EXTRACT XXXIV. 



ON LEPROSY. 



LEPROSY is a disease unique in the national and individual 

 interest it has attracted all along the historical ages of the 

 human race, its conspicuousness and esteemed infectivity 

 securing for it the adoption of isolative and preventive 

 measures more or less by all races in proportion to the 

 intensity of its incidence in, and the degree of civilisation 

 attained by, the particular race. 



Many opinions have from time to time been advanced 

 and held since its nature has been subjected to more or 

 less expert consideration and analysis, but it cannot be 

 said that any one of these has yet been generally recognised 

 as absolutely believable and capable of leading to more 

 than an empirical mode of meeting the hygienic and 

 therapeutic necessities of the case ; therefore, we feel that 

 the advancement of another opinion will be quite con- 

 sistent with the past history of this perennial subject. 



Our opinion then, shortly stated, is this : We have in 

 leprosy to deal with a disease primarily of arrested 

 cutaneous exfoliation, transpiration, perspiration, and the 

 consequent suspension of the other functional activities of 

 that most important structure, the arrestment, beginning 

 with temporary stasis of the eliminatory phenomena of 

 the skin, continuing to increase by daily and yearly 

 accumulation of effete dermal products, and culminating 

 in the production of more or less gross collections of 

 exfoliated but retained debris in the form of nodules, 

 tubercles, and plaques, or pseudo-" armour plates," which 

 ultimately may, and sometimes do, undergo disintegra- 



