CHAPTER XIII. 



THRUSH. 



OIDIUM ALBICANS (ROBIN). 



THRUSH, Soor (German), Muguet (French), or parasite 

 stomatitis is an affection of marasmatic infants and adults 

 characterized by the occurrence of peculiar whitish patches 

 upon an inflamed oral mucous membrane. The white of the 

 patches consists of material that is not easily removed, but 

 which when detached leaves a bleeding surface upon which it 

 forms again. Upon microscopic examination the white sub- 

 stance proves to be composed of masses of mycelia with en- 

 larged epithelial cells and leukocytes. The affection is far 

 more frequent in children than in adults. It seems not to 

 occur among healthy children, but among those suffering from 

 marasmus, and particularly among those whose mouths have 

 already become sore through neglect. It is usually confined 

 to the mouth, but may spread to the pharynx, to the larynx, 

 in rare cases to the esophagus, in very rare cases to the 

 stomach and intestines, and in exceptional cases, both in 

 adults and children, may become a generalized disease through 

 hematogenous distribution, and be attended by mycotic in- 

 flammatory lesions in the kidneys, the liver, and the brain. 



The specific micro-organism seems to have been discovered 

 in 1839 by Langenbeck* and Berg, f Langenbeck missed the 

 significance of the organism altogether, for, finding it in a 

 case of typhoid fever, he conceived it to be the cause of that 

 disease. Berg, on the other hand, regarded it as the cause 

 of the thrush. Robin { furnished the first correct description 

 of the organism and gave it its name, O'idium albicans. Many 

 systematic writers have exercised themselves concerning the 

 exact place in the botanical system in which the organisms 

 should be placed. Thus, Gruby and Heim regarded it as a 



v * See Kehrer, "Ueber den Soorpilz," etc., Heidelberg, 1883. 



fSee Behrend, "Deutsche med. Wochenschrift," 1890. 



| "Histoire naturelle des vegetaux parasites qui croissent sur 1'homme 

 et sur les animaux vivants," Paris, 1853. 



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