2052 



TROPICAL DERMATOMYCOSES 



TINEA NIGRO-CIRCINATA. 



This trichophytosis has been observed by one of us among Sin- 

 halese natives. 



>ffitiology. — The eruption is due to a Trichophyton — T. ceylonense 

 Castellani, 1908. The spores are very few in number, roundish, 

 rather large (4 /li), and showing a double contour. The mycelial 

 tubes are about 3^ ^ in breadth, generally straight. The fungus 

 does not grow on any of the ordinary or Sabouraud's media. 



Symptomatology. — The eruption is found most frequently on 

 the neck and scrotum, and consists of a few rings with thick, elevated 

 margins, the encircled skin being black — much darker than the 

 healthy skin — but not thickened nor presenting papules, vesicles, 

 or pustules. The edge is thick, elevated, of a dark colour, with 

 the upper portion pinkish or occasionally covered by a dark crust. 

 The eruption often heals spontaneously, leaving dark roundish 

 patches at the previous seat of the lesions. 



Prognosis. — The eruption may disappear spontaneously, and 

 the treatment is easy. 



Diagnosis. — The only dermatomycosis to which it has a slight 

 resemblance is Tinea sabouraudi. The latter, however, is very 

 chronic, and invades large portions of the body; the rings are 

 segmentary, not complete, and the edge is not so thick and elevated. 



The condition may have also to be distinguished from a circinate 

 framboeside or ringworm yaws, in which no fungus is found, while 

 Treponema pertenue CasteUani, is present. 



Treatment. — Tincture of iodine, freely applied, answers well. 



TINEA CAPITIS TROPICALIS. 



DelBlnition. — Tinea capitis tropicalis is ringworm of the head 

 as seen in the tropics. 



History. — Celsus in the second chapter of the sixth book of his 

 ' De Medicina ' gives an account of ringworm of the head under the 

 name ' porrigo.' His words are: ' Porrigo auten est, ubi inter pilos 

 quaedam quasi squamulse surgunt, eaeque a cute resolvuntur; et 

 interdum madent, multo saepius siccae sunt.' 



Bishop Fortunatus, who lived in the sixth century a.d., uses the 

 name ' tinea ' in the following passage : - Lavans capita egenorum, 

 defricans quicquid erat, crustam, scabiem, tineam nec purulentam 

 f astidiens. ' 



In the tenth century Ali ben Abbas (often written Haly), who 

 lived in Persia, described the complaint under the terms ' sahafati ' 

 and ' alvathim.' 



The Anglo-Saxons applied the word ' teter ' to any kind of skin 

 disease which itched, and in this form it was used in middle English. 

 In the fourteenth century Guy de Chauliac wrote a work on surgery 

 in which he used the word ' teigne, ' deriving it from ' tenir . ' 



With the advent of printing it was called ' tetters,' in England 



