174 



INFECTIONS CAUSED BY MOLDS 



tion.^^' -° The condition was probably overlooked for many years, 

 but there may also be an increase over the occurrence fifty years 

 ago. According to Mitchell/^ this was due in part to the demobiliza- 

 tion of a considerable number of soldiers at the end of World War I 

 who were suffering from this infection and tinea cruris. Perhaps a 

 greater factor has been the increased participation of the population 



Fig. 86. Dermatophytosis of foot. Hyphae of Trichophyton mentagrophytes 



in epidermal scales, unstained. 



in athletics and golf. It is popularly believed that the infection is 

 contracted by going barefoot in dressing rooms and showers where 

 infected desquamated epithelium may be picked up.^ The infection 

 is extraordinarily prevalent among college students. Legge, Bonar, 

 and Templeton " found the disease in 78 per cent of the men and 

 17 per cent of the women in a survey at the University of California. 

 The much lower incidence in the women was attributed to the use 

 of rubber bathing slippers. The clinical diagnosis should be con- 

 firmed by laboratory examination.^* ^^ 



The condition begins in the folds between the toes or on the sole. 

 The lesions begin (frequently rather suddenly) as a series of small 

 bhsters, which tend to coalesce. This is followed by scaling and the 



