance, over the ulna, the tibia, and below the elbow and the patella. The intervening skin remains natural. Lepra is far from being an uncommon disease in Great Britain, notwithstanding the following opinion of Heberden: * Aenpa, (Ilippoc. Aph. 20, 53), a Actro$, a scale. There is, however, no certainty that Hippocrates really meant the disease to which this term is now ap¬ plied. In the Isagoge, attributed to Galen, we find the lepra of the moderns thus described:—“ Lepra est cutis mutatio in habitum preeter naturam fit, cum aspe- ritate et pruritihus, doloribusque, nonnunquam et squamis decidentibus interim secus: plures hsec etiam corporis depasitur.” Paulus Egineta describes it more accurately:—u Aenpa,, per profunditatem corporum cutem depascitur, orbiculatiori modo, et squamas piscium squamis similes dimittet.” (De re Med. lib. iv. cap. 2. De Lepra et Psora.) Actuarius (De Method. Med. lib. ii. c. 2), and A^tius (Tetrabibl. iv. Sermo 1, c. 134) describe it, also, as appearing in the form of cir¬ cular patches, and throwing off scales like those of a fish. Celsus describesi<?/?ra, under the term Vitiligo, as a genus, containing three species; namely—AX (pot;, MeXaq, and AevM] ; but the first only corresponds to the Lepra of the moderns : u color albus est, fere subasper, et non continuus, ut qusedam quasi guttee dispersee esse videantur : interdum etiam latius, et cum quibusdam intermissionibus serpit.” (De Med. lib. v. c. 28, § 19.) It is unnecessary to notice the confusion which has occurred from confounding this disease with the Leprosy of the Arabians, or Ele¬ phantiasis. Ver.Syn. Lepra (F.) : Der Aussatz (G.): Lepra (Ital. Span ) : Kushtu (Hindos.) : Vullay Koostum (Tam.): Telia Koostum (Tel.): Sv>eta Koostum (Sans.) : Suffaid Khere(Du/c.) : Velassa (Malay). Nos. Syn. Lepra Grcvcorum (Auct. var.): AXtyaq (Celsus) : Beras (Auct. Arab.): Lepre (Payer, Meckel): Lepriasis (Good): Lepra (WMan, Young, Bateman).