350 The American Naturalist. (April, 
Recently I met with an extreme and rare case of the itch,” 
brought about by the presence in the skin of an immense 
number of itch mites. It shows to what extent parasitism will 
go under favorable conditions. The first detailed description 
of this rare- form of itch was made by Hebra, of Vienna, in 
1852, and who gave it the name of Scabies norvegica, or Nor- 
way itch, because the case was from Norway. Since then, 
other cases have been seen at various times and in different 
places, still, it is so rare that modern treatises on skin diseases 
do not describe it. Taylor’s large “Atlas of Skin Diseases,” 
devotes just two lines to it, as follows: “ European writers, 
particularly of previous decades, have described a severe form 
of encrusted eczematous scabies, which they call Scabies nor- 
vegica, or Norway itch. Itis not seen in this country.”” 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE. 
The host of the mites was a middle-aged white man; he was 
partly paralyzed, and hence comparatively helpless. At the 
time of his admission to the City Hospital, his entire body 
was covered with thick, yellowish-white, leathery scales, the 
largest measuring over one inch in diameter, and over one- 
tenth inch in thickness. He was literally covered with scales 
like a fish: 
On rubbing the body slightly, a large quantity of these 
scales fell off; rubbing more briskly removed an additional 
quantity, but with the production of small bleeding places 
(these scales were not crusts or scabs, they were epithelial pro- 
liferations). Ata few places on the body crusts were found, 
mainly where the skin was bent, as at the joints. On account 
of the bleeding, no vigorous mechanical treatment was used at. 
_ anytime; the scales were gently rubbed off. A handful could 
be gathered daily. Despite this great alteration of the skin, the 
general health remained good. Taken in its entirety, the case 
was a puzzling one. 
In a search for the cause of this eruption, and as an aid to 
the determination of the disease, some of the scales were sec- 
“ The case was described from a medical standpoint in the Jndiana Medical Jour- 
nal for November, 1892, by Dr. Brayton and myself, 
13 Taylor, “Atlas of Skin Diseases.” P, 327. 
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