SCABIES. 157 



It must be evident to all, that before entering further into 

 the purely medical history of mange and scab in the lower 

 animals, we must know more of the parasites. 



That scabies has been due to parasitic acari from the 

 earliest days of the world's history, is of course certain, but 

 we have no record of the disease whereby we can satisfy 

 ourselves as to its being known to the ancients. "It is 

 doubtful/' says Gerlach, " if in the 6th verse of the 13th 

 chapter of the book of Leviticus, reference be made to the 

 itch." We believe it most probable, as in speaking of the 

 leper it is said, "And the priest shall look on him again the 

 seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, 

 and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pro- 

 nounce him clean ; it is but a scab : and he shall wash his 

 clothes, and be clean." It is doubtful whether the lice 

 (<j)0Lp6^ which Aristotle mentions as growing in the flesh, 

 were true acari. The first certain information is given by 

 Avenzoar, a Moorish physician in Spain, who mentioned the 

 itch-insect under the name of Soab, as small lice pedicelli, 

 or in Arabic, asoabat, which could scarcely be seen, and 

 which burrowed beneath the skin of the hands and feet, 

 causing the development of pustules filled with water. Four 

 hundred years later, Scaliger published the first accurate 

 account of the acarus scabiei and its habits ; the people of 

 Padua then called it pedicello, in Turin it was known by the 

 name of sciro hence acarus sciro, and in Gascony, brigant. 

 Gerlach has furnished us with a complete history of this 

 subject, alluding to Aldovrandi, Moufet, Hauptmann, Hafen- 

 reffer, Bonomo, and Fabricius. Wichmann appears to have 

 been one of the earliest who looked upon itch as depending 

 solely on the parasite, and not on a specific dyscrasia. Ger- 

 lach has furnished his readers with a brief sketch of the 

 history of this interesting subject from the days of Gales 



