2282 



COSMOPOLITAN SKIN DISEASES 



BIOTRIPSIS. 



Cheatle has described under the name * biotripsis/ or * life-wear/ 

 the trophic changes which take place in the skin of old people. 

 In Europeans the skin, especially of the hands, may become at 

 places shiny, smooth, inelastic, more or less pigmented than normal, 

 and scar-like lesions may be present. Castellani has described a 

 somewhat similar condition in old Sinhalese in whom the skin on the 



Fig. 909. — Biotripsis in an Old Sinhalese Man, simulating a Mild Type 



OF Ichthyosis, 



legs may present a peculiar appearance, becoming atrophic, and the 

 superficial layers cracking. The condition, on superficial examina- 

 tion, might be taken for a mild type of ichthyosis. It is, however, 

 probably a trophic condition due to old age. Chalmers and Drew 

 have given an account of this condition as seen in the Sudan. 



DISEASES OF THE HAIR AND NAILS. 



The diseases of parasitic origin are common, and have been 

 described. Cases of Hypertrichosis in man and woman are occa- 

 sionally met with. The so-called * fragilitas crinium,' as well as 

 Trichorrhexis nodosa, are rare in natives, this being probably due 

 to the habit they have of frequently oiling and greasing the hair. 

 We have seen cases of Moniliform hair (riionilithrix) in Sinhalese and 

 Tamils. In several Sinhalese decrepit old men, who wear their 

 hair long, and do not take care of it, we have seen a condition of 

 inextricable matting of the hair somewhat resembling Plioa. 



